Where do I file a summary-offense expungement petition?

With the clerk of the courts of the judicial district in which the charges were disposed — Pa.R.Crim.P. 490(A)(1). Not with the magisterial district judge.

How much does it cost to file a sealing or expungement petition?

$132 under 42 Pa.C.S. § 1725.7, paid to the clerk of courts at filing, for a petition under § 9122 or § 9122.1.

Do I pay a fee for Clean Slate automatic sealing?

No. Automatic sealing under § 9122.2 involves no petition, so the § 1725.7 fee does not apply.

Expungements & Pardons · Sealing & Expungement Petition Process

Filing a sealing or expungement petition, step by step.

Automatic Clean Slate sealing under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.2 needs no petition and no fee. Everything else — petition sealing under § 9122.1, expungement under § 9122, and summary-case expungement under Pa.R.Crim.P. 490 — starts with a petition filed with the clerk of courts and a $132 filing fee under 42 Pa.C.S. § 1725.7. I file these petitions across Dauphin, Cumberland, York, Adams, Perry, Franklin, and Lancaster counties.

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How the remedy works

How to File a Sealing or Expungement Petition in Pennsylvania, Step by Step.

Authority: 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.1; Pa.R.Crim.P. 490[1] [2]

Record relief, in context

Petitions go to the clerk of courts with a $132 fee under 42 Pa.C.S. § 1725.7; automatic sealing under § 9122.2 needs neither.

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

Pennsylvania record relief runs on two tracks. The automatic track, § 9122.2, seals eligible records by court order without any filing. The petition track covers everything the automatic track does not: petition-based limited access under § 9122.1 (including M1 convictions after seven years and the listed F3 and ungraded felonies after ten years under § 9122.1(a.1)), and expungement under § 9122.

Every petition is filed with the clerk of courts. For summary cases, Rule 490(A)(1) is explicit: the petition is filed with the clerk of the courts of the judicial district in which the charges were disposed — not with the magisterial district judge, even when the MDJ decided the case. Expungement petitions in court cases follow Rule 790.

The filing fee is $132 under 42 Pa.C.S. § 1725.7, paid to the clerk of courts at filing. The fee attaches to a petition under § 9122 or § 9122.1. Automatic sealing under § 9122.2 involves no petition, so no fee is charged for it.

Eligibility at a glance

What qualifies — and what does not.

How to File a Sealing or Expungement Petition in Pennsylvania, Step by Step: eligibility categories under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.1; Pa.R.Crim.P. 490
Situation	What the law allows	Condition
Summary-case expungement	Petition under Pa.R.Crim.P. 490	Filed with the clerk of the courts of the judicial district where the charges were disposed — Rule 490(A)(1). $132 fee under § 1725.7.
Court-case expungement under § 9122	Petition under Pa.R.Crim.P. 790	Filed with the clerk of courts. $132 fee under § 1725.7.
Petition sealing under § 9122.1	Petition to the court of common pleas	M1 convictions after seven years; listed F3 and ungraded felonies after ten years under § 9122.1(a.1). $132 fee under § 1725.7. The § 9122.3 exclusions apply.
Automatic Clean Slate sealing under § 9122.2	No petition	Sealed by court order without a filing. No fee.

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 record isn't already sealed automatically
If the case qualifies under § 9122.2, it is sealed without a petition and no fee is owed. Check the UJS Portal before filing anything.
Step 2
Identify the right remedy
Summary-case expungement (Rule 490), court-case expungement under § 9122 (Rule 790), or petition sealing under § 9122.1. Check the § 9122.3 exclusions before choosing sealing.
Step 3
Pull the docket and identifiers
The petition must identify the case and the charges. Get the docket number and disposition from the UJS Portal or the clerk of courts.
Step 4
Prepare the petition
Use the form and contents the governing rule requires — Rule 490 for summary cases, Rule 790 for court cases.
Step 5
File with the clerk of courts and pay the $132 fee
File in the judicial district where the charges were disposed. The $132 fee under 42 Pa.C.S. § 1725.7 is paid to the clerk of courts at filing.
Step 6
Serve the Commonwealth and wait for its response
The attorney for the Commonwealth is served and may respond within the time the rule allows. An objection can lead to a hearing.
Step 7
Obtain the signed order and confirm it is carried out
Once the judge signs the order, it is distributed to the agencies holding the record. Confirm the result on the UJS Portal.

Jurisdiction & venue

Where the petition is filed.

Dauphin and Cumberland counties

Petitions are filed with each county's clerk of courts. For summary cases decided at a magisterial district court, the filing still goes to the clerk of courts under Rule 490(A)(1).

York and Adams counties

Both counties' clerks of courts accept petitions with the $132 § 1725.7 fee at filing.

Perry, Franklin, and Lancaster counties

The same statewide rules apply: file with the clerk of courts in the judicial district where the charges were disposed.

Where these petitions are won or lost.

Don't file at the MDJ
Rule 490(A)(1) sends summary expungement petitions to the clerk of the courts of the judicial district — there is no MDJ filing option.
Don't pay for what's automatic
If the record qualifies for § 9122.2 automatic sealing, no petition or fee is required.
Check exclusions before filing a sealing petition
A § 9122.3 exclusion, including the same-case rule in § 9122.3(b), defeats a sealing petition no matter how well it is drafted.
Sealing protects license applications
A sealed conviction may not be used in considering a license application — 18 Pa.C.S. § 9124(b)(2).

Where we file

Record relief across Central Pennsylvania.

Other record-relief guides.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

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

With the clerk of the courts of the judicial district in which the charges were disposed — Pa.R.Crim.P. 490(A)(1). Not with the magisterial district judge.
$132 under 42 Pa.C.S. § 1725.7, paid to the clerk of courts at filing, for a petition under § 9122 or § 9122.1.
No. Automatic sealing under § 9122.2 involves no petition, so the § 1725.7 fee does not apply.
M1 convictions after seven years and the listed F3 and ungraded felonies after ten years under § 9122.1(a.1), plus eligible records the automated sweep missed.

[1]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 — there is no magisterial district judge filing option. That paragraph applies 'Except as provided in Rule 320 ... and Rule 490.2,' both of which need no petition. Rule 490(a)(2) lists what the petition must contain, including the magisterial district court number and the issuing authority — identifiers recited inside the petition, not a place to file it — and ends: 'Additional information shall not be required by local rule or practice.' Under Rule 490(b)(1) the attorney for the Commonwealth has 30 days after service to consent, object, or take no action; under Rule 490(b)(2) the judge grants, denies, or schedules a hearing on receipt of that response or no later than 14 days after the 30-day period expires.
[2]Pa.R.Crim.P. 790 — Procedure for obtaining expungement in court cases. Under Rule 790(a)(1) the petition is filed with the clerk of the courts of the judicial district in which the charges were disposed, except as provided in Rule 320, Rule 790.2, and 35 P.S. § 780-119. Rule 790(a)(2) sets out the required contents and ends: 'Additional information shall not be required by local rule or practice.' Under Rule 790(b)(1) the attorney for the Commonwealth has 60 days after service to consent, object, or take no action — not the 30 days that Rule 490(b)(1) gives in summary cases.
[3]42 Pa.C.S. § 1725.7 — Section 1725.7(a) opens 'In addition to any other fee authorized by law' and then requires a fee of $132, paid to the clerk of courts at the time of filing, on a petition for expungement under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122 or a petition for an order for limited access under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.1 — so $132 is a floor, not the full cost of filing. The fee does not reach Rule 320, Rule 490.2, Rule 790.2 or § 9122(a.1), and automatic sealing under § 9122.2 requires no petition, so no § 1725.7 petition fee applies to it — though § 9122.2(a)(1), (a)(1.1) and (a)(3) each direct that, upon payment of all court-ordered restitution, the person 'shall also pay the fee previously authorized to carry out the limited access and clean slate limited access provisions,' so automatic sealing is not necessarily cost-free.
[4]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.
[5]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.
[6]18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.2 — Clean Slate limited access without a petition. The periods include 5 years for summary convictions under (a)(3) and 7 years for M2, M3 and misdemeanors punishable by no more than 2 years under (a)(1); (a)(1.1) addresses qualifying offenses, as defined in § 9102, after 10 years. Court-ordered restitution must be paid — unpaid fines and costs do not block sealing — and (a)(1), (a)(1.1) and (a)(3) direct that, upon payment of restitution, the person shall also pay the fee previously authorized to carry out the limited access provisions.
[7]18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.3 — Exceptions to limited access — § 9122.3(a)(1) lists excluded offense types; § 9122.3(a)(2) is a person-level bar: an individual convicted of a felony that is not a qualifying felony is barred from automatic sealing, which can affect the individual's other dockets as well.
[8]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.
[9]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.

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

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