Expungement Petition - Preparation Worksheet - Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Expungement Petition Preparation Guide

Do not file this guide. Use the current AOPC petition or county form and comply with the applicable Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure. The Unified Judicial System forms page provides expungement petitions and optional blank orders.

Pennsylvania distinguishes expungement from an order for limited access. Expungement removes information so there is no trace or identifying link, subject to information that may be maintained under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122(c). Limited access restricts dissemination but keeps the record in criminal-history systems. Use the separate Rule 791 route for a petition under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.1.

1. Select the Expungement Route

2. Statutory Expungement Eligibility — 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122

A. Required or Automatic Categories

• No disposition is available in the repository 18 months after arrest, no action is pending, and the court certifies those facts. § 9122(a)(1).
• A court order requires expungement of nonconviction data. § 9122(a)(2).
• The person received an unconditional pardon; the current statute provides a quarterly AOPC and court process. § 9122(a)(2.1), (a.1).
• A qualifying underage-drinking conviction under § 6308 meets the age and sentence-completion requirements in § 9122(a)(3).
• The person was acquitted of all charges based on the same conduct or criminal episode after trial. § 9122(a)(4).

Do not treat every dismissal, withdrawal, or nolle prosequi as automatically expunged under § 9122(a). Those nonconviction records may receive automated limited access under § 9122.2(a)(2), while expungement generally requires a court order under § 9122(a)(2).

B. Discretionary Categories — § 9122(b)

• ☐ Petitioner is at least 70 and has been free of arrest or prosecution for 10 years after final release from confinement or supervision.
• ☐ The record subject has been dead for 3 years.
• ☐ Petitioner seeks expungement only of a summary conviction and has been free of arrest or prosecution for 5 years after that conviction.

C. ARD Limitation — § 9122(b.1)

The court cannot expunge an ARD arrest record for the listed sexual offenses when the victim was under 18. Section 9122(b.1) is not a general PFA-contempt or juvenile-expungement provision.

3. Petition Information

Court Case — Rule 790(a)(2)

• Petitioner's name, aliases, address, date of birth, and Social Security number.
• Name and address of the common-pleas judge who accepted the plea or heard the case.
• Affiant's name and mailing address from the complaint, if available.
• Philadelphia Municipal Court or common-pleas docket number.
• Offense tracking number (OTN).
• Complaint or arrest date and arresting criminal-justice agency, if available.
• Exact charges to be expunged.
• Disposition and whether any fine, costs, or restitution imposed were paid.
• Reasons for expungement.
• Sworn verification or unsworn verification subject to 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904.

Summary Case — Rule 490(a)(2)

Use the same core information, substituting the issuing authority's name and address, magisterial-district number, and summary docket information required by Rule 490.

Additional information may not be required by local rule or practice under Rules 490 and 790.

4. Current Criminal-History Report

Unless the attorney for the Commonwealth waives the requirement, attach a current Pennsylvania State Police criminal-history report obtained within 60 days before filing. The judge may not rule until the report is filed. Rules 490(a)(3) and 790(a)(3).

• Report date: [__/__/____]
• Commonwealth waiver, if any: [________________________________]

5. Case Information Worksheet

6. Filing, Service, and Response

Serve the petition on the attorney for the Commonwealth concurrently with filing.

Rule 320 gives the Commonwealth 30 days after service of the Rule 319 dismissal motion to object to ARD expungement.

Do not initially serve the Pennsylvania State Police, arresting agency, or every repository unless a rule, statute, court order, or local filing procedure requires it. The clerk serves certified copies of an entered expungement order on each criminal-justice agency identified in the order and other entities required by statute.

7. Verification

I verify that the facts stated in the petition are true and correct to the best of my personal knowledge or information and belief. I understand that false statements are subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904.

[________________________________]

[PETITIONER NAME]

Date: [__/__/____]

8. Order Preparation

The order must repeat the identifying and case information required by Rule 490(c) or 790(c) and list the criminal-justice agencies that must receive certified copies.

A proposed order is optional: Pa.R.Crim.P. 575(D) prohibits requiring a proposed order with a motion, although a party may include one. Do not promise deletion or written compliance within 30 or 60 days unless current authority or the court's order supplies that deadline.

Section 9122(d) requires prompt notice of expungement to the central repository, which then notifies criminal-justice agencies that received the information. Section 9122(e) excludes the public records listed in § 9104(a) from expungement.

Sources and References

• 18 Pa.C.S. § 9102 — definitions
• 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122 — expungement
• Pa.R.Crim.P. 320 — ARD expungement
• Pa.R.Crim.P. 490 — summary-case expungement
• Pa.R.Crim.P. 490.2 — complete acquittal in summary cases
• Pa.R.Crim.P. 790 — court-case expungement
• Pa.R.Crim.P. 790.2 — complete acquittal in court cases
• Pa.R.Crim.P. 791 — petition for limited access
• AOPC public forms