Expungement Petition - Preparation Worksheet

COLORADO CRIMINAL RECORD SEALING / JUVENILE EXPUNGEMENT PREPARATION GUIDE

USE THE REQUIRED COLORADO JUDICIAL BRANCH FORM. This file is a preparation guide and optional attachment, not a substitute for the current official form. Colorado generally calls relief for adult records sealing and relief for juvenile delinquency records expungement. Select the correct route before preparing anything.

1. ROUTE SELECTION

Choose one route only for each filing:

☐ Adult county or district court conviction — C.R.S. § 24-72-706. Use the current Colorado Judicial Branch JDF 612, Motion to Seal Conviction Records (County/District Court Convictions).

☐ Adult arrest or filed case that did not result in a conviction — C.R.S. §§ 24-72-704 or 24-72-705. First confirm whether the record should already have been sealed automatically. If court action is still needed, use the current Colorado Judicial Branch arrest/nonconviction form set, including JDF 417 where applicable.

☐ Multiple adult conviction records — C.R.S. § 24-72-709. Use the multiple-conviction procedure. Separate filings are required in each jurisdiction where a conviction occurred.

☐ Municipal conviction — C.R.S. § 24-72-708. Use the Colorado Judicial Branch municipal-record form set and file in the municipal court.

☐ Juvenile delinquency record — C.R.S. § 19-1-306. Use the current Colorado Judicial Branch juvenile-expungement form set. Do not use the adult JDF 612 motion.

☐ Special route. Obtain route-specific review for mistaken identity, human-trafficking-victim records, a full and unconditional pardon, or a conviction for conduct that is no longer unlawful. Those procedures are addressed separately in C.R.S. §§ 24-72-702, 24-72-707, 24-72-710, and 24-72-711.

2. AUTOMATIC-SEALING CHECK

Before paying for or filing a motion, determine whether sealing should already have occurred.

Adult cases not resulting in conviction

Under C.R.S. § 24-72-705, the court generally enters a sealing order when:

☐ The entire case was dismissed.

☐ The defendant was acquitted of all charges.

☐ A diversion agreement was completed after a criminal case was filed.

☐ A deferred judgment and sentence was completed and all counts were dismissed.

The court generally enters the order at disposition and serves it within 28 days. If that did not occur, review the current Judicial Branch procedure for requesting sealing.

Arrests without filed charges

C.R.S. § 24-72-704 provides sealing routes when no charges were filed, including completed prefiling diversion, expiration of the applicable limitation period, or confirmation that law enforcement is no longer investigating. CBI also performs automatic sealing for qualifying arrests under statutory schedules. Confirm the current CBI and court record status before filing.

Eligible convictions

C.R.S. § 13-3-117 establishes automatic sealing for categories of eligible convictions after longer statutory periods. Check the Colorado Judicial Branch sealed-case search and the underlying court before assuming a motion is required.

3. ADULT SINGLE-CONVICTION ELIGIBILITY SCREEN

Complete this section before using JDF 612.

A. Waiting period under C.R.S. § 24-72-706

Measure from the later of final disposition of all proceedings or release from supervision concerning the conviction.

Applicable category: [________________________________]

Later controlling date: [__/__/____]

Earliest calculated filing date: [__/__/____]

☐ The applicable period has elapsed.

B. Disqualifying or specially restricted matters

Do not assume eligibility if the conviction involves any of the following. Compare the exact offense, classification, date, factual basis, sentencing provision, and any district-attorney-consent route against current C.R.S. § 24-72-706 and JDF 612.

☐ Traffic offense or traffic infraction

☐ Driving under the influence under C.R.S. § 42-4-1301(1) or (2)

☐ Unlawful sexual behavior

☐ Child abuse under C.R.S. § 18-6-401

☐ Crime of violence, extraordinary-risk crime, or offense with extraordinary aggravating circumstances

☐ Victim Rights Act felony

☐ Domestic-violence factual basis

☐ Sexual offense

☐ Class 1 or 2 felony, level 1 drug felony, or generally excluded class 3 felony

☐ Special-offender sentencing, offense involving a pregnant victim, animal cruelty, identity theft, pandering, homicide-related offense, or another exclusion listed in C.R.S. § 24-72-706(2)

☐ None identified after review of the current statute and judgment

Some otherwise ineligible misdemeanors may have a consent or heightened-proof route. Do not characterize such a conviction as automatically eligible.

C. Court-ordered financial obligations

Restitution status: ☐ Paid in full ☐ Vacated ☐ Still owed ☐ Unknown

Fines, costs, late fees, or other court-ordered fees: ☐ Paid in full ☐ Vacated ☐ Still owed ☐ Unknown

Current Legislative Council guidance states that conviction records cannot be sealed while these obligations remain unless the entering court vacates the obligation. Resolve any discrepancy in the register of actions before filing.

D. Criminal-history record

JDF 612 requires a verified criminal-history record current through at least the twentieth day before filing. It should accompany the motion, but must be filed no later than ten days after the motion unless the applicable special route removes that requirement.

Criminal-history report date: [__/__/____]

☐ Report is attached.

☐ Report will be filed by [__/__/____], within the permitted post-filing period.

4. MULTIPLE-CONVICTION SCREEN

Use this section only for C.R.S. § 24-72-709.

General waiting periods run from the later of final disposition or release from supervision:

The statutory route limits the number and type of prior conviction cases. Current Legislative Council guidance describes ceilings of up to five civil-infraction/petty-offense cases, four class 2 or 3 misdemeanor or level 1 or 2 drug-misdemeanor cases, and three class 1 misdemeanor or felony cases. Verify the exact classifications and counting rules before filing.

☐ Separate filing prepared for every jurisdiction.

☐ Restitution is paid in full or the obligation was vacated.

5. OPTIONAL JDF 612 FACTUAL ATTACHMENT

Use this attachment only if more space is needed to complete the official motion. Match every statement to the official form and court record.

Court: ☐ District ☐ County Court, [________________] County, Colorado

Case Number: [________________________________]

Division/Courtroom: [________________________________]

A. Records and custodians

The Defendant requests sealing of the conviction records identified in JDF 612 and held by the following custodians:

☐ District or county court

☐ Prosecuting attorney

☐ Sheriff

☐ Colorado Bureau of Investigation

☐ Other law-enforcement agency: [________________________________]

☐ Other custodian: [________________________________]

Agency case, arrest, or record identifiers: [________________________________]

B. Conviction and timing

Offense of conviction and statutory citation: [________________________________]

Offense classification at the relevant time: [________________________________]

Sentencing date: [__/__/____]

Final disposition date: [__/__/____]

Probation, parole, or other supervision termination date: [__/__/____]

Applicable C.R.S. § 24-72-706 category and waiting period: [________________________________]

C. Privacy and public-interest statement

For any conviction other than a petty offense or petty drug offense, state specific facts showing why the harm to privacy or danger of unwarranted adverse consequences outweighs the public interest in retaining public access.

Employment or licensing effect: [________________________________]

Housing or education effect: [________________________________]

Time since disposition and conduct since then: [________________________________]

Rehabilitation, treatment, service, or community ties: [________________________________]

Public-safety considerations: [________________________________]

Other case-specific facts: [________________________________]

D. Requested relief

The Defendant requests that the Court:

1. Find that the motion satisfies the applicable statutory route;
2. Seal the eligible conviction records, except information that remains available by law;
3. Direct the order to the custodians accurately identified in JDF 612; and
4. Grant any further relief authorized by the governing sealing statutes.

6. SERVICE AND FILING CHECKLIST

☐ Filed in the criminal case and court where the conviction record is located, unless the selected statutory route requires a different proceeding.

☐ Correct current Judicial Branch form used.

☐ Every custodian and record identifier listed accurately.

☐ Verified criminal-history record attached or calendared for timely filing.

☐ Copy served on the prosecuting attorney by an authorized method stated in the current form.

☐ Filing or processing fee confirmed. Current Legislative Council guidance identifies a $65 processing fee for adult conviction motions under the general route, subject to waiver and special-route exceptions.

☐ Proposed order or hearing form included if required by the current Judicial Branch packet or local practice.

☐ A copy of the signed sealing order will be retained after entry.

7. JUVENILE EXPUNGEMENT SCREEN

C.R.S. § 19-1-306 governs juvenile records. A juvenile applicant must use the juvenile process and confirm that no felony, misdemeanor, or delinquency action is pending.

Potentially disqualifying adjudications include a felony involving unlawful sexual behavior, aggravated juvenile offender status, violent juvenile offender status, homicide-related adjudications, and traffic charges, adjudications, or convictions.

General timing routes include:

☐ Automatic expungement: not guilty, complete dismissal, or successful completion of specified alternative sentences for lower-level offenses.

☐ Petition after 42 days: an eligible closed case not automatically expunged, completion of specified diversion/deferred/informal-adjustment routes, or completion of a sentence for an otherwise eligible misdemeanor, petty offense, felony, or drug felony.

☐ Petition after one year: qualifying law-enforcement contact with no filed court case, or renewed petition supported by new information after denial of a 42-day petition.

☐ Petition after three years: mandatory-sentence-offender or repeat-offender adjudication, measured from unconditional release from the juvenile sentence.

Juvenile case number: [________________________________]

Juvenile court and county: [________________________________]

Applicable timing route: [________________________________]

Pending-action check completed on: [__/__/____]

8. EFFECT OF RELIEF

Sealing or expungement generally removes the record from public access; it does not destroy the record or vacate an adult conviction. Courts, prosecutors, defense counsel, law enforcement, and other persons authorized by law may retain access. A sealed record may also become available in connection with a later criminal case as authorized by statute.

After entry, confirm that every agency named in the order processed it. Do not assume that private background-check databases updated immediately.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Colorado Judicial Branch — Seal My Case
• Colorado Judicial Branch — JDF 612, Motion to Seal Conviction Records
• Colorado Judicial Branch — JDF 417, Petition to Seal Arrest and Criminal Records
• Colorado Legislative Council Staff — Process for Sealing or Expunging Criminal Records (Oct. 2, 2025)
• Colorado General Assembly — HB 24-1133, effective July 1, 2025