Colorado: Adult Conviction Expungement and Record-Sealing Eligibility

Requirements one by one

Relief name and legal effect

Colorado's general remedy is sealing, not expungement or vacatur. The
record leaves public access, but the conviction remains legally in place and
the statute forbids physical destruction. A later criminal conviction requires
the court to unseal the conviction record.

Automatic or clean-slate relief

The state court administrator compiles eligible records quarterly. Automatic
sealing uses longer clocks than a person's own motion: four years for a civil
infraction, seven years for a petty offense or misdemeanor, and ten years for
an eligible felony. Eligible non-drug felonies entered the quarterly process on
July 1, 2025.

The list excludes a record with an intervening judgment or conviction during
the applicable period. A district attorney has 45 days to object for an
ineligible offense, pending charge, intervening conviction, or specified plea
condition. A non-drug felony also permits a fact-supported public-interest and
public-safety objection, after which the person may request a hearing.

Convictions eligible by petition

The ordinary motion route reaches eligible civil infractions, petty offenses,
misdemeanors, class 4 through 6 felonies, level 3 and 4 drug felonies, and
other eligible offenses that survive the exclusion list. The exact offense and
sentencing provisions control.

Section 24-72-709 supplies a separate route when otherwise eligible Colorado
convictions are blocked only by an intervening conviction. It caps the number
of separate cases by the highest offense level.

Excluded offenses and statuses

The exclusions are extensive. They include specified traffic records and DUI,
unlawful-sexual-behavior cases, child abuse, domestic violence, sexual
offenses, crimes of violence, felony victims'-rights crimes, class 1 through 3
felonies, level 1 drug felonies, and other aggravated or enumerated offenses.

All convictions in a single case must qualify before that case can be sealed.
The statute provides a narrow heightened-standard route for some otherwise
ineligible misdemeanors, but it is not a general override for excluded
felonies.

Waiting period and when it starts

For the ordinary motion, the clock runs from the later of final disposition of
all proceedings or release from supervision:

• 1 year for a civil infraction, petty offense, or drug petty offense;
• 2 years for a class 2 or 3 misdemeanor, drug misdemeanor, and one specified
  level 4 drug felony;
• 3 years for a class 1 misdemeanor, class 4 through 6 felony, or most level 3
  and 4 drug felonies; and
• 5 years for other eligible offenses.

The multiple-conviction route uses two, five, or ten years based on the highest
offense and also measures from the latest conviction when that is later.

Sentence, restitution, and new-record conditions

Unpaid restitution bars sealing unless the restitution order was vacated. By
contrast, § 24-72-703(12)(b) directs the court and administrator not to consider
unpaid fines, court costs, late fees, or other fees.

For the ordinary motion, the verified criminal history must show no new
criminal conviction since the later of final disposition or release from
supervision. The automatic process also screens for intervening convictions,
and a pending charge is a ground for prosecutorial objection.

Petition process and decision standard

The person files a motion in the existing criminal case, identifies every
records custodian, and supplies a recent verified criminal history. The
district attorney receives notice. Whether relief is mandatory without an
objection, discretionary, or requires a hearing depends on the offense level,
victims'-rights status, and any objection.

At a contested hearing, the court weighs the harm to the person's privacy or
the danger of unwarranted adverse consequences against the public interest in
continued access. The filing fee is $65 and is waived for indigency or a record
that should already have been automatically sealed.

Who can still see or use the record

Most public inquiries must be answered as though no public criminal record
exists. Most applicants need not disclose the sealed record and may state that
they were not convicted, subject to the statute's exceptions.

Courts, law enforcement, criminal-justice agencies, prosecutors, legally
required criminal-history screeners, specified researchers, and the person
retain access or use. Victims may receive limited police reports or protection
orders for a lawful purpose. A private custodian served with the order must
remove the record from its database and keep any retained copy confidential.

What trips people up

Automatic relief has the longer clock. A record may qualify for a personal
motion years before it reaches the administrator's automatic list.

The clock uses the later event. Release from supervision can start the
motion period later than final disposition.

Money obligations are split. Restitution is a bar, while unpaid fines,
costs, late fees, and other fees cannot be considered.

Common questions

Can an eligible record be sealed if there was a later conviction? The
ordinary route generally requires no later conviction during its period, but
§ 24-72-709 may provide a longer, capped multiple-conviction route.

Does sealing erase the conviction? No. The statute expressly says sealing
does not vacate the conviction and does not authorize physical destruction.

How can someone check whether automatic sealing happened? The state court
administrator must maintain a confidential website for checking whether the
conviction was sealed and how to obtain the order.

Statutes and sources

• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-3-117 — automatic conviction lists, 4-, 7-, and
  10-year clocks, objections, orders, and confidential status website.
  https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-13.pdf
  (accessed 2026-07-19)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-72-703 — sealing effect, retained access, disclosure,
  service, destruction bar, same-case rule, and fee-treatment rule.
  https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-24.pdf
  (accessed 2026-07-19)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-72-706 — ordinary motion eligibility, waits,
  restitution, exclusions, notice, hearing standards, and fee.
  https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-24.pdf
  (accessed 2026-07-19)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-72-709 — multiple-conviction route, longer clocks,
  case caps, process, and restitution.
  https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-24.pdf
  (accessed 2026-07-19)