Expunging a Felony of the Third Degree (F3) Conviction in Ohio

If you have seen our time tables detailing Ohio’s waiting periods for sealing and expungement, you may have noticed two things. For one thing, we put in a note about the complicated rules about sealing a felony of the third degree (F3). You may have also noticed the waiting period for expunging any felony starts after the specified time required for sealing. Therefore, expunging an F3 conviction in Ohio carries the same restrictions as sealing an F3 in Ohio. And the same goes for any felony.

Felonies of the Third Degree in the Ohio Revised Code

This is from Section 2953.32 Division (A)(1)(g) of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC). Ohio law says F3 convictions CANNOT be sealed or expunged: “if the offender has more than one conviction of any felony or, if the person has exactly two convictions of a felony of the third degree, has more convictions in total than those two third degree felony convictions and two misdemeanor convictions.”

Um, English please? Not to worry. We break it down in the next section.

Breakdown

So first of all, if you have a felony conviction, there are a few things you need to consider when it comes to expungement. Sealing and expungement are not possible for F1 or F2 convictions. F4 and F5 convictions require essentially the same consideration as misdemeanor convictions. But if you are interested in expunging an F3 conviction in Ohio, some other rules apply.

First of all there is the requirement of not having too many other felonies on your record. The law says that a criminal record must not have MORE than one felony conviction in order to seal a conviction of F3. This means that if there is only one other felony conviction, the F3 may be eligible for sealing. You still have to consider the nature of the offense, the time since the offense, etc. In this case, it does not necessarily matter how many misdemeanor convictions are on your criminal record.

But what if the one other felony conviction is itself a F3 conviction? In that case, the eligibility depends on the rest of the record. Once again the law uses the phrase “MORE than…” This means that if you have exactly two F3 convictions and two misdemeanor convictions of any degree, you may be eligible for sealing. However, if you any more conviction than that, your F3 convictions is ineligible for sealing. Even if those other convictions are misdemeanors.

Examples

To help put all of this into perspective, here are some examples of criminal records and weather or not they can be eligible for expungement in Ohio. Note that if the record may be eligible, we still do not know if the record is eligible. It takes more information than just the degree of of the conviction to know if the record is eligible for sealing. However, sometimes the degree of the offenses can tell us that the record is NOT eligible.

Of course, these are just examples. There are countless combinations of criminal records that contain F3 convictions. The rules explained above, along with other applicable laws, will determine if those records are eligible for expungement in Ohio.

Conclusion

Once again, there are many different scenarios where a person could have an F3 conviction in Ohio. And there are other laws that determine whether a record is eligible to be sealed and/or expunged. You can read what we have written about those other laws in the Ohio Expungement category on our blog. Even if you are eligible to have your criminal record sealed or expunged, it is often a good idea to have legal representation while going through the application process. If you need such representation, or any other criminal defense, never hesitate to contact Dearie, Fischer & Martinson!