Can I Expunge Traffic Tickets in Oklahoma?

You can expunge traffic tickets in Oklahoma and keep your private driving record private. Even the most careful drivers receive the occasional traffic ticket. When tickets start to pile up, though, they can have serious consequences for a person’s insurance costs and may lead to a driver’s license suspension or revocation. More serious traffic offenses like driving under the influence can carry significant jail time.

Expungement offers drivers the ability to shield their traffic tickets and any related arrest and court records from public view. In todays world of easy access to a persons background information an expungement hides personal records related to law enforcement and even things like traffic tickets. It may seem like a traffic ticket is really noting series and doesn’t need sealed but this isn’t always the case.

Maybe you’ve had a couple of years of bad driving in your background. Maybe those tickets range from simple speeding on to more serious infractions like reckless driving, driving without insurance or speeding in school zones or even a DUI arrest on your record. To many people keeping this driving record private is very important. This is exactly the circumstance where being able to expunge traffic tickets from your public records helps you keep your private information private.

What Is Expungement?

Expungement is a legal process that allows a person to seal their court or arrest records from public view. For many people, having a “clean” background check is important for a variety of reasons, from job searching to buying a home. Expungement prevents the public from accessing a person’s criminal history and records.

Expungement does not erase the convictions entirely or prevent them from being used against a person in a future case. Law enforcement and the legal system will still have access to any criminal records or court cases that were expunged. Additionally, fingerprint records and other physical records will remain in the state’s system.

An expungement does not absolve a person from guilt for the offense, and it does not change the legal consequences of the arrest. It simply takes the records and makes them private. When a person or entity outside of the legal system searches the criminal records for an expunged offense, it will be as if that offense never occurred, and the records will not exist.

What Types Of Traffic Tickets Can Be Expunged?

A traffic ticket may be eligible for expungement when it is also a misdemeanor offense under Oklahoma law. If the traffic ticket also carried the possibility of jail time in addition to a fine or fee, then it may be possible to expunge the ticket from a person’s record.

If the traffic ticket is not a misdemeanor, it is not likely to be eligible for expungement. For example, a parking ticket where the penalty is only a fine is probably not something that can be expunged. However, a person who was arrested for driving under the influence may be able to have that traffic ticket expunged under certain circumstances.

Expungement does not affect the number of points on a person’s driving record. Even if a traffic ticket is successfully expunged, the ticket may still affect how many points a driver has. There are ways to decrease the number of points attached to a driver’s license, for example, by taking defensive driving classes through the Department of Motor Vehicles.

We Expunge Traffic Tickets in Oklahoma

Many different circumstances could qualify an individual for expungement of their traffic tickets and arrest record. Still, winning an expungement can be a complicated task that requires petitioning the court where the arrest occurred and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

After our Oklahoma traffic ticket expungement attorneys files a petition for expungement, the district court will set a hearing with the district court judge in the county where the ticket was issued. After some testimony and a review of the record If the court believes that the person has met the statutory requirements and agrees that the public benefit in having access to the records is outweighed by the dangers or adverse consequences to the driver, then the court may order that person’s arrest records sealed. The court may also choose to only seal certain parts of a person’s records.

Oklahoma Expungement Lawyers

You can expunge traffic tickets and we can help you get it done fast. Oklahoma expungement procedures can be complex. There are many requirements including how recent the crime or traffic ticket was issued, how many other tickets or crimes exist and where they occurred. Our attorneys have sealed traffic tickets along with both felony and criminal records all through Oklahoma. In most of those cases we can do this without you having to appear at court because we do it all. For a free consultation call Kania Law Office at (918) 743-2233 or contact us online.