A criminal record can be a bar to certain types of employment, licensing, holding public office, and even the right to vote. Most states allow for a process called expungement that will remove certain arrests or criminal convictions from the offender’s record.

Depending upon the laws of the state in which you live and the nature of the crime, you may be able to get an arrest or conviction sealed or erased from your legal record. After the expungement process is complete, you will not need to disclose the conviction on a job or school application, and in most instances no record of the arrest or conviction will show up during a public records inspection or background check commonly done by potential employers, landlords, and educational institutions.

In Ohio, expungement means the same thing as sealing a record. It is a process commenced in court that allows an individual to have any and all reference to a prior criminal conviction cleared and their court file sealed. Expungement in Ohio has the same effect as if a person were never convicted of the crime. Once a criminal record is expunged, nothing will show up when an individual’s record is checked, and when asked about their past criminal record, a person whose record has been expunged can honestly say that they have none. You can act as if the arrest and conviction never took place.

But the records do not just disappear. In Ohio, even if your record is sealed:

Law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and other agencies can still look at a sealed record.
If you commit another crime, your sealed record can still be used against you in sentencing.
A sealed record may be used to show character or credibility in court proceedings.

For a full overview of expungement law in the state of Ohio, see the USLegal website.