Can a DUI be expunged in the District of Columbia?

Whether a DUI can be cleared at all

D.C. Code § 16-805(b)(15) names driving under the influence of alcohol or a drug, as described in § 50-2206.11, among the offenses for which the Court shall not order automatic sealing, alongside the commercial-vehicle offense in § 50-2206.12 and operating while impaired in § 50-2206.14. The relief remains available by motion: D.C. Code § 16-806(a)(3) allows sealing of a misdemeanor conviction once at least 5 years have passed since completion of the sentence and the person files a written motion showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that sealing is in the interests of justice.

“(b) The Court shall not order automatic sealing pursuant to this section if the citation, arrest, charge, or conviction is for: … (15) Driving under the influence (known as DUI) of alcohol or a drug, as described in § 50-2206.11;”

The driving record is a separate record

This is the part most summaries leave out. A court can seal or expunge the criminal case and the licensing agency can still keep the DUI on the driver record, where it reaches insurers and counts as a prior offence if there is a second one.

Not addressed on the official pages read. D.C. Code § 16-807(c)(1) names the Clerk and each prosecutor and law enforcement, corrections, pretrial and community supervision agency as the bodies that must remove identifying references from publicly available records; the Department of Motor Vehicles is not among them. No Department of Motor Vehicles page addresses how long a driving-under-the-influence conviction stays on the driver record, or what a sealing order does to it. The department's driver record material states that points are active on a DC driver record for two years from the disposition date.

“(1) The Clerk and each prosecutor and law enforcement, corrections, pretrial, and community supervision agency shall: (A) Eliminate from all publicly available physical and computerized records any references that identify the person as having been cited, arrested, prosecuted, or convicted;”

What else sits on that record: suspensions and points in District of Columbia.

How long the wait is, and from when

Five years since completion of the sentence for a misdemeanor conviction sealed by motion, and eight years for a felony, with offences in Offense Severity Group 1, 2 or 3 of the Sentencing Commission Master Grid not eligible at all. D.C. Code § 16-801(2) defines completion of the sentence as unconditional discharge from incarceration, commitment, probation, parole or supervised release, whichever is latest, and states that unpaid fines, restitution or other monetary assessments do not prevent completion. The automatic route in § 16-805(a)(2), which a DUI conviction is excluded from, uses ten years.

“(A) (i) For a misdemeanor offense, a waiting period of at least 5 years has elapsed since completion of the sentence; and (ii) For a felony offense, a waiting period of at least 8 years has elapsed since completion of the sentence”

Automatic or by petition

The Second Chance Amendment Act of 2022 built two automatic routes into chapter 8 of title 16: automatic expungement under D.C. Code § 16-802 and automatic sealing under § 16-805, which covers non-conviction cases and misdemeanor convictions once at least 10 years have passed since completion of the sentence. Section 16-805(b) then lists offences the Court shall not seal automatically, and driving under the influence under § 50-2206.11 is item (15) on that list. D.C. Code § 16-808 states that the sealing and expungement relief available under the chapter applies retroactively.

“(2) Citations, arrests, charges, and convictions for the commission of a misdemeanor offense that resulted in a conviction; provided, that a waiting period of at least 10 years has elapsed since completion of the sentence.”

Where it is filed, and what it costs

D.C. Code § 16-806(a)(3)(B) requires a written motion showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that sealing is in the interests of justice. Under § 16-806(b)(2) the Court weighs the person's interest in sealing, the community's interest in their rehabilitation and reintegration through education, employment and housing, and the community's interest in retaining access to the records, including the interest of employers in making fully informed hiring decisions and the interest in promoting public safety, and may also consider the nature and circumstances of the offense and the person's history and characteristics.

“(B) The person cited, arrested, charged, or convicted files a written motion demonstrating, by a preponderance of the evidence, that it is in the interests of justice to seal the records.”

Whether a cleared DUI still counts as a prior

D.C. Code § 16-807(c)(1)(B) states that the Clerk and each prosecutor and law enforcement, corrections, pretrial and community supervision agency are entitled to retain records relating to the citation, arrest, prosecution and conviction in a nonpublic, restricted access file. The chapter therefore removes the record from public view rather than destroying it.

“(B) Be entitled to retain records relating to the person's citation, arrest, prosecution, and conviction in a nonpublic, restricted access file;”

The statute: D.C. Code § 16-806

“(3) Citations, arrests, charges, and convictions for the commission of a criminal offense that resulted in a conviction; provided, that: (A) (i) For a misdemeanor offense, a waiting period of at least 5 years has elapsed since completion of the sentence”