Expungement of Criminal Records in Oklahoma

A criminal record can hamper your job prospects, prevent you from obtaining housing, or government benefits. Fortunately, you can achieve an expungement of criminal records in Oklahoma.  This helps prevent your past from ruining your future. Call us now for more information on how to get your a clean slate.

An Oklahoma  criminal records expungement results in the sealing of your public record.  These records include things like criminal arrests or conviction record. The legal process restricts the record from being accessed by the general public. Law enforcement agencies can sometimes access the record and view your prior convictions, but this is limited. Expunging a criminal record in Oklahoma seals both criminal arrest and conviction. As a result you can truthfully answer that you’ve never been convicted of a crime on job applications.

You Can Get an Expungement of Criminal Records in Oklahoma:

Violent felonies are not expungible under Oklahoma State law. Further, Title 22 Section 18 of the Oklahoma State Statutes allow you to expunge your entire arrest record as follows:

Individuals that can file for expungement, as provided herein, must be within one of the following categories:

1. The person receives an acquittal
2. The conviction reverses with instructions to dismiss by an appellate court of competent jurisdiction
3. The factual innocence of the person occurs by the use of DNA evidence subsequent to conviction
4. The person receives a full pardon on the basis of a written finding by the Governor of actual innocence for the crime for which the claimant was subject to conviction on;
5. The person receives no charges of any type after arrest, or the prosecuting agency declines to file charges
6. The person was under eighteen (18) years of age at the time of the commission of the offense and receives a full pardon for the offense
7. Person was charged with a nonviolent felony offense, as set forth in Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the charge was dismissed following the successful completion of a deferred judgment or delayed sentence
8. Convicted of a misdemeanor offense, the person has not been convicted of a felony, no felony or misdemeanor charges are pending against the person, and at least ten (10) years have passed since the end of the last misdemeanor sentence
9. The person has been charged or arrested or is the subject of an arrest warrant for a crime that was committed by another person

Title 22 Section 991(c) allows you to expunge a plea if you received a deferred sentence. If expungement occurs, the deposition of your case will be update to reflect the case dismissal. Section 991(c) will not expunge the arrest record. A petition must file under both sections in order to have expungement on the arrest and conviction record.

The Process of Sealing Criminal Records:

We first review your arrest record to see if you are eligible for Expungement of criminal records in Oklahoma. If so, we file a petition on your behalf in the county in which the arrest took place. A hearing date sets. We provide provide notice of the hearing to the district attorney, the arresting agency, and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.  The judge will hear the matter and determine whether your interest in selling the record outweighs the public interest in keeping the record open. The judge can either issue an order to completely seal the record, seal part of the record, or limit access to the record. In addition to sealing the arrest record, we also file a petition to have your criminal record sealed.