Expungement Petition

MOTION TO EXPUNGE OR SEAL A DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CRIMINAL RECORD

CURRENT OPERATIONAL NOTICE. The D.C. Courts state that the automatic sealing and expungement provisions of the Second Chance Amendment Act of 2022 are not yet operational and that no cases are currently being automatically sealed or expunged. A person seeking relief must presently use the motion process. D.C. Code § 16-806 contains temporary legislation scheduled to expire September 11, 2026; recheck the live code before filing on or after that date.

1. SELECT THE CORRECT RELIEF

☐ Actual-innocence expungement — D.C. Code § 16-803. Use only for a citation, arrest, or charge that reached final disposition without a conviction or an acquittal under D.C. Code § 24-501, when the movant can prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the offense did not occur or was not committed by the movant.

☐ Interest-of-justice sealing of a nonconviction record — D.C. Code § 16-806(a)(1). Use for an eligible citation, arrest, or charge that ended without conviction or a § 24-501 acquittal when sealing is in the interests of justice. Under the current temporary text, a motion concerning an offense not listed in § 16-805(b) must be filed before October 1, 2027.

☐ Fugitive-from-justice record — D.C. Code § 16-806(a)(2). Use only if the D.C. fugitive case ended, the extradition requirements are satisfied, the person appeared before the proper official in the originating jurisdiction, and sealing is in the interests of justice.

☐ Conviction sealing — D.C. Code § 16-806(a)(3). Use for an eligible misdemeanor after at least five years from sentence completion or an eligible felony after at least eight years from sentence completion. A felony in Offense Severity Group 1, 2, or 3 on the controlling Master Grid is not eligible under this route. The prosecutor may waive the waiting period in writing.

Do not request expungement merely because a case was dismissed. A dismissal or acquittal does not create a presumption of actual innocence under § 16-803(e).

2. REQUIRED RECORD COLLECTION

Before drafting the motion:

☐ Call MPD at the current number in the D.C. Courts instructions to schedule an appointment for an arrest-history report.

☐ Obtain the disposition for every D.C. Superior Court case from the Criminal Division.

☐ Identify all unsealed and unexpunged citations, arrests, charges, and convictions reasonably known to the movant.

☐ Identify the prosecutor for each matter: ☐ United States Attorney's Office ☐ Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia.

☐ Confirm the completion date of every sentence relevant to a conviction-sealing waiting period.

☐ Check the live D.C. Code and the current D.C. Sentencing Commission Master Grid for offense eligibility.

3. CASE AND MOVANT INFORMATION

Full record disclosure required by § 16-806(c)

4. CAPTION

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

CRIMINAL DIVISION

Case Number: [________________________________]

Judge/Calendar: [________________________________]

MOTION TO [EXPUNGE / SEAL] CRIMINAL RECORDS

5. COMMON INTRODUCTION

Movant [________________________________] respectfully moves under D.C. Code § [16-803 / 16-806] for an order [expunging / sealing] the records identified below. The motion states the grounds for eligibility, discloses the movant's known unsealed and unexpunged criminal record where required, and supplies the facts and exhibits supporting relief.

6. ROUTE A — ACTUAL-INNOCENCE EXPUNGEMENT

Use this section only for D.C. Code § 16-803.

A. Eligibility

1. The citation, arrest, or charge reached final disposition on [__/__/____].
2. The matter did not result in a conviction or an acquittal under D.C. Code § 24-501.
3. The offense:
   ☐ Did not occur; or
   ☐ Was not committed by Movant.

B. Facts establishing actual innocence

State specific, admissible facts. A dismissal or acquittal alone is insufficient.

[____________________________________________________________]

[____________________________________________________________]

C. Supporting proof

☐ Sworn declaration or affidavit of Movant

☐ Witness affidavit(s)

☐ Video, photograph, document, or electronic record

☐ Alibi or mistaken-identity evidence

☐ Government record or case disposition

☐ Other: [________________________________]

D. Requested actual-innocence finding

Movant requests a written order finding as a matter of law that Movant did not commit the offense or that no offense occurred, and directing expungement under D.C. Code §§ 16-803 and 16-804.

7. ROUTE B — INTEREST-OF-JUSTICE SEALING

Use this section only for D.C. Code § 16-806.

A. Eligibility category

☐ Nonconviction citation, arrest, or charge under § 16-806(a)(1)

☐ Fugitive-from-justice record under § 16-806(a)(2)

☐ Misdemeanor conviction; at least five years elapsed after sentence completion

☐ Felony conviction; at least eight years elapsed after sentence completion and the offense is not in Offense Severity Group 1, 2, or 3

☐ Prosecutor has waived the waiting period in writing

Applicable completion date: [__/__/____]

Applicable waiting period: [____] years

Eligibility date: [__/__/____]

B. Interests the Court must weigh

Movant's interest in sealing

Employment effect: [________________________________]

Housing effect: [________________________________]

Education, licensing, family, or other effect: [________________________________]

Rehabilitation and reintegration

Employment history: [________________________________]

Education or training: [________________________________]

Treatment or recovery: [________________________________]

Community and family ties: [________________________________]

Other rehabilitation: [________________________________]

Community interest in access and public safety

Nature and circumstances of the offense: [________________________________]

Movant's role: [________________________________]

Time elapsed: [________________________________]

Prior and subsequent conduct: [________________________________]

Public-safety facts: [________________________________]

Victim statement or position, if known: [________________________________]

Prosecutor's position, if known: [________________________________]

C. Interest-of-justice showing

Movant has shown by a preponderance of the evidence that sealing is in the interests of justice because:

[____________________________________________________________]

[____________________________________________________________]

8. RELIEF REQUESTED

Movant requests that the Court:

1. Grant relief under D.C. Code § [16-803 / 16-806];
2. Direct the Clerk and applicable prosecutor, law-enforcement, corrections, pretrial, and community-supervision agencies to [expunge / seal] the eligible records;
3. Require the agencies to file the certifications required by D.C. Code § [16-804(c)(2) / 16-807(c)(2)] within ninety days after the order;
4. Apply the statutory protections for co-defendant records to the extent practicable; and
5. Grant any further relief authorized by law.

9. SIGNATURE AND DECLARATION

Respectfully submitted,

Signature: [________________________________]

Printed name: [________________________________]

DC Bar number, if represented: [________________________________]

Address: [________________________________]

Telephone / email: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

I declare under penalty of perjury that the factual statements in this motion and its attachments are true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

Movant's signature: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

10. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

D.C. Code §§ 16-803(c) and 16-806(d) require service of the motion and any amended motion on the prosecutor.

I certify that on [__/__/____], I served this motion and all attachments on:

☐ United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia

☐ Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia

Method: [________________________________]

Name and address/email used: [________________________________]

Signature: [________________________________]

11. FILING CHECKLIST

☐ MPD arrest-history report included.

☐ Superior Court disposition included for each case.

☐ Motion includes the eligibility ground and supporting facts.

☐ Sealing motion lists all known unsealed and unexpunged records.

☐ Points and authorities, affidavits, and exhibits included where helpful.

☐ Prosecutor served.

☐ Filing emailed with all documents to the current Criminal Motion Seal Team address stated by D.C. Courts, or delivered in person to the Criminal Division.

☐ If filing in person, original and one copy prepared as directed by D.C. Courts.

☐ Copy of the complete filing retained.

D.C. Courts advise that the process can take up to six months. Under § 16-806(c)(2), if the Court identifies a deficient sealing motion, the movant has thirty days after notice to amend before dismissal without prejudice.

12. EFFECT OF RELIEF

Expungement

Under D.C. Code § 16-804, expungement restores the person, in contemplation of law, to the status occupied before the citation, arrest, charge, or conviction. Public references are removed, but restricted records may remain accessible for the statutory purposes listed in § 16-804.

Sealing

Under D.C. Code § 16-807, sealing removes the record from public view while allowing broader restricted, nonpublic access for specified criminal-justice, licensing, employment, civil-litigation, and court-authorized purposes. Sealing is not destruction.

For either form of relief, the statute protects a person from perjury or false-statement liability for failing to disclose the covered record in response to an inquiry, subject to the governing statutory text and lawful restricted-access rules.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• D.C. Courts — Sealing Criminal Records
• D.C. Courts — How to File a Motion to Seal/Expunge (Rev. June 30, 2026)
• D.C. Code § 16-803
• D.C. Code § 16-804
• D.C. Code § 16-806
• D.C. Code § 16-807