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 Oregon, 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. In Oregon, expunged records are deemed not to exist and when asked about their past criminal record, a person whose record has been expunged can honestly say that they have none.

But the records do not just disappear, although juvenile courts may direct that records be destroyed. According to O.S. § 419A.262, expunged records may not be destroyed until at least three years have elapsed after the date of the person’s most recent termination. In the event the record has been expunged, the expunction judgment and list of complying and noncomplying agencies shall not be destroyed, but instead preserved under seal.

Under O.S. § 137.225 regarding records of adults arrested or convicted, expunction means the setting aside of the arrest or conviction and sealing of records. The setting aside of an arrest or a conviction does not absolutely close the records. The Court may be via court order to unseal the record, but only under exceptional circumstances would this request be granted.

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