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What expungement does

Expungement is the legal process of removing criminal records (arrests, charges, and convictions) from public access. UnderN.J.S.A. 2C:52-1 et seq.1, an expunged record is removed from ordinary public access and is treated as not having occurred for many statutory purposes. After the order is entered, you may usually answer that you have no criminal record on most employment, housing, and professional licensing applications, with narrow exceptions for law enforcement, judicial office, and certain government positions.

At Simon Law Group, our attorneys handle expungements across most New Jersey counties: from single-record petitions for an old arrest to full Clean Slate filings clearing a complete record in one proceeding.

The Clean Slate Act

The Clean Slate Act, signed into law in December 2019, was the most consequential expansion of expungement eligibility in New Jersey's history.

• Clean Slate expungement. Individuals who have not been convicted of any crime for ten years following their most recent conviction, fine payment, satisfactory completion of probation or parole, or release from incarceration (whichever is latest) may petition to expunge theirentire criminal record in a single proceeding, even if they have multiple convictions that would not have qualified under the traditional one-conviction cap.
• Shorter waiting periods. The Act cut the wait for indictable convictions from six years to five (with a four-year public-interest path). Disorderly-persons convictions carry a five-year wait, shortened to as little as three years when the court finds early expungement in the public interest.
• Marijuana relief. The Act established expedited procedures for expunging marijuana-related offenses, dovetailing with the broader cannabis decriminalization and legalization that followed.
• Public-interest discretion. Courts have discretion to grant expungement before the statutory waiting period in compelling cases, most often where employment, professional licensing, or immigration consequences would create disproportionate harm.

Who is eligible

Indictable crime convictions

A person with one indictable conviction may petition after a five-year wait from completion of the sentence, including any term of probation or parole. The court may grant early expungement at four years on a public-interest showing. Categorically barred offenses are listed atN.J.S.A. 2C:52-21: homicide, kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault, robbery, arson, perjury, false swearing, terrorism, and offenses involving endangering the welfare of a child by sexual contact or child pornography. Drug distribution offenses and certain weapons offenses have offense-specific limits but are not categorically barred.

Disorderly persons and petty disorderly persons offenses

Five-year waiting period from completion of sentence, shortened to as little as three years on a public-interest showing. Up to five disorderly persons or petty disorderly persons convictions may be expunged in a single petition under N.J.S.A. 2C:52-3 (for petitioners with no indictable conviction); a Clean Slate petition after the ten-year period carries no numerical cap.

Arrest records without conviction

If you were arrested but the case was dismissed, you were found not guilty, or you successfully completed Pretrial Intervention (PTI), Conditional Discharge, or Conditional Dismissal, the record is potentially eligible for expungement without the conviction waiting period: no multi-year wait, no limit on the number of arrests, and the process is significantly faster than a conviction expungement.

Juvenile records

Juvenile adjudications have their own waiting periods, which vary by the nature of the offense. Juvenile expungement is filed in the county where the matter was originally heard, and the procedures differ from adult expungement in important ways.

Marijuana-related offenses

Several categories of cannabis offenses are now eligible for expedited or system-initiated expungement under post-legalization statutes. If your record includes a marijuana possession or low-level distribution charge, it is worth a fresh review against the current law.

The process, step by step

• Record collection. We pull your complete criminal history from the New Jersey State Police, the County Prosecutor's office, and the court of disposition. Missing a record at this stage is the most common reason petitions get rejected later.
• Eligibility analysis. We run each record againstN.J.S.A. 2C:52-1 et seq.1and the Clean Slate provisions to determine which records qualify, which waiting periods apply, and whether a public-interest motion or a Clean Slate petition is the right vehicle.
• Petition preparation and filing. We prepare the Verified Petition for Expungement and file it in Superior Court in the county where the conviction or arrest occurred, attaching certified dispositions and proof of sentence completion.
• Service on required parties. UnderN.J.S.A. 2C:52-102, copies must be served on the County Prosecutor, the Attorney General, the Superintendent of State Police, the arresting agency, the warden of any facility where time was served, the Probation Division if applicable, and others. Each agency has the right to object within sixty days.
• Court hearing. If no objections are filed, the court typically grants the petition on the papers. If the prosecutor objects, we appear at a hearing and present the argument supporting the petition.
• Order of expungement. Once the judge signs the order, copies are served on every agency that holds the records, which must then remove them from their files and databases.

What expungement costs

New Jersey no longer charges a court filing fee for expungement applications underN.J.S.A. 2C:52-291. Records-collection costs can still apply for certified dispositions, criminal-history records, and other documents needed to make the petition complete. Attorney fees depend on complexity: the number of records, whether the prosecutor is likely to object, and whether the case needs a public-interest argument to clear a shortened waiting period. Simon Law Group quotes a transparent flat or capped fee at the initial consultation, after we have run your record and know what we are actually working with.

Why expungement matters

A criminal record can create barriers well outside the courthouse. Employers, housing providers, professional licensing boards, schools, and volunteer organizations routinely run background checks, and even an arrest that did not result in a conviction can derail an offer. Expungement is one of the principal legal mechanisms for closing public access to eligible records. For many people the practical question is not whether to seek it but whether they qualify yet, and the Clean Slate Act has shifted that line for a meaningful number of New Jersey residents who had assumed their record was permanent. Eligibility analysis is fact-specific, and a brief consultation is generally the most efficient way to find out where you stand.

Related criminal defense resources

• Criminal Defense Overview
• Disorderly Persons Offenses
• Drug Charges Defense
• DUI & DWI Defense

Start with the complete record, not a guess

Eligibility depends on the complete record, the disposition of every matter, waiting periods, and statutory exceptions. We review that record before recommending a petition and provide the fee before filing. Use theconsultation form to request that review.