Expungement Petition - Utah

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

For the standard certificate route, Utah Courts publishes 1000EX
(Petition to Expunge Records with Certificate of Eligibility) and 1020EX
(Order on Petition to Expunge Records with Certificate of Eligibility).
Transfer the relevant information to the current court forms before filing.
Form 1200EX was the temporary application for automatic expungement used from
October 1, 2024 through December 31, 2025; it is not the petition form for this
route.

Scope: This guide covers an adult Utah petition supported by a BCI
certificate of eligibility. Traffic-only petitions under § 77-40a-305(3),
qualifying cannabis-conviction petitions under § 77-40a-305(4), automatic
expungement under Part 2, juvenile records, pardons, and appellate records use
different procedures.

UTAH EXPUNGEMENT PETITION PREPARATION GUIDE

1. Select the Correct Route

☐ Certificate route: Apply to the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification
(BCI), obtain a certificate identification number, and petition under
§ 77-40a-305.

☐ Automatic route: Check the case in My Court Case before filing. On and
after January 1, 2026, courts identify qualifying cases for automatic
expungement under §§ 77-40a-204 through 77-40a-206.

☐ Traffic-only route: If every charge is a traffic offense as defined in
§ 77-40a-101, review § 77-40a-305(3) and current form 1002EX. No BCI
certificate is required.

☐ Qualifying cannabis route: Review § 77-40a-305(4) and current form
1003EX. No BCI certificate is required if every statutory element is proved.

If the case does not fit the first route, do not use this guide without
rewriting it for the correct procedure.

2. Applicant and Case Information

3. BCI Certificate Checklist

Under §§ 77-40a-301 and 77-40a-304:

• ☐ Submit the current BCI Application for Certificate of Eligibility.

• ☐ Include the fingerprints and identification required by the current BCI
  application.

• ☐ Pay the current $65 nonrefundable application fee, or submit the
  required indigency materials.

• ☐ Disclose complete criminal history, including previously expunged matters
  and matters outside Utah.

• ☐ Do not provide false or misleading information. Section 77-40a-301(2)
  permits denial and makes intentional or knowing false information a class B
  misdemeanor.

• ☐ File the court petition while the certificate is valid. A certificate or
  special certificate is valid for 180 days from issuance.

• ☐ Use the certificate identification number in the petition. Under
  § 77-40a-305(1), the court obtains the certificate from BCI and incorporates
  its information by reference.

4. Conviction Eligibility Worksheet

Waiting period — § 77-40a-303(1)

Count from the latest of conviction, release from incarceration, release from
parole, or release from probation for the conviction to be expunged.

Current disqualifiers — § 77-40a-303(2)

Confirm each statement before relying on a BCI certificate:

• ☐ The conviction is not a capital felony or first-degree felony.

• ☐ The conviction is not a felony violent offense defined by
  § 76-3-203.5(1)(c)(i).

• ☐ The conviction is not the felony offense described in
  § 41-6a-501(2).

• ☐ The offense or combination of offenses did not require registration under
  Title 53, Chapter 29 at sentencing and does not require registration when
  the certificate application is filed, subject to the narrow
  § 77-40a-303(3) exception.

• ☐ No nontraffic misdemeanor or felony proceeding is pending.

• ☐ No nontraffic misdemeanor or felony plea in abeyance is pending.

• ☐ Petitioner is not incarcerated, on parole, or on probation, except as
  allowed for an infraction, traffic offense, or minor regulatory offense.

• ☐ No civil protective order, criminal protective order, or criminal stalking
  injunction against Petitioner is currently in effect.

• ☐ All court-ordered fines, interest, and restitution for the conviction have
  been paid in full.

Criminal-history limits — § 77-40a-303(4)–(8)

BCI counts separate criminal episodes and previously expunged convictions.
For non-drug-possession offenses, a certificate is unavailable at any of these
thresholds:

• two or more felony convictions;
• three or more convictions that include two class A misdemeanors;
• four or more convictions that include three class B misdemeanors; or
• five or more convictions of any degree.

For drug-possession offenses, a certificate is unavailable with three or more
felony convictions or five or more convictions. The statute contains
same-episode rules, a limited ten-year adjustment, and exclusions for
infractions, traffic offenses, minor regulatory offenses, and automatically
expunged clean-slate cases. Attach a BCI eligibility analysis rather than
reducing these provisions to a simple lifetime total.

5. Nonconviction Certificate Worksheet

Section 77-40a-302 generally requires at least 30 days after arrest or charge
and one of these outcomes:

☐ investigators and the prosecutor screened the case and decided not to file;

☐ every charge was dismissed with prejudice;

☐ a charge was dismissed without prejudice or condition and either the
prosecutor consents in writing or at least 180 days have passed;

☐ Petitioner was acquitted of all charges at trial; or

☐ the limitations period expired on all charges.

The pending-proceeding, plea-in-abeyance, custody/supervision, and
case-specific protective-order restrictions in § 77-40a-302(2) also apply.

6. Petition Statements for Form 1000EX

Use the current official form and provide:

1. Certificate. BCI issued certificate identification number
   [________________________________], which was valid when this petition was
   filed.

2. Case. The records concern case number
   [________________________________] in the
   [District / Justice] Court of Utah, [________________________________]
   Judicial District, [________________________________] County.

3. Public interest. Expungement will not harm the public interest because:
   [____________________________________________________________]
   [____________________________________________________________]

4. Request. Petitioner asks the court to expunge all records covered by
   the certificate and to direct state, county, and local agencies to process
   the order under Title 77, Chapter 40a, Part 4.

5. Declaration. Petitioner declares under Utah criminal penalty that the
   statements in the official petition are true.

7. Venue, Notice, Responses, and Hearing

Under § 77-40a-305 and Rule 42:

• File in the court where the criminal case was filed.

• If that court no longer exists, file in the court that would have
  jurisdiction over the case today.

• If charges were never filed, file in the district court in the county of
  arrest or citation.

• The court provides notice to the prosecutorial office within three days
  after the filing fee is paid or waived.

• The prosecutor may file a recommendation or objection within 35 days
  after the court sends notice.

• A victim may file a recommendation or objection within 60 days after the
  petition is filed.

• Petitioner may reply within 14 days after receiving an objection or
  response.

• The court must set a hearing if an objection is filed.

• If no objection is received within 60 days after filing, the court may grant
  relief without a hearing.

8. Proposed Order Worksheet

Use current form 1020EX. Section 77-40a-306 requires clear and convincing
findings that the certificate was valid when the petition was filed, the
statutory requirements are met, and expungement will not harm the public
interest. Additional findings apply to a dismissal without prejudice, a
special certificate, a qualifying cannabis petition, or an enhancement-eligible
plea-in-abeyance dismissal.

9. After Entry of the Order

• Request needed certified copies within 28 days after entry under
  § 77-40a-306(6).

• The court notifies BCI. Under § 77-40a-307, BCI notifies affected agencies
  and forwards the order to the FBI.

• Petitioner may also deliver copies to affected agencies.

• An agency's ordinary use or dissemination is not restricted until the
  agency receives the order. § 77-40a-401(6).

• After entry, Petitioner generally may answer an inquiry as though the arrest,
  investigation, detention, prosecution, or conviction did not occur, unless
  another law or court order requires a different answer. § 77-40a-401(5).

• Expungement restricts access; it does not necessarily destroy every record.
  Authorized access and use remain under §§ 77-40a-403 and 77-40a-404.

Official Sources

• Utah Code § 77-40a-301
• Utah Code § 77-40a-302
• Utah Code § 77-40a-303
• Utah Code § 77-40a-304
• Utah Code § 77-40a-305
• Utah Code § 77-40a-306
• Utah Code § 77-40a-307
• Utah Code Part 4
• Utah Courts adult expungement instructions
• Utah R. Crim. P. 42
• BCI expungement instructions and current application
• 1000EX petition
• 1020EX order

Use the current Utah Courts forms and obtain Utah-licensed legal review before
filing.