Expungement Petition

IMPORTANT: THIS IS A PREPARATION GUIDE — NOT THE OFFICIAL COURT FORM

Pennsylvania requires the use of official expungement petition forms prescribed under
Pa.R.Crim.P. 790 (court cases) or Pa.R.Crim.P. 490 (summary cases). This
template provides the substantive legal content to help you prepare — but you must
transfer your content to the official form before filing. The official forms are
available at pacourts.us/forms/for-the-public.
Do not file this document directly with the court.

PETITION FOR EXPUNGEMENT OF CRIMINAL RECORD

Court of Common Pleas of [___] County, Pennsylvania – Criminal Division

Caption:
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
    v.
[PETITIONER’S FULL LEGAL NAME], Defendant/Petitioner
No. [DOCKET NO.]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Document Header
II. Definitions
III. Operative Provisions
IV. Representations & Warranties
V. Covenants & Restrictions
VI. Default & Remedies
VII. Risk Allocation (Reserved)
VIII. Dispute Resolution
IX. General Provisions
X. Execution Block
XI. Proposed Order (Attachment A)

I. DOCUMENT HEADER

1. Title. Petition for Expungement of Criminal Record pursuant to 18 Pa. C.S. § 9122.

2. Parties. Petitioner: [PETITIONER NAME], DOB [MM/DD/YYYY], SSN (last 4) ☐.
   Respondent: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, by and through the Office of the District Attorney of [___] County.

3. Recitals.
   A. WHEREAS, Petitioner was the subject of the criminal matter identified above;
   B. WHEREAS, the disposition(s) described infra render the record eligible for expungement under Pennsylvania law; and
   C. WHEREAS, Petitioner has satisfied all statutory waiting periods and conditions precedent;
   NOW, THEREFORE, Petitioner respectfully petitions this Honorable Court for an Order of Expungement, and in support thereof avers as follows.

II. DEFINITIONS

For purposes of this Petition, the following capitalized terms shall have the meanings set forth below:

A. “Criminal Record” – The complete set of arrest, charging, and disposition data associated with the above-captioned matter, whether maintained by the Pennsylvania State Police, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (“AOPC”), or any local, state, or federal agency.
B. “Eligible Disposition” – A disposition qualifying for expungement under 18 Pa. C.S. § 9122, including but not limited to (i) acquittal or not-guilty verdict, (ii) dismissal, (iii) withdrawal of charges, (iv) successful completion of ARD or other diversionary program, or (v) conviction of a summary offense for which five (5) years have elapsed since final disposition with no subsequent arrests or prosecutions.
C. “Expungement” – Complete elimination of the Criminal Record from the public domain and from all criminal justice and administrative repositories, together with sealing of any residual records as directed by the Court.
D. “Sealed Record Access” – Restricted, non-public access to sealed or expunged data strictly limited to statutorily authorized entities (e.g., criminal justice agencies) under 18 Pa. C.S. § 9122(d)–(e).

III. OPERATIVE PROVISIONS

1. Jurisdiction and Venue
   This Court has jurisdiction under 18 Pa. C.S. § 9122 and Pa.R.Crim.P. 790; venue is proper in the county of the underlying disposition.

2. Statutory Basis for Relief
   Petitioner is entitled to expungement under the following subsection(s) of 18 Pa. C.S. § 9122:
   [SELECT ALL THAT APPLY]
   a. § 9122(a) – Acquittal, dismissal, or withdrawal of charges;
   b. § 9122(b)(1) – ARD or other diversion successfully completed;
   c. § 9122(b)(3) – Summary conviction ≥ 5 years old, free of arrests/prosecutions;
   d. § 9122(b.1) – Vacated protection-from-abuse contempt convictions;
   e. § 9122(c) – Juvenile adjudication criteria;
   f. Other: ☐.

3. Compliance With Waiting Periods
   a. Date of final disposition: [MM/DD/YYYY].
   b. Statutory waiting period applicable: [ZERO / FIVE / TEN] years.
   c. Waiting period satisfied on: [MM/DD/YYYY].

4. Absence of Disqualifying Conditions
   Petitioner avers that:
   a. No charges are currently pending;
   b. Petitioner is not on probation/parole;
   c. Petitioner has not been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor in the period required by law; and
   d. Expungement is consistent with the public interest.

5. Relief Requested
   Petitioner respectfully requests that the Court enter an Order:
   a. Directing all repositories (listed in Proposed Order) to expunge the Criminal Record;
   b. Sealing any physical or electronic files incapable of complete deletion;
   c. Restricting Sealed Record Access to entities authorized by statute; and
   d. Granting such further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

6. Service and Notice
   Petitioner shall serve this Petition, exhibits, and Proposed Order upon the District Attorney of [___] County and any additional agencies required by Pa.R.Crim.P. 790.

IV. REPRESENTATIONS & WARRANTIES

1. Truthfulness. Petitioner represents that all factual statements herein are true and correct to the best of Petitioner’s knowledge, information, and belief.
2. Completeness. All material information relevant to eligibility has been disclosed.
3. Compliance. Petitioner has fully complied with any diversionary program conditions and has paid all court-ordered costs, fines, and restitution.

V. COVENANTS & RESTRICTIONS

1. Ongoing Duty to Inform. Petitioner shall promptly inform the Court if any fact stated herein becomes inaccurate prior to the Court’s ruling.
2. Cooperation with Repositories. Petitioner shall provide any additional identifiers reasonably required by repositories to execute the expungement.

VI. DEFAULT & REMEDIES

1. Vacatur. Should any representation herein prove materially false, the Court may, upon motion, vacate any Order of Expungement and reinstate the Criminal Record.
2. Costs. The Court may assess costs against the Petitioner for any willful misrepresentation.

VII. RISK ALLOCATION (RESERVED)

VIII. DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Any dispute concerning enforcement or scope of the Expungement Order shall be resolved by the Court of Common Pleas of [___] County, which retains continuing jurisdiction for that purpose.

IX. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Amendment and Waiver. This Petition may be amended only by leave of Court; waiver of any provision shall not constitute waiver of any other.
2. Severability. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remainder shall remain in full force and effect.
3. Integration. This Petition, together with all exhibits, constitutes the entire submission in support of the requested relief.

X. EXECUTION BLOCK

Respectfully submitted,

_______________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME], Esquire
PA I.D. No. [___]
[LAW FIRM NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[PHONE] | [EMAIL]
Counsel for Petitioner

Date: [MM/DD/YYYY]

Verification

I, [PETITIONER NAME], verify that the statements made in this Petition are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief. I understand that false statements herein are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa. C.S. § 4904 (relating to unsworn falsification to authorities).

_______________________________
[PETITIONER NAME]
Date: [MM/DD/YYYY]

Certificate of Service

I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Petition and Proposed Order was served upon the District Attorney of [___] County on [MM/DD/YYYY] by [HAND-DELIVERY / FIRST-CLASS MAIL / E-SERVICE].

_______________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME], Esquire

XI. PROPOSED ORDER (ATTACHMENT A)

[COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF __________ COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA – CRIMINAL DIVISION]
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. [PETITIONER NAME]
Docket No.: [___]

ORDER OF EXPUNGEMENT

AND NOW, this ___ day of __________, 20__, upon consideration of Petitioner’s duly filed Petition for Expungement and any response thereto, it is hereby ORDERED and DECREED that:

1. The Criminal Record associated with the above-captioned matter is EXPUNGED pursuant to 18 Pa. C.S. § 9122.

2. The Pennsylvania State Police, the AOPC, the Clerk of Courts of [___] County, the [CITY/STATE] Police Department, and any other repository of criminal history information shall:
   a. Permanently delete or, where deletion is impossible, seal all electronic and physical records;
   b. Remove all entries from public-access databases; and
   c. Submit written verification of compliance to the Clerk of this Court within sixty (60) days.

3. Access to sealed records, if any, is strictly limited to entities authorized by 18 Pa. C.S. § 9122(d)–(e).

4. The Clerk of Courts shall serve certified copies of this Order upon all agencies listed above.
5. Jurisdiction is retained to enforce this Order.

BY THE COURT:

_______________________________
J.