Adult Conviction Expungement and Record-Sealing Eligibility in Virginia

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Relief name and legal effect

Virginia calls the conviction remedy sealing, not expungement. Va. Code § 19.2-392.5 defines sealing as prohibiting public access to covered records in the CCRE, courts, law-enforcement agencies, and DMV, subject to the statute's access exceptions. It does not destroy the record or stop state, local, and federal agencies from sharing it to perform duties required by law.

The person may usually deny the sealed conviction to Virginia government agencies and private employers. The statute preserves disclosure duties for specified law-enforcement and legally required screening, child-custody and later criminal proceedings, and other listed uses.

Automatic or clean-slate relief

Virginia's automatic conviction process began July 1, 2026. Under § 19.2-392.6, it covers convictions with an offense date on or after January 1, 1986 for misdemeanor petit larceny, misdemeanor shoplifting, the listed trespass offenses, misdemeanor marijuana distribution, and disorderly conduct.

Seven years must have passed from conviction without another reportable conviction, excluding traffic infractions. A same-day conviction that is not on the automatic list blocks automatic sealing. Section 19.2-392.7 directs State Police, the court system, and circuit courts to identify and process eligible records at least monthly, so a person should verify that a particular record has actually completed the process.

The July 1, 2027 version changes the marijuana-distribution citation to "former § 18.2-248.1" but retains that historical offense in the automatic list.

Convictions eligible by petition

The general § 19.2-392.12 petition covers an offense dated January 1, 1986 or later that is a misdemeanor, a Class 5 or 6 felony, grand larceny under § 18.2-95, or another felony for which the person is deemed guilty of larceny and punished under § 18.2-95. Every exclusion and eligibility finding below still must be satisfied.

Section 19.2-392.12:1 supplies a separate, mandatory route for the low-level offenses tied to automatic sealing, including underage alcohol and the listed drug-paraphernalia offense. It is useful when a qualifying conviction could not be sealed through electronic automation. Unlike the general route, this route has no lifetime petition cap.

Excluded offenses and statuses

The general petition statute begins with a broad class rule, then removes many offenses in § 19.2-392.12(L). Major categories include registrable sex crimes, violent felonies, nonviolent felonies committed with a firearm unless firearm rights were restored, protective-order violations, hate crimes, election offenses, specified animal-cruelty and dangerous-dog offenses, DUI and other listed driving offenses, and any offense whose victim was the person's family or household member.

The person's broader record also matters. Relief requires no Class 1, Class 2, or life-punishable felony ever, no Class 3 or 4 felony in the prior 20 years, and no other felony in the prior 10 years.

Waiting period and when it starts

Automatic sealing uses seven years from conviction. The separate § 19.2-392.12:1 petition also uses seven years from conviction or deferred dismissal, with no new reportable conviction during that period.

The general petition clock is seven years for a misdemeanor and ten years for a felony. Section 19.2-392.12(F)(2) starts from the latest of conviction or deferred dismissal, release from incarceration, a finding of a suspended- sentence/probation/parole violation, or release after incarceration for that violation. The full period must be free of a new reportable conviction, apart from traffic infractions.

Sentence, restitution, and new-record conditions

For a general petition, court-ordered restitution on the target conviction or related ancillary matter must be paid in full. If the occurrence involved alcohol or another drug or intoxicant, the person must demonstrate rehabilitation. Sealing does not cancel fines, costs, forfeitures, penalties, or restitution that remain due.

The separate criminal-history screens and conviction-free waiting period apply even when the target offense itself falls within an eligible class.

Petition process and decision standard

Virginia Courts provides Form CC-1201 for a general § 19.2-392.12 petition and Form CC-1203 for § 19.2-392.12:1. Filing is free and goes to the circuit court where the case was disposed. The petitioner serves the Commonwealth's attorney by delivery or first-class mail and asks the CCRE to send Virginia and national criminal-history records to the court. The prosecutor has 30 days to object, answer, or state no objection.

For the general route, the court must find every statutory criterion, including that continued existence or dissemination of the record causes or may cause manifest injustice. A hearing is optional; when the prosecutor does not object and stipulates to eligibility and manifest injustice, the court may seal without one. No more than two general petitions may be granted in a lifetime, though charges from the same transaction can be grouped in one petition.

Who can still see or use the record

Sections 19.2-392.5 and 19.2-392.13 remove the record from ordinary public and employer access, but list many retained uses. These include firearms-eligibility checks, fingerprints, law-enforcement and specified emergency-services or court employment, screenings required by state or federal law, later bail and sentencing, child-custody proceedings, social-services duties, jury eligibility, and access by the person.

Sealing does not restore civil or firearm rights. It also does not prevent government-to-government or federal sharing needed to perform legal duties.

Boundaries and alternative relief

Virginia's Chapter 23.1 expungement process is a separate remedy for charges that did not result in conviction. This page covers the conviction-sealing system that took effect July 1, 2026. Marijuana-possession mass sealing, juvenile records, pardons, innocence relief, and non-Virginia convictions fall outside this survey.

What trips people up

The seven-year automatic list is narrow. A misdemeanor may be eligible for the broader petition route without being one of the specific convictions State Police processes automatically.

The general clock can restart from a later event. Release or a later supervision-violation event can control instead of the original conviction date.

An eligible offense class is only the first gate. The exclusion list, older felony history, restitution, conviction-free period, and manifest- injustice finding all remain separate requirements.

Sealing is not deletion. The statute preserves extensive criminal-justice, firearms, employment-screening, child-custody, jury, and government access.

Common questions

Does a person need to petition for an automatically eligible conviction? Ordinarily no. Section 19.2-392.7 assigns monthly electronic processing to State Police and the courts. Section 19.2-392.12:1 provides a petition route if an eligible record is not completed through automation.

Must restitution be paid? Yes for the general § 19.2-392.12 petition. The statute requires full payment of restitution on the offense or related matter. Other financial obligations remain enforceable even after sealing.

Does sealing restore firearm rights? No. Section 19.2-392.5 expressly says that a sealing order does not restore civil rights or firearm rights.

Statutes and sources

• Va. Code § 19.2-392.5 — sealing definition, denial and disclosure rules, continuing financial duties, later-case use, and no civil/firearm restoration. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title19.2/chapter23.2/section19.2-392.5/ (accessed 2026-08-08)
• Va. Code § 19.2-392.6 — automatic offense list, seven-year clock, same-day bar, and July 1, 2027 citation update. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title19.2/chapter23.2/section19.2-392.6/ (accessed 2026-08-08)
• Va. Code § 19.2-392.7 — monthly electronic identification and court-order process. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title19.2/chapter23.2/section19.2-392.7/ (accessed 2026-08-08)
• Va. Code § 19.2-392.12 — general petition classes, criminal-history and waiting rules, restitution, exclusions, procedure, and decision standard. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title19.2/chapter23.2/section19.2-392.12/ (accessed 2026-08-08)
• Va. Code § 19.2-392.12:1 — mandatory seven-year petition route for the automatic-list-related offenses and ancillary matters. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title19.2/chapter23.2/section19.2-392.12:1/ (accessed 2026-08-08)
• Va. Code § 19.2-392.13 — disposition, nondisclosure, and permitted uses of sealed records. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title19.2/chapter23.2/section19.2-392.13/ (accessed 2026-08-08)
• Virginia State Crime Commission — July 1, 2026 implementation and route overview. https://vscc.virginia.gov/sealing.asp (accessed 2026-08-08)
• Virginia State Crime Commission — distinction between conviction sealing and nonconviction expungement. https://vscc.virginia.gov/sealingfaqs.asp (accessed 2026-08-08)
• Virginia Courts — current CC-1201 and CC-1203 conviction-sealing forms. https://www.vacourts.gov/forms/circuit/crim_sealing (accessed 2026-08-08)

Pending legislation

HB 251 was continued to the 2027 session. It would create a Class 6 felony for assault and battery causing serious bodily injury, classify it as a violent felony, and amend § 19.2-392.12. The resulting conviction would be outside the general petition-sealing route. The proposal is not current law.