Can a DUI be expunged in North Carolina?

Whether a DUI can be cleared at all

North Carolina bars expunction of an impaired driving conviction outright. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-145.5, the general expunction route for nonviolent misdemeanors and felonies, states in subsection (a1) that an offense involving impaired driving as defined in G.S. 20-4.01(24a) is not eligible for expunction, and no waiting period changes that. A charge that was dismissed or ended in a finding of not guilty is different: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-146 allows expunction of those entries and, since December 1, 2021, expunges them by operation of law 180 to 210 days after final disposition.

“(a1) An offense involving impaired driving as defined in G.S. 20-4.01(24a) is not eligible for expunction.”

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 Division of Motor Vehicles clears its entry only when the underlying charge itself is expunged, which an impaired driving conviction cannot be. Under § 15A-146(b), where a dismissed or not-guilty charge is expunged the court may direct the Division of Motor Vehicles to expunge its records, including a civil revocation of a driver license arising from the charge, and the clerk forwards a certified copy of the order to the Division; the same subsection excludes civil revocations under G.S. 20-16.2. Separately, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-26(a) requires the Division to keep a record of all convictions affecting a drivers license.

“The clerk shall forward a certified copy of the order to the Division of Motor Vehicles for the expunction of a civil revocation provided the underlying criminal charge is also expunged.”

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

How long the wait is, and from when

No period exists for an impaired driving conviction, which the statute excludes at any distance in time. For offenses that are eligible, § 15A-145.5(c) sets three years from the date of conviction or the end of any active sentence, probation or post-release supervision for a single nonviolent misdemeanor, seven years for more than one, ten years for a single nonviolent felony, and twenty years for two or three. Where a charge was dismissed or ended in a finding of not guilty on or after December 1, 2021, expunction happens by operation of law not less than 180 and not more than 210 days after final disposition.

“the charges in the case are expunged by operation of law not less than 180 days and not more than 210 days after the date of final disposition”

Automatic or by petition

North Carolina automates only the non-conviction side. Under § 15A-146(a4), a case disposed on or after December 1, 2021 in which every charge was dismissed without leave, dismissed by the court, or ended in a finding of not guilty or not responsible is expunged by operation of law, and the Administrative Office of the Courts is required to have procedures in place to automate it; a felony charge dismissed under a plea agreement is excluded. Convictions still require a petition, and an impaired driving conviction cannot be the subject of one.

“The Administrative Office of the Courts shall develop and have in place procedures to automate the expunction of records pursuant to this subsection.”

Where it is filed, and what it costs

For an offense that is eligible, § 15A-145.5(g) requires a $175.00 fee paid to the clerk of superior court when the petition is filed, and the fee does not apply to a petition filed by an indigent person. The petition must include the petitioner's affidavit of good moral character and clean record for the waiting period, affidavits from two unrelated people as to character and reputation, a statement that the petition is a motion in the cause, an application on a form approved by the Administrative Office of the Courts authorizing State and national record checks by the State Bureau of Investigation, and affidavits about outstanding restitution and about petitions filed in other counties. The petition is served on the district attorney, who has 30 days to object.

“A person who files a petition for expunction of a criminal record under this section shall pay the clerk of superior court a fee of one hundred seventy-five dollars ($175.00) at the time the petition is filed.”

Whether a cleared DUI still counts as a prior

Impaired driving convictions count against each other for ten years. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-138.5 makes habitual impaired driving a Class F felony where the driver has three or more convictions of offenses involving impaired driving as defined in G.S. 20-4.01(24a) within 10 years of the date of the offense, with a minimum active term of not less than 12 months that cannot be suspended and permanent revocation of the license. Section 15A-145.5(d) also removes the nondisclosure protection an expunction otherwise gives at a sentencing hearing after a later conviction.

“A person commits the offense of habitual impaired driving if he drives while impaired as defined in G.S. 20-138.1 and has been convicted of three or more offenses involving impaired driving as defined in G.S. 20-4.01(24a) within 10 years of the date of this offense.”

The statute: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-145.5, with § 15A-146

“§ 15A-145.5. Expunction of certain misdemeanors and felonies; no age limitation.”