What does Vacating a Record mean?

Vacate is the legal term for the process of“clearing”a felony or misdemeanor conviction from your criminal record when you meet certain requirements.

Vacating a conviction for a misdemeanor or felony crime simply means the court has determined you to meet certain conditions and orders worthy of vacation. Case in point, if you pled guilty to a crime, vacating your record means your plea would be changed to not guilty and then dismissed. If you were found guilty, the court may set aside the conviction, dismiss the case and vacate the judgment and sentence.

While all that sounds great, vacating a record does not, in fact, remove information from the court’s electronic record keeping system. The record remains, will be available to the public. It will be updated to contain additional information about the vacation of the record. Your name, the case number, the charge, and a “V” for vacated would still show up in the court’s system.

What Follows Vacating a Record

Once your conviction has been vacated, you are legally allowed to state that you have never been convicted of that crime. This will help you with situations of employment or housing applications.

Vacation of a conviction does not allow the following:

  • It does not keep the conviction from coming up in a later criminal prosecution.
  • It does not erase all information about your conviction from every place you could possibly find it.
  • It does not automatically give back any privileges, such as owning a gun or license, if originally taken by the judicial system.

We Can Help!

Our established reputation for success is known throughout the area. Our knowledge of criminal law is trusted by judges, prosecutors, and other attorneys who regularly refer clients to us. We want to show you how we earned our reputation. We want to protect and defend your rights through the legal minefield. We encourage you to contact us immediately to discuss the details of your case and take the first steps in mounting the best defense available.

For a free confidential consultation with one of our attorneys, contact us today via email, or call us at 206-621-0500.