Can a DUI be expunged in Nevada?

Whether a DUI can be cleared at all

A misdemeanor DUI conviction can be sealed. NRS 179.245(1)(e) places a violation of NRS 484C.110 or 484C.120 other than a felony in the seven-year sealing category, running from release from actual custody or from the date the person is no longer under a suspended sentence, whichever is later. A felony DUI is excluded: NRS 179.245(6)(d) bars a petition to seal a violation of NRS 484C.110 or 484C.120 punishable as a felony under NRS 484C.400(1)(c), and subsection (6)(f) bars sealing a homicide resulting from driving under the influence.

“(e) A violation of NRS 422.540 to 422.570, inclusive, a violation of NRS 484C.110 or 484C.120 other than a felony, or a battery which constitutes domestic violence pursuant to NRS 33.018 other than a felony, after 7 years from the date of release from actual custody or from the date when the person”

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. The Department of Motor Vehicles states that convictions, records of a DUI arrest and license revocations remain on the full DMV record for life, and that DUIs and other traffic offenses are reported to insurance companies and most employers for 3 years, to other state DMVs for 10 years, and to law enforcement and courts indefinitely. The Department also states that DMV driver history records are separate from court records and that changes in DMV records do not affect court or law enforcement records. Its DUI page adds that a license revocation is a separate action from the criminal case and reinstatement is not automatic even where criminal charges were reduced or dismissed.

“DMV Records: Criminal convictions are public records. Convictions, records of a DUI arrest and license revocations remain on your full DMV record for life ... Reporting Periods: DUIs and other traffic offenses are reported to: Insurance companies and most employers: 3 years; Other state DMVs: 10”

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

How long the wait is, and from when

Seven years for a misdemeanor DUI, measured from release from actual custody or from the date the person is no longer under a suspended sentence, whichever occurs later. The court may order the records sealed if it finds that during that period the petitioner has not been convicted of any offense, and has no charges pending, except for minor moving or standing traffic violations. Records of a case that was dismissed, or where prosecution was declined or the person was acquitted, are handled separately under NRS 179.255.

“If the court finds that, in the period prescribed in subsection 1, the petitioner has not been charged with any offense for which the charges are pending or convicted of any offense, except for minor moving or standing traffic violations, the court may order sealed all records of the conviction”

Automatic or by petition

Nevada has no automatic or Clean Slate sealing law. A petition must be filed in the court of conviction. NRS 179.2445 creates a rebuttable presumption that the records should be sealed once the petitioner satisfies all statutory requirements, and NRS 179.245(4) lets the court seal without a hearing if the prosecuting agency stipulates or files no written objection within 30 days and the court makes the required findings.

“upon the filing of a petition for the sealing of records pursuant to NRS 179.245, 179.247, 179.255, 179.259 or 179.2595, there is a rebuttable presumption that the records should be sealed if the applicant satisfies all statutory requirements for the sealing of the records.”

Where it is filed, and what it costs

NRS 179.245(2) requires the petition to be accompanied by the petitioner's current verified records from the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History, a list of every other custodian reasonably known to hold records of the conviction, and identifying information including date of birth, the specific conviction, and the date of arrest for that conviction. The court then notifies the arresting law enforcement agency and the prosecuting attorney, who may testify and present evidence at any hearing. Under NRS 179.245(9), no court or criminal justice agency fee may be charged where the petitioner was being sex trafficked at the time of the offense.

“a person may petition the court in which the person was convicted for the sealing of all records relating to a conviction”

Whether a cleared DUI still counts as a prior

Nevada counts DUI offenses within a 7-year window. Under NRS 484C.400(1), a first offense within 7 years is a misdemeanor, a second offense within 7 years is a misdemeanor, and a third offense within 7 years is a category B felony. NRS 484C.320 also provides that where a first-offense DUI sentence is reduced after satisfactory completion of a treatment program, the conviction must remain on the record of criminal history for the period prescribed by law, and that the court may not defer the sentence or set aside the conviction.

“If the offender completes the treatment satisfactorily, the offender's sentence will be reduced to a term of imprisonment which is not less than 1 day and a fine of not more than the minimum fine provided for the offense in NRS 484C.400, but the conviction must remain on the record of criminal”

The statute: Nev. Rev. Stat. § 179.245

“NRS 179.245 Sealing records after conviction: Persons eligible; petition; notice; hearing; order; waiver of fees for certain victims of sex trafficking.”