Having an arrest or a conviction for a criminal offense on your permanent record can be a serious hindrance. It may impact your ability to get a job, volunteer at certain places, secure housing, obtain professional licenses, and more. Fortunately, both sealing and expungement exist as viable options for keeping your personal criminal history private. Here’s what you should know about sealing vs. expunging in Massachusetts and how an experienced criminal defense attorney can help. 

Expungement vs. Sealing: What to Know

While some people use the term expunging and sealing interchangeably, it’s important to know that these terms and processes are distinct and separate. 

• Expungement. Expungement refers to the act of permanently erasing parts of a criminal record. For example, if you have an arrest expunged from your record, it will be as if the arrest never happened — the record of it will have been destroyed. 
• Sealing. Sealing, on the other hand, is the processing of closing a part of your criminal record so that it’s inaccessible to most parties who may conduct a background check, such as an employer. Certain law enforcement personnel, however, will continue to have access to the details. 

Sealing is a much more common process in Massachusetts, and is available to more people. If you’re not sure which is more appropriate for your case, or if you qualify for either, call a Massachusetts criminal defense attorney directly for legal counsel. 

Qualifications for Expungement

When it comes to sealing a criminal record, a person may be eligible based on the nature of the offense, the person’s own criminal history, and how much time has passed since the person was sentenced or since the period of probation. For a misdemeanor, you can seek sealing three years after you’ve been sentenced or served jail time; for a felony, you must wait seven years. 

Expungement is a much more complex process in Massachusetts. An expungement may occur after a certain amount of time has passed assuming the crime is qualified — felony violations, OUI, sex offenses, and others aren’t eligible for time-based expungements in Massachusetts.

The other way that you can seek expungement is in the event that the criminal record was created in error, such as a result of law enforcement error, identity theft, etc. 

How an Experienced Massachusetts Criminal Defense Attorney Can Help 

Understanding the rules around sealing or expunging criminal records in Massachusetts is complicated and is something that’s best navigated with the assistance of an experienced criminal defense attorney who has handled similar cases in the past. At The Law Office of Paul R. Moraski, our attorney is here to help you. Request a consultation online or by calling (978) 397-0011 today.