Shredded or Shelved: Two Very Different Fixes for a Pennsylvania Record

Two people leave the Indiana County Courthouse on the same afternoon, both convinced their record problem is solved. One of them can now say the arrest never happened to anyone, including a judge. The other can say it to a landlord and an employer, but a judge will still see the whole file someday. They did not get the same relief. Most people do not realize there are two different things on the menu.

Expungement Means the Record Gets Shredded

Expungement is the real erasure. Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122, the criminal history information gets destroyed and pulled out of the state repository. It is also narrower than most people expect.

You can expunge charges that were withdrawn, dismissed, or nolle prossed, an ARD you completed, or an acquittal on everything arising from the same episode. Since a 2023 amendment, a full acquittal should be expunged automatically within twelve months, no petition required. You can also petition to expunge a summary conviction after five years free of arrest or prosecution.

Now notice what is missing from that list. A misdemeanor conviction. A felony conviction. In Pennsylvania those do not get expunged, no matter how long ago it happened or how well your life turned out since. Short of a pardon from the Governor, shredding is off the table.

Limited Access Means the Record Gets Shelved

That is where Clean Slate comes in, at 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.2. The record survives, but it goes behind a curtain. Employers, landlords, and schools cannot see it or use it, and § 9122.5 lets you answer as though the offense never occurred.

The automatic sealing timelines run like this:

• Charges that ended in something other than a conviction: sealed, no waiting period

• Summary convictions: five years after the judgment, with restitution paid

• M2, M3, and misdemeanors carrying no more than two years: seven years free of any conviction punishable by a year or more, with restitution paid

• Certain additional qualifying offenses added in 2023: ten years

Worth knowing: dismissed and withdrawn charges are eligible for both tracks. Clean Slate seals them without anyone lifting a finger, but you can do better by petitioning to expunge them outright. Nobody sends you a letter suggesting it.

Here Is the Part That Trips People Up

Sealed is not gone. Section 9122.5(c) keeps a sealed record in your criminal history for the courts, including at sentencing if you ever pick up a new case. If you run for public office, you have to disclose it yourself. And federal law can override the curtain entirely for certain jobs.

The word “automatic” is also doing a lot of work. The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts sends eligible records to the State Police monthly, the State Police validate them, and the courts issue sealing orders monthly. Records fall out of that pipeline for data mismatches and unpaid restitution. Plenty of people who qualify on paper still have a visible record because something did not line up in a database.

So Which One Do You Actually Want?

Take the expungement if you are eligible, because shredded beats shelved every time. If you are not, pull your own record and confirm whether Clean Slate already handled it rather than assuming. If it should have sealed and did not, or if an older misdemeanor got passed over, § 9122.1 lets you petition for limited access yourself.

A record question is worth an hour of a lawyer’s time, particularly when a job, a lease, or a professional license is riding on the answer. Ludwig, Everett & Tomb handles expungement and record sealing petitions throughout Indiana County. Call us at (724) 349-3908 and we will tell you straight which category you are in.