Requirements to seal a Virginia conviction by petition
Last updated: January 8, 2024
Virginia Code § 19.2-392.12 allows many misdemeanor and felony criminal convictions to be sealed by petition to the Circuit Court of the original conviction. Virginia Code § 19.2-392.12
establishes the following requirements for a conviction to be sealed:
- The petitioner cannot ever have been convicted of Class 1 or 2 felony or a felony carrying a possible life sentence.
- The petitioner also cannot have been convicted of a Class 3 or 4 felony within the last 20 years or any felony within the last ten years of the petition.
- The petitioner must have no new convictions in the past seven years for a misdemeanor and ten years for a felony (from the date of conviction or release from incarceration, whichever is later).
- If the conviction record shows drug dependence, the petitioner must prove rehabilitation. And lastly, the petitioner must prove the continued existence of the conviction constitutes manifest injustice. There is a lifetime limit of two charges sealed.
Sealing a criminal conviction can open up a world of opportunities that were previously unavailable due to prohibitions related to a criminal conviction. Act now to “erase your record.”