Washington expungement eligibility.

Wait periods by offense category

Years required between completion of all sentence requirements and the earliest date relief is available.

Wait periods are counted from the latest of: release from custody, end of probation/parole, or final restitution payment. Statute citation applies. Confirm with a licensed attorney before relying.

Compute your earliest eligible date

Enter your sentence-completion date and offense category to compute the earliest petition date.

How to file in Washington

1. Pull a certified copy of your record from Washington's criminal history repository.
2. Confirm restitution and fines are fully paid. Outstanding obligations block almost every petition.
3. Confirm probation/parole discharge. Get a final discharge letter or a current letter from your supervising officer.
4. Verify the wait period for your offense (table above) is satisfied.
5. File the petition at the Sentencing court — Superior Court for felonies; District/Municipal Court for misdemeanors. Filing fee: varies — see the court website.
6. Serve the prosecutor with notice of the petition. Most states require this before a judge will rule.
7. Attend the hearing if the court schedules one. Many uncontested petitions are decided on the papers.

Recent amendments

Major statutory changes affecting record relief in Washington.

• 2019

  New Hope Act (SHB 1041 / Ch. 331, Laws of 2019)

  Amended RCW 9.94A.640 and 9.96.060 to expand vacation of misdemeanor and felony convictions and simplify the certificate of discharge process.

  Primary source: app.leg.wa.gov ↗

Washington-specific carve-outs

Categories the law treats differently in this state.

• Vacated still counts as prior

  Convictions vacated on or after July 28, 2019 still count as prior convictions for charging recidivist offenses (RCW 9.94A.030).

  Source: app.leg.wa.gov ↗

• Categorical exclusions

  Violent offenses, most sex offenses, and DUI convictions are not eligible to be vacated.

  Source: app.leg.wa.gov ↗

Common mistakes to avoid

Reasons Washington petitions get bounced or sealings fail to land.

• !Vacation requires a Certificate of Discharge first under RCW 9.94A.637 — many petitioners file the vacation motion before discharge is entered.
• !Outstanding legal financial obligations (LFOs) in some counties still block vacation despite the New Hope Act updates.

Excluded categories

These categories are typically excluded from petition relief in Washington based on our research. An attorney may still see options.

• Sex offenses

  Excluded from automatic and petition relief in nearly every state. A few narrow carve-outs exist for older non-registerable offenses.

  See state-by-state pages

• Violent felonies

  Generally excluded from automatic Clean Slate sealing; some states allow petition relief after long wait periods.

• DUI / DWI

  Treatment varies widely. Some states (e.g. Michigan, Virginia) carve out DUIs entirely; others treat them as standard misdemeanors.

• Pending cases or unpaid restitution

  Most states require all sentence requirements — including restitution to victims — to be fully discharged before the clock starts.

• Federal convictions

  Federal expungement is functionally non-existent. There is no statutory federal expungement remedy for most offenses.

Related reading

• When the eligibility clock starts

  Why the wait period in Washington runs from the latest of release, end of supervision, or restitution paid.

• What most states leave out

  Categories of offenses excluded from automatic sealing and petition relief.

• Unpaid restitution as a silent block

  How an open balance on the criminal docket blocks an otherwise eligible record.

• Sealing and professional licensing

  Why FBI-fingerprint background checks see records that consumer reports don't.