Expungement Petition - Preparation Worksheet - Minnesota

IMPORTANT: PREPARATION WORKSHEET — NOT THE OFFICIAL FORM

A petition-based Minnesota expungement uses EXP102, Notice of Hearing and
Petition for Expungement, EXP104, Proof of Service, and the applicable proposed
order: EXP105 for § 609A.02, subdivision 3; EXP106 for § 609A.02,
subdivision 1 or 2; or EXP107 for judicial records only. Read current EXP101
instructions and prepare a separate petition and order for each court file.

MINNESOTA CRIMINAL EXPUNGEMENT — PREPARATION WORKSHEET

1. SELECT THE CORRECT ROUTE

☐ Automatic expungement — § 609A.015. No petition is required. Confirm current BCA and court status before filing a duplicate petition.

☐ Prosecutor-agreement route — § 609A.025. If the prosecutor agrees and completes required victim notification, the court may seal an eligible § 609A.02, subdivision 3 record without a petition.

☐ Petition-based statutory expungement — §§ 609A.02–609A.03. Use EXP102 and the correct proposed order.

☐ Judicial-records-only request. Use the current EXP107 route only after confirming statutory executive-branch relief is unavailable.

2. CASE AND PETITIONER INFORMATION

3. PETITION-BASED ELIGIBILITY — § 609A.02

Select the precise route and confirm the current statutory text:

☐ All pending actions or proceedings resolved in the petitioner's favor; no waiting period.

☐ Diversion or stay of adjudication completed, with no new criminal charge for at least one year after completion.

☐ Petty misdemeanor or misdemeanor, with no new conviction for at least two years after discharge of sentence.

☐ Gross misdemeanor, including a qualifying gross misdemeanor deemed a misdemeanor, with no new conviction for at least three years after discharge of sentence.

☐ Felony violation of § 152.025, with no new conviction for at least four years after discharge of sentence.

☐ Felony deemed a gross misdemeanor or misdemeanor under § 609.13, subdivision 1(2): four years if the offense is listed in § 609A.02, subdivision 3(b), or five years for another offense.

☐ Felony expressly listed in § 609A.02, subdivision 3(b), with no new conviction for at least four years after discharge of sentence.

☐ Separate § 609A.02, subdivision 1 or 2 route confirmed for a qualifying controlled-substance discharge or juvenile certified for adult prosecution.

4. REQUIRED PETITION CONTENT — § 609A.03, SUBDIVISION 2

The signed-under-oath petition must address:

☐ Full name, all legal names and aliases, date of birth, and every address since the offense.

☐ Why expungement is sought, the legal authority, and specific reasons it should be granted.

☐ Offense or arrest details, date, jurisdiction, court file number, disposition date, identifiable victims, and current or prior protection, restraining, or no-contact orders.

☐ A copy of every current or prior qualifying protection or restraining order identified by the statute.

☐ For a conviction, rehabilitation through treatment, work, education, community involvement, or other history.

☐ Every misdemeanor, gross-misdemeanor, and felony conviction in Minnesota and comparable conviction elsewhere.

☐ Every prior and pending criminal charge, including continuances for dismissal, stays of adjudication, and pretrial diversions.

☐ Every prior pardon, arrest-record return, expungement, or sealing request, whether granted or denied, and every stay of adjudication or imposition.

5. BURDEN AND FACTORS

For a petition based on a favorable resolution or completed diversion/stay under § 609A.02, subdivision 3(a)(1) or (2), the court generally must grant relief unless an affected agency or jurisdiction proves by clear and convincing evidence that public and public-safety interests outweigh the disadvantages of leaving the record public.

For a conviction petition and other routes governed by § 609A.03, subdivision 5(a), the petitioner must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the benefit of sealing is commensurate with the disadvantages to the public and public safety and the burden on public authorities.

Address all twelve statutory factors, including the offense, public-safety risk, time elapsed, rehabilitation, circumstances, need for relief, full criminal record, employment and community history, official and victim recommendations, restitution status and payment plan, and any other relevant factor.

6. SERVICE AND HEARING

Use current EXP101 and EXP104. The petitioner must mail the completed EXP102 and unsigned proposed order to:

• the prosecutorial office with jurisdiction over the offense;
• every state and local government agency or jurisdiction whose records would be affected; and
• the attorney for each served agency or jurisdiction.

Current EXP104 identifies required and case-dependent recipients. Do not assume the short agency list in this worksheet is complete.

The statutory hearing may occur no sooner than 60 days after service. Current EXP101 instructions require a hearing date more than 60 days after mailing plus three mailing days, and require service to be completed at least 63 days before the hearing.

☐ Obtain the hearing date before service.

☐ Mail EXP102, attachments, and the unsigned proposed order at least 63 days before the hearing.

☐ Complete and file EXP104 Proof of Service.

☐ File the original petition, proposed order, and proof of service promptly after service.

☐ Attend the hearing. Lack of an objection does not require the court to grant relief.

7. FEE AND ORDER

The filing fee is the amount required by § 357.021, subdivision 2(1); confirm the current amount with the court administrator. The fee is waived for a case resolved in the petitioner's favor and may be waived for indigency in other cases.

The court administrator sends an entered order to each affected agency. If the petition asks for confirmation, each receiving agency must send the petitioner confirmation of receipt and expungement. The order is automatically stayed for 60 days after filing and during an appeal. Current Judiciary forms also state that sealing waits until remaining restitution or other financial obligations in the case are paid.

8. EFFECT AND LIMITS

Expungement seals records and restricts disclosure; it does not destroy or return records. Section 609A.03, subdivision 7a preserves specified access and use by criminal justice agencies, criminal-justice employers, background-study authorities, victims in limited proceedings, prosecutors, and the record subject.

For automatic relief under § 609A.015, the order does not apply to records held by the commissioners of children, youth, and families; health; and human services. A petition directed to an agency requires proper service and remains subject to statutory access limits.

Future-effective change: 2026 Minn. Laws ch. 70, § 5 takes effect August 1, 2026 under § 645.02. It authorizes the BCA to unseal an automatically sealed record later determined, from the BCA criminal-history system, not to have qualified. Re-check the effective text for use on or after that date.

OFFICIAL SOURCES

• Minn. Stat. § 609A.015: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609A.015
• Minn. Stat. § 609A.02: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609A.02
• Minn. Stat. § 609A.025: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609A.025
• Minn. Stat. § 609A.03: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609A.03
• Minn. Stat. § 609A.04: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609A.04
• 2026 Minn. Laws ch. 70, § 5: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/2026/0/70/laws.0.5.0
• Minnesota Judicial Branch EXP101 instructions and current forms: https://mncourts.gov/getforms/criminal-expungement/forms-packet-expungement-sealing-of-a-criminal-record
• Minnesota Judicial Branch criminal-expungement help: https://mncourts.gov/help-topics/criminal-expungement
• Minnesota BCA automatic-expungement status: https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/bca/bca-divisions/professional-services/expungements