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:

1. The petitioner cannot ever have been convicted of Class 1 or 2 felony or a felony carrying a possible life sentence.
2. 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.
3. 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).
4. 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.”

*This article has been updated to reflect Virginia legislative changes during the 2025 session. When Virginia's Clean Slate Law was originally passed in 2021 the effective date was scheduled for July 1, 2025. The Virginia legislature extended the effective date to July 1, 2026, during the 2025 legislative session.