Can a DUI be expunged in Iowa?

Whether a DUI can be cleared at all

Iowa Code § 901C.3 lets a person apply to expunge a misdemeanor conviction more than eight years after the date of conviction, but subsection 2 lists misdemeanors that shall not be expunged, and paragraph d names a conviction under section 321J.2 — operating while intoxicated. Paragraph c separately excludes convictions under sections 321.218, 321A.32 and 321J.21. Iowa Code § 901C.2 remains open where every charge in the case ended in acquittal or dismissal.

“2. The following misdemeanors shall not be expunged: ... c. A conviction under section 321.218, 321A.32, or 321J.21. d. A conviction under section 321J.2.”

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 cleared. Iowa Code § 321.12(4) bars the Transportation Department director from destroying operating records of arrests or convictions for operating while intoxicated under section 321J.2, except that a conviction or revocation not subject to the federal commercial rules is deleted twelve years after the date of conviction or the effective date of revocation. Records kept beyond twelve years are then considered only for commercial disqualification actions. This retention rule sits in the motor vehicle code and is separate from the criminal expungement chapter.

“The director shall not destroy any operating records pertaining to arrests or convictions for operating while intoxicated, in violation of section 321J.2 ... except that a conviction or revocation under section 321J.2 or 321J.2A that is not subject to 49 C.F.R. pt. 383 shall be deleted from the”

What else sits on that record: suspensions and points in Iowa.

How long the wait is, and from when

The eight-year wait in Iowa Code § 901C.3(1)(a), measured from the date of conviction, does not reach an operating-while-intoxicated conviction, which subsection 2 places outside expungement. For a case that ended in acquittal or dismissal of all charges, Iowa Code § 901C.2(1)(a)(3) requires a minimum of 180 days since the judgment of acquittal or the dismissal order, unless the court finds good cause to waive that.

“A minimum of one hundred eighty days have passed since entry of the judgment of acquittal or of the order dismissing the case relating to all criminal charges, unless the court finds good cause to waive this requirement”

Automatic or by petition

Iowa has no Clean Slate style automatic clearing for these records. Iowa Code § 901C.3 works on application by the defendant, and § 901C.2 on application by the defendant or the prosecutor or on the court's own motion. Under § 901C.3(3) a person may be granted a misdemeanor expungement only once in a lifetime, though one application may cover several misdemeanors arising from the same transaction or occurrence.

“A person shall be granted an expungement of a record under this section one time in the person's lifetime.”

Where it is filed, and what it costs

Iowa Code § 901C.3(1) requires the applicant to prove that more than eight years have passed since the conviction, that no criminal charges are pending, that two deferred judgments have not previously been granted, and that all court costs, fees, fines, restitution and other financial obligations have been paid. Neither section states a filing fee. Both sections allow the supreme court to prescribe rules governing the procedure.

“d. The defendant has paid all court costs, fees, fines, restitution, and any other financial obligations ordered by the court or assessed by the clerk of the district court.”

Whether a cleared DUI still counts as a prior

Iowa Code § 321J.2(8) ties the count of prior offences to the motor vehicle record rather than the criminal record: a conviction or revocation deleted from the operating records under section 321.12 is not counted as a previous offence, while a deferred judgment under section 907.3 for the same offence is counted. Read with the twelve-year deletion rule in § 321.12(4), a prior operating-while-intoxicated conviction counts for twelve years.

“In determining if a violation charged is a second or subsequent offense for purposes of criminal sentencing or license revocation under this chapter: a. Any conviction or revocation deleted from motor vehicle operating records pursuant to section 321.12 shall not be considered as a previous offense.”

The statute: Iowa Code § 901C.3

“Upon application of a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor offense in the county where the conviction occurred, the court shall enter an order expunging the record of such a criminal case, as a matter of law, if the defendant has proven all of the following:”