Rhode Island: Adult Conviction Expungement and Record-Sealing Eligibility

Requirements one by one

Relief name and legal effect

Rhode Island calls the remedy expungement, but § 12-1.3-1 defines it as
“the sealing and retention” of the record and its removal from active files.
The record is not destroyed. Section 12-1.3-4 releases the person from ordinary
penalties and disabilities arising from the conviction, while preserving use of
the conviction when a later criminal sentence is imposed.

Automatic or clean-slate relief

There is no general automatic route for adult convictions. Section 12-1.3-5 is
the narrow exception: possession-only marijuana convictions and civil
violations for conduct later decriminalized were entitled to automatic
expungement, with all eligible records due to be processed before July 1, 2024.
That route applies despite other arrests or convictions, pending proceedings,
or unpaid court obligations tied to the eligible marijuana record.

Convictions eligible by petition

Section 12-1.3-2 has separate tracks. A “first offender” may move to expunge one
felony or misdemeanor conviction. A person with more than one but fewer than
six misdemeanors may seek any or all of those misdemeanor records, subject to
the stated exclusions.

Public Laws chapter 171, effective June 22, 2026, added the multiple-felony
track. A person with more than one but fewer than five felonies may seek any or
all eligible felony records if the violent-offense, prohibited-offense, and
other statutory exclusions are satisfied.

Excluded offenses and statuses

A crime of violence cannot be expunged through the single-conviction route.
The multiple-felony route also excludes “other prohibited offenses,” including
specified serious assaults and child-victim crimes, weapons offenses,
human-trafficking offenses, injury hit-and-run, dangerous driving resulting in
death, and DUI resulting in death. It also excludes chapter 29 of title 12,
§ 31-27-2, and § 31-27-2.1 convictions.

The multiple-misdemeanor route excludes chapter 29 of title 12, § 31-27-2,
and § 31-27-2.1 convictions. Its amended eligibility clause also bars the
specified violent or prohibited felony history.

The number limit matters. The statutory phrases “more than one” and “fewer
than six” mean two through five misdemeanors; “more than one” and “fewer than
five” mean two through four felonies.

Waiting period and when it starts

The clock begins when the sentence is completed, not on the conviction date.
The current periods are:

• one misdemeanor: five years after sentence completion;
• one felony: ten years after sentence completion;
• multiple misdemeanors: ten years after completion of the last sentence; and
• multiple felonies: fifteen years after completion of the last sentence.

A deferred-sentence motion may be filed upon completion of the deferral.

Sentence, restitution, and new-record conditions

For a single conviction, outstanding court-imposed or court-related monetary
obligations must be paid unless the court reduces or waives them. The hearing
standard separately requires no felony or misdemeanor arrest or conviction
during the applicable five- or ten-year period, no pending criminal proceeding,
and good moral character.

The multiple-misdemeanor and multiple-felony routes likewise require an
arrest-free and conviction-free lookback for ten or fifteen years, no pending
criminal proceeding, and the required good-character finding. A completed
sentence starts the clock, but completion alone does not satisfy those separate
conditions.

Petition process and decision standard

The motion is filed in the court where the conviction occurred. Under
§ 12-1.3-3, the person must notify the Attorney General and the police
department that originally brought the charge at least ten days before the
hearing.

Relief is discretionary. The court must be satisfied that rehabilitation has
been attained and that expungement is consistent with the public interest. The
June 2026 amendment expressly permits consideration of background, employment,
community ties, community involvement, and other relevant matters, while
providing that no single factor controls.

Who can still see or use the record

Section 12-1.3-4 generally permits the person to state that the expunged
conviction never occurred. Disclosure remains required for a law-enforcement
job, bar admission, a teaching or coaching certificate, and work operating or
staffing an early-childhood education facility.

Custodians ordinarily may not disclose the record. Statutory exceptions cover
the person, a later sentencing court, specified bar-admission and disciplinary
bodies, the elementary and secondary education commissioner, and law
enforcement when a repeat offense would affect the nature or character of the
new charge.

Boundaries and alternative relief

Section 12-1.3-2 separately permits a motion after completion of a deferred
sentence and a motion for an offense decriminalized after conviction. Those
routes have their own hearing conditions. The possession-only marijuana
automation in § 12-1.3-5 is narrower than a general clean-slate law.

Juvenile, nonconviction, pardon, innocence-based, federal, military, tribal,
and out-of-state remedies are outside this survey.

What trips people up

The current compiled code has not yet caught up. The official compiled
pages for §§ 12-1.3-1 through -3 still display the law before chapter 171.
H 7079A was signed June 22, 2026 and took effect upon passage, so the enacted
act supplies the current multiple-felony route, prohibited-offense definition,
and decision factors.

Multiple-felony relief can close the door on the remaining felonies. After
a successful multiple-felony expungement, § 12-1.3-2 says the person may not
later expunge the remainder of otherwise eligible felony offenses.

An arrest can break the clean-record period. The hearing criteria refer to
both arrests and convictions, not convictions alone, during the applicable
lookback.

Common questions

What happens to unclaimed bail money at the hearing? The court must advise
the person that bail money still on deposit and unclaimed at expungement is
transferred to the state general treasury.

Can a person obtain their own expunged record? Section 12-1.3-4 permits a
custodian to respond to an inquiry from the person whose record was expunged.

Does the marijuana route erase other counts in the same case? No. Section
12-1.3-5 requires the order to identify which counts are expunged and leaves
ineligible counts and their records unaffected.

Statutes and sources

• 2026 R.I. Public Laws chapter 171, § 1 (H 7079A) — current amendments to
  §§ 12-1.3-1 through -3, including multiple felonies, exclusions, waits, and
  hearing factors.
  https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7079A.pdf
  (accessed 2026-07-20)
• Rhode Island General Assembly H 7079 bill history — Chapter 171 and June 22,
  2026 signature.
  https://status.rilegislature.gov/bill_history_report.aspx?bills=7079&year=2026
  (accessed 2026-07-20)
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-1.3-4 — legal effect, disclosure answers, retained access,
  and later-sentencing use.
  https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/statutes/title12/12-1.3/12-1.3-4.htm
  (accessed 2026-07-20)
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-1.3-5 — possession-only marijuana automatic expungement,
  eligibility overrides, count-by-count treatment, and legal effect.
  https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE12/12-1.3/12-1.3-5.htm
  (accessed 2026-07-20)