Automatic Expungement Laws Expand to 14 States in 2026

Utah and Montana became the 13th and 14th states to enact automatic expungement laws in 2026, continuing a multi-year trend in which state legislatures are shifting record-clearing from a person-initiated process to a government-administered one. Under these laws, eligible records are identified and sealed by court administrative systems — no petition, no filing fee, no lawyer required.

What Is Automatic Expungement?

Traditional expungement requires a person to file a petition, pay a fee, and sometimes appear in court. Automatic expungement — sometimes called "automatic sealing" — flips that model: the state proactively identifies people who meet the criteria and clears their records without any action on their part.

The criteria typically include a waiting period after sentence completion, no subsequent convictions, and offense types that qualify. The process can take months or years depending on the state's administrative capacity, and most people don't receive individual notice that their record was cleared.

The 14 States with Automatic Expungement Laws

As of mid-2026, these states have enacted some form of automatic expungement or sealing:

California — Clean Slate Act (2024): automatically seals eligible convictions after a waiting period
Colorado — HB 23-1005: automatic sealing for most misdemeanors and lower felonies
Connecticut — PA 23-42: automatic sealing of eligible records
Delaware — HB 225: automatic expungement for first offenses
Illinois — FDRC Act: automatic sealing of criminal records after a waiting period
Maryland — Clean Slate Act (2024): automatic sealing for eligible convictions
Michigan — Clean Slate Slate Laws: automatic sealing for certain misdemeanors
Minnesota — SF 3659: automatic expungement for elapsed-time offenses
New Jersey — Clean Slate Act (CPL § 160.57): automatic sealing for eligible convictions
New York — Clean Slate Act (CPL § 160.57): automatic sealing for eligible convictions
Ohio — HB 247: automatic expungement for first-degree misdemeanors
Pennsylvania — Act 91: automatic sealing for summary offenses after 5 years
Utah — SB 246 (2026): automatic sealing for eligible misdemeanors and felonies
Montana — HB 406 (2026): automatic sealing for eligible offenses

How Many Records Are Being Cleared?

The scale is significant. California's Clean Slate Act alone is projected to clear over 200,000 records in its first full year of implementation. New York's program, launched in 2024, has processed more than 150,000 sealing orders as of early 2026. Utah's new law, effective July 2026, is expected to impact approximately 45,000 records in its first phase.

The majority of records being cleared are for misdemeanors, low-level felonies, and marijuana convictions — offenses that advocates have long argued are disproportionate barriers to employment and housing for people who have completed their sentences.

What Automatic Expungement Does — and Doesn't Do

It's important to understand the limits. Automatic sealing typically:

Removes records from standard consumer background check databases (like Checkr and HireRight)
Allows a person to answer "no" on most job applications about the sealed conviction
Applies to conviction records, not always arrest records without conviction

Automatic sealing typically does not:

Seal records for serious felonies, violent offenses, or sex offenses in most states
Prevent law enforcement or prosecutors from accessing the record
Restore gun rights or affect immigration status in most cases
Remove the record from federal databases or national criminal background checks

What to Do If Your Record Was Automatically Sealed

Most people won't receive a notice. If you believe you may have an eligible record in one of the 14 states and haven't heard anything, you can:

Check your state-specific expungement page for program details and timing
Run a background check on yourself through a major consumer reporting agency to see current status
Contact your state's court administrative office to confirm whether your record was sealed
Consult an expungement attorney if you believe your record should have been sealed but wasn't

What's Next

Legislation is pending in several additional states, including Missouri, Kentucky, and Indiana. Advocates expect the trend toward automatic expungement to accelerate through 2027 as more states model their laws after California's Clean Slate Act. Some bills in the pipeline also push to expand automatic sealing to include arrest records where no charges were filed — something only a handful of states currently do.