Adult Conviction Expungement and Record-Sealing Eligibility in Massachusetts
At a glance
| Relief name and legal effect | Sealing by the Commissioner of Probation; court and probation files for the same proceeding are also sealed. It is not destruction, and authorized retained uses remain (ch. 276, § 100A). |
|---|---|
| Automatic or clean-slate relief | Request-based: a person may submit the commissioner's sworn form; the commissioner shall comply when every statutory condition is met (ch. 276, § 100A). |
| Convictions eligible by petition | All Massachusetts offenses may be sealed after the applicable clock unless the conviction falls within the firearm/public-justice exclusions or special sex-offense restrictions; decriminalized offenses may qualify immediately (ch. 276, § 100A). |
| Excluded offenses and statuses | Excluded: ch. 140 §§ 121–131H firearm-law convictions and chs. 268/268A public-justice/public-official convictions, except resisting arrest. Sex offenses require 15 years and no registration duty; a person ever classified level 2 or 3 cannot seal a sex offense (ch. 276, § 100A). |
| Waiting period and when it starts | Misdemeanor: 3 years; felony: 7 years, including any incarceration or custody period tied to the record. Sex offense: 15 years after disposition including termination of supervision, probation, or incarceration, or until registration ends, whichever is longer. Decriminalized offense: forthwith (ch. 276, § 100A). |
| Sentence, restitution, and new-record conditions | § 100A states no separate restitution, fine, or fee payment gate. It requires no new Massachusetts guilty finding during the 3- or 7-year period and a sworn statement of no disqualifying out-of-state/federal conviction or imprisonment during that period; specified low-fine motor-vehicle offenses are excepted. |
| Petition process and decision standard | Submit the Commissioner of Probation's form under penalty of perjury. This is mandatory administrative relief—commissioner shall comply if the five conditions and offense restrictions are satisfied—then promptly notify the court clerk and probation officer to seal their matching files (ch. 276, § 100A). |
| Who can still see or use the record | Authorized non-law-enforcement requesters receive 'no record,' and the person may answer 'no record' on employment, housing, and licensing applications. Criminal-justice agencies and firearms licensing authorities may obtain sealed records; later sentencing and specified custody/visitation/abuse proceedings retain limited use (ch. 6, § 172(a)(1); ch. 276, § 100A). |
| Boundaries and alternative relief | This page covers general adult conviction sealing under ch. 276, § 100A. Juvenile, nonconviction, expungement, pardon, innocence, federal, tribal, military, and out-of-state relief are outside this survey. |
Requirements one by one
Automatic or clean-slate relief
For the general conviction-sealing route, § 100A lets a person submit the Commissioner's form, signed under penalty of perjury. The Commissioner "shall comply with the request" when the listed conditions are met. Pending S.1114 would instead automate most eligible sealing after a future effective date; it remains in Senate Ways and Means.
Convictions eligible by petition
An offense that is no longer a crime is eligible for sealing "forthwith," unless its elements remain criminal under another designation (§ 100A).
Waiting period and when it starts
Section 100A counts any period of incarceration or custody associated with the record. The ordinary clock therefore does not necessarily start at conviction. Violations of ch. 209A, § 7 and ch. 258E, § 9 are treated as felonies for this clock.
Who can still see or use the record
Chapter 6, § 172(a)(1) permits criminal justice agencies to obtain sealed criminal offender record information for their duties. Section 100A also allows use in later sentencing and, after private judicial review, potentially in specified custody, visitation, or abuse proceedings.
What trips people up
- The three- and seven-year periods include the relevant incarceration or custody period (§ 100A).
- A sealed record can still be used for the specified purposes in § 100A and ch. 6, § 172(a)(1).
Common questions
Can I answer "no record" on an employment or housing application? Section 100A permits that answer for the listed employment, housing, and occupational or professional licensing inquiries after sealing.
Does a later nonconviction disposition reset the wait? Section 100A says a later not-guilty finding, nolle prosequi, no bill, or specified dismissal does not interrupt the period.
Statutes and sources
- Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 276, § 100A — Requests, eligibility periods, exclusions, sealing effects, and retained uses. Massachusetts General Court, accessed 2026-10-04.
- Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 6, § 172(a)(1) — Access to sealed criminal offender record information. Massachusetts General Court, accessed 2026-10-04.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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