An expungement of your criminal record gives you the legal right to say that you have never been convicted of a crime, nor do you have to indicate you have been convicted of a crime on any employment application, apartment, application, college application, etc.  The only exception could be a military application, and this would need to be discussed with your attorney before applying to any branch of the military.

Expungement can give you a clean slate and will never appear on a criminal background check, but there are some crimes that cannot be expunged from your record, and include:

Most misdemeanor cases are eligible for expungement providing you have never had a felony or other misdemeanor conviction expunged, but if you are convicted of a felony after a misdemeanor conviction has been expunged, you may still be eligible to have the felony expunged.  It’s an interesting twist in Washington State Law.

In addition, anyone convicted of a misdemeanor domestic abuse crime is not allowed to own or have a firearm during their lifetime. Some felonies can be expunged providing you are not convicted of another crime following the Certificate of Discharge for the felony.

In order to request an expungement, a Motion to Vacate Conviction must be filed with the court, and must be signed by a judge.

Seattle Expungement Lawyer

To discuss the process of expunging your criminal conviction(s), and to see if you are eligible to have your convictions expunged, contact the Nahajski Law Firm in Seattle to meet with an expungement attorney today.