The law covering expungements in North Carolina changed dramatically this past December. The two biggest changes are reducing the waiting period to expunge non-violent convictions and allowing dismissed or not guilty charges to be expunged regardless of prior expungements.

1. Reducing the Waiting Period to Expunge Non-violent Convictions

Under the old law, a person could file an expungement of a non-violent felony or misdemeanor conviction if at least 15 years have passed, there were no newer criminal convictions, and other statutory conditions were satisfied. The new law reduces the waiting period to 10 years for felonies and 5 years for misdemeanors. For whatever reason, this does not include DWI convictions.

2. Allowing Dismissed or Not Guilty Charges to be Expunged Regardless of Prior Expungements

The old expungement law didn’t allow expungements of dismissed charges or not guilty charges if the person had used a prior expunction. The new statute eliminates this requirement in most instances.

This post should only serve as a very brief overview of current North Carolina expungement law. Every case is different, and the nuances of the new law may effect which people have an expungement available. Feel free to contact Saad Law with any expungement questions. If your criminal record can be erased, we will find a way to do it.