Can a DUI be expunged in Pennsylvania?

Whether a DUI can be cleared at all

Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.2, criminal history record information for a conviction of a misdemeanor of the second degree, a misdemeanor of the third degree, or a misdemeanor offense punishable by imprisonment of no more than two years becomes subject to limited access once the person has been free for seven years from conviction for any offense punishable by imprisonment of one or more years and all court-ordered restitution is paid. A first driving under the influence offense under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3802(a) is graded by 75 Pa.C.S. § 3803 as a misdemeanor punishable by not more than six months, so it falls inside that class, and the exception list in 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.3 does not name driving under the influence. Limited access seals the record from most employers and the general public; it is not expungement, and the record is still released to criminal justice agencies and to the agencies listed in 18 Pa.C.S. § 9121(b), (b.1) and (b.2).

“criminal history record information pertaining to a conviction of a misdemeanor of the second degree, a misdemeanor of the third degree or a misdemeanor offense punishable by imprisonment of no more than two years if a person has been free for seven years from conviction for any offense punishable”

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. Limited access reaches criminal history record information held by the State Police repository and the courts, not the driving record the Department of Transportation keeps. For a first offense resolved through Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, 75 Pa.C.S. § 1534 requires the court to notify the department of both acceptance and completion, requires the department to keep that record and release it to any prosecuting attorney, court or law enforcement agency on request, and directs the department to expunge it only after twelve years have passed since the completion notice. 75 Pa.C.S. § 3806 counts Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition and other preliminary dispositions as a prior offense.

“Immediately following the expiration of 12 years after the notification provided in subsection (b.1), the department shall expunge the record of the acceptance and completion of Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition.”

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

How long the wait is, and from when

18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.2 requires seven years free from conviction for any offense punishable by imprisonment of one or more years, together with payment of all court-ordered restitution, before a qualifying misdemeanor conviction becomes subject to clean slate limited access. A conviction of a qualifying offense as defined in the chapter takes ten years. A summary offense takes five years from entry of the judgment of conviction. Charges that ended in a final disposition other than a conviction are subject to limited access without a waiting period.

“Criminal history record information pertaining to a conviction for a summary offense when five years have elapsed since entry of the judgment of conviction and payment of all court-ordered restitution has occurred.”

Automatic or by petition

Pennsylvania's Clean Slate law, added by Act 56 of 2018 and amended by Act 83 of 2020 and Act 36 of 2023, clears qualifying records with no filing: the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts transmits eligible convictions to the Pennsylvania State Police central repository each month, the State Police validate them, and each court of common pleas issues a monthly order for limited access. Driving under the influence is not among the offenses excluded by 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.3. A person may also petition for the same relief under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.1.

“Each court of common pleas shall issue monthly an order for limited access for any record in its judicial district for which no notification of ineligibility was received by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.”

Where it is filed, and what it costs

18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.2 puts the work on the courts and the State Police: the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts transmits eligible conviction records monthly, the State Police repository has thirty days to notify of ineligibility or a data mismatch, records flagged as ineligible are removed from the list, and each court of common pleas then issues a monthly order for limited access. Where a person petitions instead, 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.1 requires payment of all court-ordered restitution and of the fee authorized to carry out the limited access and clean slate limited access provisions before the court may enter an order.

“A court may not enter an order under this subsection unless the person who filed the petition, upon payment of all court-ordered restitution, also paid the fee previously authorized to carry out the limited access and clean slate limited access provisions.”

Whether a cleared DUI still counts as a prior

75 Pa.C.S. § 3806 defines a prior offense to include any conviction, adjudication of delinquency or other form of preliminary disposition for a driving under the influence offence, and for grading, penalties, ignition interlock and the occupational limited license the prior offense must have occurred within ten years before the date of the offence being sentenced.

“the term "prior offense" as used in this chapter shall mean any conviction for which judgment of sentence has been imposed, adjudication of delinquency or other form of preliminary disposition before the sentencing on the present violation”

The statute: 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.2

“§ 9122.2. Clean slate limited access. (a) General rule.--The following shall be subject to limited access”