How can I expunge a moving violation from my record?

The ability to expunge moving violations is subject to state-by-state laws and policies, which do greatly vary from state to state. In general, expunging a moving violation from one’s record will require the state to remove all records related to the case and conviction, including on one’s driving record, any public information, and other government sponsored records databases. However, it is important to acknowledge that this information may still be freely available in other third party venues, often online. While the availability of this information will not influence any future action regarding license status or other criminal cases, one of the main reasons for expunging moving violations relates to employment, and in turn, employers may come across this information, if they elect to do a search outside of state-sponsored public records.

In order to expunge a driving moving violation, a driver must learn the specific criteria and policies of their state regarding expunging moving violations. Certain states do permit this action, but the process requires waiting a defined period after conviction before a petition to the courts to expunge will be heard. Furthermore, the petitions to expunge will typically requiring obtaining a standard form from the county court overseeing the conviction, and in turn, the petition must also be filed with this court. Again, state and local laws will widely vary from one another on this matter, and in turn, seeking the advice of legal counsel can greatly simplify the matter and streamline the expungement process.