PLEASE NOTE: This article was written about Ohio expungement in 2023 in April 2023. The Laws on Sealing and Expungement have since been Updated in October of 2023. We have written an overview of Sealing and Expungement laws in Ohio for 2024. The new overview takes these new changes into account.
For the past several years Expungement has been one of the most sought-after topics on our website. For one thing, sealing or expunging a criminal record can be beneficial to many individuals. Furthermore, the laws governing expungement in Ohio have been shifting and changing. This change adds to Ohio citizens’ curiosity surrounding the topic. On April 6, 2023, a piece of legislation went into effect that made changes to many aspects of Ohio law. One aspect that changed was expungement and sealing of criminal records.
Perhaps the most significant change to note is the new legislation’s use of the term “expunge” as well as “seal” when it comes to adult criminal records. In the past a true expungement of adult criminal records was virtually unheard of. People used the term “expungement” interchangeably with “sealing of criminal record” because they have very similar impacts on a person’s record, but they are not identical. Sealing a criminal record means that the public no longer has access to the criminal record. Nor does anyone except a few select agencies who could view the document in a need-to know situation. But the need to know could arise, and in that case, said agencies could view the record.
Expungement on the other hand means that the court deletes or destroys the record. True expungement in Ohio has historically been something that happens almost exclusively in juvenile court. Ohio hardly ever expunged adult criminal records. However, with the new law going into effect, the Ohio Revised Code lists the waiting period for sealing certain types of criminal records and separately details the waiting period for expunging certain offenses.
Conclusion
We know it can be hard to keep track of all the changes that Ohio has made to expungement laws in the recent years, especially when each change can be a little confusing. Even in this most recent bill, there were some changes that we did not detail in this article. On top of the changing and complex rules themselves, there are still exceptions to the rules, and it can be hard to mention every single one in these summaries. If you have questions about sealing or expunging your criminal record, feel free to contact the expert attorneys at Dearie, Fischer & Martinson.
