Can a DUI be expunged in Montana?

Whether a DUI can be cleared at all

Montana's misdemeanor expungement law lets a person convicted of one or more misdemeanors petition a district court to expunge the records, once in a lifetime. A misdemeanor DUI is not barred, but Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-1108 removes the presumption in favor of expungement for driving under the influence, so the district court decides after weighing the petitioner's age at the time of the offense, the time since the offense, rehabilitation, and the likelihood of reoffending. The law covers misdemeanors only, so a felony DUI is outside it.

“Expungement may not be presumed if the person seeking expungement has one or more convictions for assault under 45-5-201, partner or family member assault under 45-5-206, stalking under 45-5-220, sexual assault under 45-5-502, a violation of a protective order under 45-5-626, or driving under the”

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. An expungement order under Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-1110 reaches records of arrest, investigation, detention and court proceedings held by the arresting agency, the prosecutor, the clerk of court and the Department of Justice. It does not reach the driving record. The Motor Vehicle Division describes the Montana driver record as a lifetime driving history and states that traffic convictions stay on it for life, and Mont. Code Ann. § 61-11-102 requires the record to include all convictions reported to the department.

“A Montana basic driver record is a compilation of a person's lifetime driving history, and includes personal history, licensing information, convictions, sanctions, and motor vehicle accident history. Myth - Once three years pass with no new traffic violations, a driver has a "clean" driving”

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

How long the wait is, and from when

Expungement is presumed when the petitioner has no conviction in any state or federal court for 5 years after completing the sentencing terms, including payment of financial obligations and completion of court-ordered treatment, and has no pending charges. The 5-year timing requirement may be waived for a petitioner applying to a U.S. military academy or to enlist, or serving in the armed forces or national guard and held back by the conviction. Because a DUI removes the presumption, meeting the 5 years does not by itself decide the petition.

“the person has not been convicted of any offense in this state, another state, or federal court for a period of 5 years since the person completed the sentencing terms for the offense or offenses for which expungement is being requested, including payment of any financial obligations or successful”

Automatic or by petition

Montana has no automatic or Clean Slate sealing law for adult convictions. Relief comes only from a petition filed in district court under Title 46, chapter 18, part 11, and a person may use it no more than once in a lifetime.

“(2) A person may petition for expungement pursuant to this part no more than one time during the person's life.”

Where it is filed, and what it costs

The Montana Judicial Branch publishes a misdemeanor expungement packet containing instructions, the ER-100 petition, a proposed order expunging the records, and a Statement of Inability to Pay Court Costs and Fees for anyone seeking a fee waiver. A petitioner must be fingerprinted to validate identity. If the order is granted, it directs the arresting agency, the prosecutor's office and the clerk of court to permanently seal the records, and a copy of the order plus the fingerprints goes to the Department of Justice.

“46-18-1105. Venue. A person may file a petition for expungement in the district court of a judicial district in which the person was convicted of a misdemeanor for which expungement is sought.”

Whether a cleared DUI still counts as a prior

Mont. Code Ann. § 61-8-1011 counts a prior DUI conviction for sentencing when less than 10 years separate the present offense from the earlier conviction, and on a third or subsequent offense all previous convictions must be used. The same section bars a court from deferring imposition of sentence for a DUI, so Montana offers no deferred-sentence route that avoids a DUI conviction.

“An offender is considered to have been previously convicted for the purposes of sentencing if less than 10 years have elapsed between the commission of the present offense and a previous conviction unless the offense is the offender's third or subsequent offense, in which case all previous”

The statute: Mont. Code Ann. §§ 46-18-1101 to 46-18-1111

“46-18-1104. Eligibility for misdemeanor expungement. (1) A person convicted of one or more misdemeanor offenses, whether in one court or multiple courts and whether in one case or multiple cases, and who has not had the person's records expunged under this part previously, may petition a district”