If my case was dismissed, is it already off my record?

No. A dismissal, withdrawal, or nolle prosequi ends the criminal case, but the arrest record itself stays in the court and state police systems until a separate expungement petition under § 9122(a) is filed and granted.

Do I have to wait a certain number of years after a dismissal or acquittal to file?

No waiting period applies to non-conviction expungement the way it does for summary convictions or the age-based category — the main practical limit is making sure any appeal period on the disposition has run before filing.

What's the difference between Pa.R.Crim.P. 490 and 790?

Rule 490 governs expungement petitions for summary cases handled at the magisterial district court level; Rule 790 governs petitions for cases that proceeded in the Court of Common Pleas.

Can the district attorney object to a non-conviction expungement petition?

Yes, the DA is entitled to notice and can object or request a hearing, though objections are less common in clear non-conviction cases than in the discretionary age or death-based category under § 9122(b).

What if only some of the charges from my arrest were dismissed?

Where some counts were dismissed and others resulted in a conviction, the dismissed counts are typically still eligible for expungement even though the convicted counts remain on the record.

How much practical harm does an unexpunged non-conviction record cause?

It can look substantially similar to a conviction on many background checks, since the record shows the arrest and charges without necessarily making clear the case was dismissed or ended in acquittal — this is exactly why the mandatory expungement category exists.

How long does a non-conviction expungement typically take?

It varies by county and whether a hearing is required, but non-conviction petitions typically move faster than discretionary petitions since the DA has less basis to object once the disposition is confirmed.

Expungements & Pardons · Non-Conviction Expungement

A dismissed charge is not an erased charge — the arrest record survives until you petition.

People are often surprised to learn that when a case is dismissed, withdrawn, or nolle prossed, or ends in an acquittal, the arrest record doesn't disappear on its own. It sits in the court system and in Pennsylvania State Police records indefinitely, showing up on background checks as an arrest even though there was never a conviction. The only way to actually clear that record is to file an expungement petition under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122(a), which makes expungement mandatory once the non-conviction disposition is established. This category covers a wide range of outcomes: a full acquittal at trial, a case the district attorney withdraws before a preliminary hearing, a nolle prosequi entered by the prosecution, or a case that simply never proceeds to a disposition and ages out. Because these cases involved an arrest and a docket entry regardless of the ultimate outcome, the practical damage on a background check can look identical to a conviction unless the record is formally expunged. I handle non-conviction expungement petitions under Pa.R.Crim.P. 490 and 790 across Dauphin, Cumberland, York, Adams, Perry, Franklin, and Lancaster counties.

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How the remedy works

Expungement of Dismissed, Withdrawn & Nolle Prossed Charges.

Authority: 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122(a)[1][2]

Record relief, in context

A dismissed or withdrawn charge still shows up as an arrest until a § 9122(a) petition is filed and granted — the case being over in court doesn't clear the record by itself.

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

Section 9122(a) treats non-conviction dispositions as the clearest category for expungement: if a person was found not guilty, if the charges were withdrawn, or if the case was dismissed or nolle prossed, the person is entitled to expungement once the case is fully concluded and any applicable appeal period has run. Unlike the discretionary categories in § 9122(b), this is framed as something the court grants rather than something it weighs, though the Commonwealth still gets notice and an opportunity to object.

The practical problem is that the underlying arrest record doesn't go away when the case is dismissed in court — it stays in the docket system and in state police criminal history records as an open, undisposed-of-looking entry unless a separate expungement petition works its way through the process. Someone who had a case withdrawn five years ago can still find it surfacing on a landlord's or employer's background check today if no one ever filed the petition.

Pa.R.Crim.P. 490 governs expungement petitions arising from summary cases handled at the magisterial district court level, while Pa.R.Crim.P. 790 covers petitions in cases that proceeded in the Court of Common Pleas. Both rules set out what has to be in the petition — case identification, the disposition, and the grounds for expungement — and both require notice to the district attorney, who has an opportunity to respond or request a hearing before the court rules.

Cases that never reach a disposition at all — where charges are filed but the matter is later abandoned, dismissed for lack of prosecution, or otherwise closed without a formal finding — generally still qualify for expungement once it's clear no conviction resulted, but establishing exactly how the case ended sometimes takes pulling the full docket history rather than relying on memory of what happened.

Eligibility at a glance

What qualifies — and what does not.

Expungement of Dismissed, Withdrawn & Nolle Prossed Charges: eligibility categories under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122(a)
Situation	What the law allows	Condition
Full acquittal after trial	Mandatory expungement under § 9122(a)(1)	Applies once any appeal period has run without the Commonwealth appealing.
Charges withdrawn before or during preliminary hearing	Mandatory expungement under § 9122(a)(1)	Common where the Commonwealth can't establish a prima facie case at the preliminary hearing stage.
Nolle prosequi entered by the district attorney	Mandatory expungement under § 9122(a)(1)	The DA's decision not to pursue the case doesn't automatically clear the record — a petition is still required.
Case dismissed for a procedural or evidentiary defect	Mandatory expungement under § 9122(a)(1)	Includes dismissals following a successful suppression motion or habeas corpus challenge.
Case that never reaches a formal disposition	Generally eligible once the non-conviction status is confirmed	Requires pulling the full docket to document how and why the case closed without a conviction.
Summary case handled before an MDJ that was dismissed or resulted in not guilty	Mandatory expungement under Pa.R.Crim.P. 490	Filed with the magisterial district court that handled the original case rather than the Court of Common Pleas.
Multiple related charges where some were dismissed and others resulted in conviction	Partial expungement possible for the dismissed counts	The convicted counts remain on the record even where companion charges from the same arrest were dropped.

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
Pull the full docket history
Before filing, confirm every charge and its final disposition on the case, since a single arrest can carry multiple counts with different outcomes that each need to be addressed.
Step 2
Determine the correct rule and forum
Summary cases follow Pa.R.Crim.P. 490 and are filed with the magisterial district court; misdemeanor and felony non-convictions follow Pa.R.Crim.P. 790 and are filed with the Court of Common Pleas in the county of prosecution.
Step 3
Draft and file the petition
The petition identifies the case, the arresting agency, the disposition, and the statutory basis for expungement, along with the required filing fee and any supporting certified records.
Step 4
Serve the District Attorney's office
The DA is entitled to notice and can object or request a hearing, though objections in clear-cut non-conviction cases are less common than in discretionary expungement petitions.
Step 5
Court ruling, with or without a hearing
Many uncontested non-conviction petitions are resolved on the papers; where the DA objects or the disposition is ambiguous, the court schedules a hearing before ruling.
Step 6
Compliance by state and federal repositories
Once granted, the order goes to the clerk of courts, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the FBI where applicable, and each has a compliance window to update its records — background-check aggregators outside that system may need a separate follow-up.

Jurisdiction & venue

Where the petition is filed.

Dauphin and Cumberland counties

Non-conviction petitions in the Court of Common Pleas in both counties are filed through the clerk of courts under Pa.R.Crim.P. 790, while summary-level dismissals route to the magisterial district court that handled the citation. The Dauphin County and Cumberland County District Attorney's offices each maintain a process for reviewing these petitions before a judge signs off.

York and Adams counties

York County's Court of Common Pleas and its DA's office process a significant volume of Rule 790 non-conviction petitions given the county's caseload, while Adams County's smaller docket often allows for quicker turnaround once a petition is filed. MDJ-level dismissals in either county are handled through the specific magisterial district court where the summary case was heard.

Perry and Franklin counties

Perry and Franklin counties process non-conviction expungement petitions through their respective Courts of Common Pleas clerk of courts offices, with the DA's office in each county reviewing filings before scheduling any hearing. Rural county practice sometimes means more direct communication with the clerk's office about petition status than in larger jurisdictions.

Lancaster County

Lancaster County's Court of Common Pleas handles a substantial volume of non-conviction expungement petitions, and its DA's office has an established review function for confirming the disposition supports mandatory expungement under § 9122(a). As in the other counties, MDJ-level summary case dismissals are filed separately with the magisterial district court that handled the citation.

Where these petitions are won or lost.

Never assume 'the case was dropped' means the record is clear
A dismissal, withdrawal, or nolle prosequi is a disposition, not an automatic erasure — the arrest record persists until a petition is filed and granted.
Get the disposition in writing before filing
Court dockets can be ambiguous about exactly what happened; getting a certified copy of the final order avoids a petition that gets bounced for citing the wrong basis.
Address every docket from the same arrest
Where multiple charges or docket numbers came out of one arrest, each one needs its own confirmed disposition and, where appropriate, its own petition language.
Move quickly once eligibility is confirmed
There's no requirement to wait after a non-conviction disposition, so filing promptly limits how long the record continues showing up on background checks in the meantime.
Watch for appeal windows before filing
Filing an expungement petition too early — before the Commonwealth's appeal period on a dismissal or acquittal has run — can result in the petition being held or denied as premature.
Confirm background-check vendors actually update
Court and state repositories comply with an expungement order, but private background-check companies don't always sync automatically, so following up directly with a reporting agency after the order is granted can matter.

Where we file

Record relief across Central Pennsylvania.

Other record-relief guides.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

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

No. A dismissal, withdrawal, or nolle prosequi ends the criminal case, but the arrest record itself stays in the court and state police systems until a separate expungement petition under § 9122(a) is filed and granted.
No waiting period applies to non-conviction expungement the way it does for summary convictions or the age-based category — the main practical limit is making sure any appeal period on the disposition has run before filing.
Rule 490 governs expungement petitions for summary cases handled at the magisterial district court level; Rule 790 governs petitions for cases that proceeded in the Court of Common Pleas.
Yes, the DA is entitled to notice and can object or request a hearing, though objections are less common in clear non-conviction cases than in the discretionary age or death-based category under § 9122(b).
Where some counts were dismissed and others resulted in a conviction, the dismissed counts are typically still eligible for expungement even though the convicted counts remain on the record.
It can look substantially similar to a conviction on many background checks, since the record shows the arrest and charges without necessarily making clear the case was dismissed or ended in acquittal — this is exactly why the mandatory expungement category exists.
It varies by county and whether a hearing is required, but non-conviction petitions typically move faster than discretionary petitions since the DA has less basis to object once the disposition is confirmed.

[1]18 Pa.C.S. § 9122 — Expungement of criminal history record information.
[2]18 Pa.C.S. § 9102 — Criminal History Record Information Act definitions — including 'expunge' and 'criminal history record information'.
[3]18 Pa.C.S. § 9121 — General regulations on dissemination of criminal history record information, including what remains available after sealing.

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

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