Virginia Criminal Record Sealing and Expungement

Last reviewed August 21, 2026. This page provides general information, not legal advice. Eligibility depends on the complete record and the law in effect when relief is requested.

Virginia law now provides several ways for certain criminal-history and court records to be sealed. Some sealing occurs through an automatic process, while other relief requires a petition in circuit court. These processes are governed principally by Chapter 23.2 of Title 19.2 of the Code of Virginia, which took effect on July 1, 2026.

Record sealing is not the same as erasing a record for every purpose. The correct pathway depends on the charge, the disposition, the offense date, the person’s complete criminal history, and other statutory criteria.

Virginia Record Sealing and Expungement Are Different

Virginia’s newer record-sealing laws limit public access to eligible records through automatic and petition-based procedures. Traditional expungement remains a separate process under Virginia Code § 19.2-392.2.

It is therefore inaccurate to assume that every dismissal is automatically expunged. A non-conviction may be eligible for automatic sealing, petition-based expungement, both, or neither, depending on the disposition and the statutory requirements. Virginia has also enacted a different version of § 19.2-392.2 that becomes effective December 1, 2026, so the current text should be checked before any petition is filed.

When Automatic Sealing May Apply

The automatic-sealing rules are divided into several categories. Examples include:

• New misdemeanor non-convictions: A misdemeanor charge that ends in an acquittal or dismissal with prejudice on or after July 1, 2026, is generally ordered sealed at the end of the case unless the person objects.
• New felony non-convictions: After a felony acquittal or dismissal with prejudice, the person may make an immediate oral request for sealing. The attorney for the Commonwealth must concur before the court orders sealing under this procedure.
• Previously concluded misdemeanor non-convictions: Certain older misdemeanor acquittals, nolle prosequi dispositions, and dismissals may be identified for automatic sealing, but only if the criminal-history and timing requirements in Virginia Code § 19.2-392.11 are satisfied.
• Certain convictions and other records: The statutes establish separate automatic processes for specifically listed misdemeanor convictions, former marijuana-possession matters, and qualifying traffic infractions. Each category has its own requirements and exceptions.

A record may fail to be processed automatically when the available electronic information is incomplete or does not allow the agencies to determine eligibility. The Virginia State Crime Commission’s official sealing FAQs explain that people generally are not notified when an offense is automatically sealed. The Commission identifies several ways to check status, including reviewing the Virginia Judiciary’s online case information, requesting a Virginia criminal-history record, or asking the clerk of the court that resolved the case.

Petition-Based Sealing of Convictions and Deferred Dismissals

Virginia Code § 19.2-392.12 permits a person to petition for sealing of certain misdemeanor convictions, Class 5 or Class 6 felony convictions, specified larceny felonies, and eligible deferred-and-dismissed charges. The statute contains a detailed list of offenses that cannot be sealed through this section.

A petition under § 19.2-392.12 is filed in the circuit court of the city or county where the case was resolved. The statute provides that no court fees or costs are charged for filing that petition. The Commonwealth is a party to the proceeding and may object. A court may conduct a hearing, although the statute also permits an order without a hearing in a limited circumstance when the Commonwealth does not object and makes the required stipulations.

Among other requirements, the petitioner must satisfy the applicable criminal-history restrictions and a conviction-free waiting period of seven years for a misdemeanor or ten years for a felony, calculated from the latest event identified by the statute. Full payment of any ordered restitution is required. If the record indicates that the offense involved alcohol or another drug, the petitioner must demonstrate rehabilitation. The court must also find that continued existence and possible dissemination of the record causes or may cause a manifest injustice.

A person may receive no more than two granted petitions under § 19.2-392.12 during the person’s lifetime. That limit concerns granted petitions under that section; it is not accurately described as a universal limit of two sealed convictions. Different limits apply to other sealing procedures.

Offenses and Circumstances That Require Individual Review

Eligibility cannot be determined from the felony or misdemeanor class alone. Virginia Code § 19.2-392.12 excludes Class 1, 2, 3, and 4 felonies and many specifically identified offenses and circumstances. The exclusions include, among others, categories involving certain violent offenses, sex offenses, firearms, protective orders, hate crimes, and offenses involving a family or household member.

The statute also examines the petitioner’s broader criminal history. It bars relief under § 19.2-392.12 for a person who has ever been convicted of a Class 1 or 2 felony or another felony punishable by life imprisonment, and it imposes separate lookback periods for Class 3 or 4 felonies and other felonies. A complete record review is necessary before drawing any conclusion about eligibility.

What Sealing Does—and Does Not Do

Under Virginia Code § 19.2-392.5, sealing generally prohibits public access to covered records held by specified Virginia agencies and courts. In many circumstances, a person whose record has been sealed may deny or decline to disclose the sealed matter to a private employer or a state or local government agency.

The law contains important exceptions. Sealed information may remain available or may still have to be disclosed for specified law-enforcement, court, child-custody, national-security, federally required, licensing, employment-screening, and other statutory purposes. A sealed matter may also be considered in later criminal proceedings.

Sealing does not:

• restore civil rights or firearm rights;
• eliminate an obligation to pay fines, costs, forfeitures, penalties, or restitution;
• guarantee a particular employment, housing, licensing, immigration, or security-clearance result; or
• make the record unavailable for every government or federal purpose.

Practical Steps Before Seeking Relief

1. Obtain a complete Virginia criminal-history record and collect the court records for each matter.
2. Confirm the exact charge, offense date, disposition, sentencing event, and any later probation or incarceration event.
3. Check whether an eligible matter has already been sealed.
4. Compare every matter with the current automatic-sealing, petition-sealing, and expungement statutes.
5. Confirm that restitution and any other statutory prerequisites have been satisfied.

The Virginia State Crime Commission’s record-sealing resource page provides official links to the statutes, FAQs, the statewide court-information system, and Virginia State Police criminal-history requests.

Discuss a Virginia Record-Sealing Question

Every record is different, and the presence of an offense on a list does not establish eligibility by itself. To ask whether The Phoenix Trial Firm can review a Virginia sealing or expungement issue, contact the firm and provide the court, case number, charge, disposition, and approximate date for each matter. Do not send sensitive criminal-history documents through an unsecured channel.