In 2018, Massachusetts passed legislation that created an opportunity to expunge juvenile and adult criminal records for folks whose offense was charged prior to their 21st birthday.  While this is a tremendous step forward, the law created a significant limit: there can only be one charge on the record. Anyone who has any other charge or court case is ineligible for expungement. A record can present unjust, lifelong barriers for housing, employment, and education and it’s our goal to make sure that as many people as possible have an opportunity for a clean slate.

A new bill, filed this legislative session, would:

• Remove the only one charge restriction and instead allow individuals to expunge their records if their case ended at least three years ago (for misdemeanors) or five years ago (for felonies) and they have had no court case since;

• Expand the number of offenses eligible for expungement, so that only offenses that are currently ineligible for sealing are automatically ineligible;

• Eliminate the waiting period to seal juvenile records for cases without adjudications;

• Allow for automatic sealing of eligible juvenile records.

The bill does not change the public safety goals in the current law, as those with more recent offenses are not eligible for expungement and it does not change the role of prosecutors and judges in the process.

Download our fact sheet on An Act Relative to Expungement here.