Expungements

Expunge: To omit, erase, or obliterate
Petitioner: The individual applying for an expungement
Petition: A formal, written application requesting the court for a specific judicial action.

1. You must first obtain a Certificate of Eligibility from the Utah Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI). This can take from 8-10 Weeks.
2. Completion of the Petition: You must then fill out a Petition and an Order of Expungement for the Court. You must complete the petition and the order and pay the expungement fee of $135 and $6 per certified copy of the expungement order before proceeding to step 3.
3. Serving the Petition: The petition must be served on the court. Unless a stipulation is obtained, expungement may not be granted until 60 days after service of the petition. This allows time for the prosecuting attorney or the crime victim to file a written objection to the petition, and for the court to order an evaluation, if necessary. If an objection is filed, the defendant may request a hearing and notify the prosecuting attorney, petitioner, and victim of the hearing date.
4. Written Evaluation: The court may order the Prosecuting Attorney to prepare a written evaluation regarding the petition, including its recommendations. If you file a written objection to the conclusions and recommendation in the evaluation within 15 days after receipt of the evaluation, the court will set a hearing date and notify the parties listed above.
5. Hearing: The court may hold a hearing. Or, if there are no objections to the Petition, the court may make a decision based on written documentation.
6. Findings of the Court: If the court finds that you are eligible and no objections have been received, it will grant expungement and issue a certificate to you. The certificate will state that the petition and certificate of eligibility are sufficient, and the statutory requirements have been satisfied. After approving a petition for expungement, the court shall enter an order to expunge all or a portion of the case records in the custody of that court, or of any other agency or official.

The Division must forward a copy of the expungement order to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Utah’s “Clean Slate” law was implemented on February 10, 2022, and the Utah Courts began the process of automatically expunging qualifying misdemeanor records.  “Clean Slate” eligible cases include Class A misdemeanor drug possession offenses, qualifying Class B and C misdemeanor offenses, minor regulatory offenses, and infractions.  Learn more here.  

Individuals with more serious criminal offenses who are eligible for expungement will still need to go through the traditional petition-based process. Salt Lake County has established an online, community resource for individuals who find they have records that do not qualify for “Clean Slate” — Salt Lake County’s Expungement Tool Kit. 

This is a self-service guide, broken down into four steps, that assists individuals looking to complete the expungement process without an attorney.    

From April 2019 to September 2021,  Salt Lake County operated the grant-funded Expungement Navigator project to assist individuals.  With the expiration of the grant, Salt Lake County is no longer providing direct services to patrons. The Expungement Tool Kit was created to provide sustainable and continuing support to individuals seeking relief through petition-based expungement.

You, not the court, are responsible for service of the order on affected agencies. If you live out of state and are completing expungement by mail, you must include an 8" x 10" self-addressed, stamped manila envelope, for copies to be mailed to you for distribution. Agencies to be notified include:

• The court
• The arresting agency
• The booking agency
• The City Prosecutor
• The Division of Public Safety*

Addresses for local agencies will be provided by the judicial assistant. For arresting agencies that are not local agencies, you must note that agency. The judicial assistant will provide an extra copy of the expungement, but the Petitioner must find the correct address for the agency.

*The Division must forward a copy of the expungement order to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).