Is the expungement statute 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122 or 42 Pa.C.S. § 9122?

It's 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122. People sometimes search '42 Pa.C.S. § 9122' because so much of the record-keeping and Clean Slate machinery sits in Title 42, but the expungement authority itself is codified in Title 18.

How long does an arrest have to be off my record before I can expunge a summary conviction?

Five years free of arrest or prosecution following the summary conviction, under § 9122(b)(3). Any new arrest or prosecution during that window can reset the clock.

Is expungement automatic once someone turns 70?

No. Section 9122(b) makes it discretionary — the person also needs ten years free of arrest or prosecution, and the court still weighs the offense and the person's history before granting the petition.

What's the difference between expungement and Clean Slate sealing?

Expungement under § 9122 removes the case from public record entirely. Clean Slate sealing restricts access while preserving the record for the entities and purposes identified in §§ 9121(b.1), 9121(b.2), and 9122.5. State licensing boards may not consider a sealed conviction under § 9124(b)(2).

Does an ARD dismissal automatically get expunged?

Pa.R.Crim.P. 320 provides that when the judge orders dismissal after successful ARD completion, the judge also shall order expungement of the defendant's arrest record. Section 9122 appears as a limit at § 9122(b.1), not as the source of ARD expungement authority.

What if my case doesn't fit any of the § 9122 categories?

Then expungement isn't available, and the realistic options are a Board of Pardons application or, if the conviction is eligible, automatic sealing under § 9122.2 or a limited-access petition under § 9122.1.

Expungements & Pardons · Expungement Eligibility

Expungement in Pennsylvania is available for specific categories of cases — not for every old record.

People frequently assume that enough time or good behavior automatically clears a record. It doesn't. Expungement in Pennsylvania is governed by 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122, and ARD expungement is governed by Pa.R.Crim.P. 320. The available categories include non-conviction data, acquittal of all charges arising from the same conduct or criminal episode after trial under § 9122(a)(4), successful ARD completion, certain summary convictions after five arrest-free years under § 9122(b)(3), and narrow discretionary categories for people 70 or older with ten arrest-free years or a defendant who has been dead for three years. Ordinary convictions that § 9122 does not expunge may still qualify for automatic or petition-based sealing. An unconditional gubernatorial pardon reaches convictions that neither remedy covers, after which § 9122(a.1) expunges the pardoned case automatically. State licensing boards may not consider a sealed conviction under § 9124(b)(2). This page walks through which category applies across Dauphin, Cumberland, York, Adams, Perry, Franklin, and Lancaster counties.

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How the remedy works

Pennsylvania Expungement Eligibility.

Authority: 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122[1] [2]

Record relief, in context

Whether a record qualifies for expungement depends entirely on how the case ended — pulling the actual docket before filing anything is the difference between a clean petition and a denied one.

expungement & pardon lawyer · pardon vs. expungement · DUI expungement

Section 9122(a)(1) covers cases where no disposition is recorded in the repository within 18 months of arrest, with court certification that no disposition is available and no action is pending. Section 9122(a)(2) covers non-conviction data that a court orders expunged. Section 9122(a)(2.1) covers an unconditional pardon, § 9122(a)(3) covers qualifying underage-drinking records, and § 9122(a)(4) covers acquittal of all charges arising from the same conduct or criminal episode after trial. ARD expungement is governed by Pa.R.Crim.P. 320, with § 9122(b.1) operating as a limit rather than § 9122(a)(2) supplying the authority.

Acquittal of all charges arising from the same conduct or criminal episode after trial triggers mandatory expungement under § 9122(a)(4). It does not apply to a partial acquittal. The Commonwealth has 60 days to object, and expungement shall occur no later than 12 months from the date of acquittal.

Section 9122(b)(3) also allows a court to expunge a summary conviction once the person has been free of arrest or prosecution for five years following that conviction. This is one of the few categories where an actual conviction — not just an arrest or a dismissed charge — can be erased, but it's limited to summary offenses, the least serious category under Pennsylvania law, and it requires a clean five-year stretch afterward.

Section 9122(b) adds a discretionary category on top of the mandatory one: a court may expunge the record of a conviction where the person is 70 years of age or older and has been free of arrest or prosecution for ten years following that conviction, or where the person has been dead for three years. Because this category is discretionary, the court weighs the nature of the offense, the person's history since, and the Commonwealth's position — it isn't automatic even when the age and time requirements are met.

Section 9122 does not expunge a standard misdemeanor or felony conviction that falls outside its categories, but sealing may still reach some of those convictions. Section 9122.2(a)(1.1) provides automatic sealing for qualifying drug felonies, and § 9122.1(a.1) permits petition sealing for F3 and ungraded theft offenses under Chapter 39, including retail theft, forgery and fraud under Chapter 41, criminal trespass, and criminal mischief. A pardon is the route for what sealing cannot reach — felonies of the first and second degree, and offenses excluded under § 9122.1(b)(1). An unconditional pardon triggers automatic expungement under § 9122(a.1); a conditional pardon does not trigger automatic expungement and is automatically sealed instead under § 9122.2(a)(4).

Eligibility at a glance

What qualifies — and what does not.

Pennsylvania Expungement Eligibility: eligibility categories under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122
Situation	What the law allows	Condition
Acquittal of all charges after trial	Mandatory expungement under § 9122(a)(4)	Does not apply to a partial acquittal; the Commonwealth has 60 days to object, and expungement shall occur no later than 12 months from the date of acquittal.
Charges withdrawn or dismissed, including nolle prosequi	Expungement by court order under § 9122(a)(2)	Covers non-conviction data the court orders expunged.
Successful completion of ARD	Expungement under Pa.R.Crim.P. 320 once the case is formally dismissed	Rule 320 directs the judge who dismisses the charges to order expungement of the arrest record; § 9122(b.1) supplies a limit.
Summary conviction	Expungement under § 9122(b)(3) after 5 years arrest-free	Requires a genuinely clean record — no new arrests or prosecutions — during that window.
Age 70 or older with a conviction on record	Discretionary expungement under § 9122(b)(1) after 10 years arrest-free	Court weighs the offense and post-conviction history; not guaranteed even if the age and time thresholds are met.
Deceased defendant	Discretionary expungement under § 9122(b)(2) after 3 years	Typically pursued by a family member or estate representative.
Standard misdemeanor or felony conviction, no ARD or diversion involved	Not eligible for expungement under § 9122, but some convictions qualify for sealing	Automatic sealing reaches qualifying drug felonies under § 9122.2(a)(1.1), and petition sealing under § 9122.1(a.1) reaches specified F3 and ungraded theft, forgery, fraud, trespass, and criminal-mischief offenses. An unconditional pardon is the route for what sealing cannot reach.

Eligibility categories are statutory, but how a specific docket is graded and disposed controls which category applies. Nothing here is a prediction about a particular record.

The process

Step by step.

Step 1
Confirm the disposition on the docket
Before filing anything, pull the actual case docket to confirm exactly how the case ended — acquittal, ARD dismissal, withdrawal, or conviction — since the disposition, not memory of the case, controls which category of § 9122 applies.
Step 2
Identify the correct expungement category
Match the disposition to the specific § 9122 subsection: non-conviction under § 9122(a), summary conviction after five years under § 9122(b)(3), or the age/death categories under § 9122(b)(1)–(2). Cases that don't fit any category typically get flagged for a pardon consultation instead.
Step 3
Draft and file the petition
The petition is filed in the Court of Common Pleas in the county where the charge was disposed (for a summary case, with the clerk of courts under Pa.R.Crim.P. 490(A)(1)), along with certified docket information and the $132 filing fee required by 42 Pa.C.S. § 1725.7, paid to the clerk of courts at filing.
Step 4
Serve the District Attorney's office
The DA's office is entitled to notice and can object, particularly in discretionary § 9122(b) cases; in mandatory non-conviction cases, objections are less common but the DA still reviews the petition.
Step 5
Hearing, if required
Some counties resolve routine non-conviction petitions without a hearing; discretionary petitions and any petition the DA opposes typically get a hearing date before the judge rules.
Step 6
Order transmitted to state and federal repositories
Once granted, the expungement order goes to the clerk of courts, the Pennsylvania State Police, and, where applicable, the FBI, each of which has a compliance window to update its records.

Jurisdiction & venue

Where the petition is filed.

Dauphin and Cumberland counties

Both counties' Courts of Common Pleas handle non-conviction and discretionary expungement petitions through their clerk of courts offices, with summary-only cases typically routed to the magisterial district judge who handled the original citation. The Dauphin County and Cumberland County District Attorney's offices each maintain a process for reviewing expungement petitions and flagging any objection before the assigned judge rules.

York and Adams counties

York County's Court of Common Pleas and the York County DA's expungement review process follow the same statutory framework, with local filing requirements and fee schedules set by the clerk of courts. Adams County, being smaller, often moves petitions through more quickly, but MDJ-level summary cases still need to be traced back to the correct magisterial district court for the underlying disposition.

Perry and Franklin counties

Perry and Franklin counties handle expungement filings through their respective Courts of Common Pleas clerk of courts, and both counties' DA's offices review petitions for accuracy before any hearing is scheduled. Rural counties can have fewer petitions moving through the system at once, which sometimes means more individualized attention from the clerk but not necessarily faster review.

Lancaster County

Lancaster County's Court of Common Pleas processes a high volume of expungement petitions, and its DA's office has a dedicated review function for non-conviction and ARD-based filings. Because Lancaster's docket volume is larger than the surrounding counties, petitioners should expect the process to run on the county's own internal timeline rather than a fixed statewide schedule.

Where these petitions are won or lost.

Confirm the disposition before promising anything
Docket entries can be ambiguous — a case that 'went away' informally isn't the same as a formal dismissal, and only the latter supports a § 9122(a) petition.
Don't confuse '42 Pa.C.S. § 9122' with the actual citation
The expungement statute lives in Title 18, not Title 42; searches that turn up '42 Pa.C.S. § 9122' are referencing the wrong title and can lead to filing under the wrong authority.
Check for multiple dockets from the same arrest
A single arrest can generate more than one docket number, and all of them need to be captured in the petition or a partial record survives the process.
Address outstanding costs and restitution first
Unpaid court costs or restitution tied to the case can complicate or delay a petition; resolving those balances before filing avoids an easily preventable objection.
Distinguish expungement from Clean Slate sealing
Clean Slate under § 9122.2 seals many eligible convictions from public view but does not erase them the way § 9122 expungement does; the two remedies solve different problems and aren't interchangeable.
Evaluate the pardon route early for ineligible convictions
Where a conviction doesn't fit any § 9122 category, a Board of Pardons application is a multi-year process; starting the pardon conversation early, rather than after other options are exhausted, matters given the realistic timeline.

Where we file

Record relief across Central Pennsylvania.

Other record-relief guides.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

Common questions about expungement eligibility in Pennsylvania — eligibility, procedure, and what the order actually changes.

It's 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122. People sometimes search '42 Pa.C.S. § 9122' because so much of the record-keeping and Clean Slate machinery sits in Title 42, but the expungement authority itself is codified in Title 18.
Not under § 9122 on its own. But automatic sealing may reach qualifying drug felonies under § 9122.2(a)(1.1), and petition sealing under § 9122.1(a.1) may reach F3 and ungraded theft offenses under Chapter 39, including retail theft, forgery and fraud under Chapter 41, criminal trespass, and criminal mischief. An unconditional pardon is the route for what sealing cannot reach — F1 and F2 convictions and offenses excluded under § 9122.1(b)(1) — and then § 9122(a.1) provides automatic expungement.
Five years free of arrest or prosecution following the summary conviction, under § 9122(b)(3). Any new arrest or prosecution during that window can reset the clock.
No. Section 9122(b) makes it discretionary — the person also needs ten years free of arrest or prosecution, and the court still weighs the offense and the person's history before granting the petition.
Expungement under § 9122 removes the case from public record entirely. Clean Slate sealing restricts access while preserving the record for the entities and purposes identified in §§ 9121(b.1), 9121(b.2), and 9122.5. State licensing boards may not consider a sealed conviction under § 9124(b)(2).
Pa.R.Crim.P. 320 provides that when the judge orders dismissal after successful ARD completion, the judge also shall order expungement of the defendant's arrest record. Section 9122 appears as a limit at § 9122(b.1), not as the source of ARD expungement authority.
Then expungement isn't available, and the realistic options are a Board of Pardons application or, if the conviction is eligible, automatic sealing under § 9122.2 or a limited-access petition under § 9122.1.

[1]18 Pa.C.S. § 9122 — Expungement of criminal history record information — § 9122(a) covers non-conviction data, unconditional pardons under (a)(2.1), underage drinking under (a)(3), and acquittals under (a)(4); § 9122(b) covers discretionary summary, age-70 and deceased-defendant expungement.
[2]18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.1 — Petition-based limited access (sealing). Act 36 of 2023 reduced the misdemeanor waiting period to 7 years and added § 9122.1(a.1), which allows petition sealing of F3 and ungraded felonies — criminal mischief, criminal trespass, Chapter 39 theft, Chapter 41 forgery and fraud, welfare fraud, and drug qualifying offenses — after 10 years. Felonies of the first and second degree are excluded.
[3]18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.2 — Clean Slate automated limited access — sealing by court order without a petition. Act 36 of 2023 set the periods at 5 years for summary convictions, 7 years for M2/M3 and misdemeanors punishable by no more than 2 years, and 10 years for qualifying drug felonies under § 9122.2(a)(1.1). Conditioned on payment of court-ordered restitution only — unpaid fines and costs do not block sealing.
[4]18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.5 — Effect of expunged and limited-access records — § 9122.5(a)(1) allows a person to respond as if the offense did not occur; § 9122.5(a.1) bars use for employment, housing or school matriculation except where federal law requires; § 9122.5(c) preserves disclosure to courts for sentencing.
[5]18 Pa.C.S. § 9124 — Use of criminal history record information by licensing agencies — § 9124(b)(2) bars consideration of convictions that have been expunged or made subject to limited access under §§ 9122.1 and 9122.2.
[6]18 Pa.C.S. § 9121 — General regulations on dissemination of criminal history record information, including what remains available after sealing.
[7]18 Pa.C.S. § 9102 — Criminal History Record Information Act definitions — including 'expunge' and 'criminal history record information'.
[8]75 Pa.C.S. § 3807 — Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) for DUI.
[9]Pa.R.Crim.P. 320 — After successful ARD completion, the judge who dismisses the charges shall also order expungement of the arrest record. The Commonwealth may object within 30 days after service of the order, triggering a hearing.
[10]18 Pa.C.S. § 9122(a.1) — Automatic expungement pursuant to an unconditional pardon — added by Act 36 of 2023, effective June 11, 2024. The Board of Pardons transmits pardoned cases to the AOPC quarterly, the AOPC forwards them to the county courts, and the court orders expungement without a separate petition. A conditional pardon results in sealing under § 9122.2(a)(4) instead.
[11]Pa. Const. art. IV, § 9 — The Governor's pardon and commutation power — exercisable only on the written recommendation of a majority of the Board of Pardons, except in a case of a sentence of death or life imprisonment, which requires the Board's unanimous written recommendation after full hearing in open session upon due public notice.
[12]37 Pa. Code Ch. 81 — Board of Pardons regulations — application, merit review, public hearing, and recommendation procedure.
[13]Act 36 of 2023 — Clean Slate 3.0 — P.L. 334, No. 36 (HB 689), signed December 14, 2023. Petition-sealing and definitional changes effective February 12, 2024; automatic sealing and automatic post-pardon expungement effective June 11, 2024.
[14]42 Pa.C.S. § 1725.7 — Filing fee of $132 for a petition under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122 or § 9122.1, paid to the clerk of courts at filing. Automatic sealing under § 9122.2 involves no petition and no fee.
[15]Pa.R.Crim.P. 490 — Procedure for obtaining expungement in summary cases — under Rule 490(A)(1) the petition is filed with the clerk of the courts of the judicial district in which the charges were disposed; also governs petition contents, service, and the Commonwealth's response window.

Statutes are summarized for public reference. Confirm current text at palegis.us. This page is attorney advertising, not legal advice.

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