2021 Summary of North Carolina Expunctions

A CRIMINAL RECORD often gives rise to significant barriers to gainful employment, affordable housing, family unification, and a variety of other benefits and opportunities essential to productive citizenship. For assistance in understanding the statutory barriers to particular benefits or opportunities that may arise due to a specific criminal record, please use the UNC School of Government’s Collateral Consequences Assessment Tool.

In North Carolina, an expunction is the destruction of a criminal record by court order. An expunction (also called an “expungement”) of a criminal record restores the individual, in the view of the law, to the status he or she occupied before the criminal record existed. With rare exception, when an individual is granted an expunction, he or she may truthfully and without committing perjury or false statement deny or refuse to acknowledge that the criminal incident occurred. The primary exception to this is for purposes of federal immigration. Please see North Carolina General Statutes §15A-151 for other exceptions.

Prior to 2011, opportunities to expunge a criminal record in North Carolina were extremely limited. However, legislators have significantly expanded expunction opportunities over the last decade. As of December 1, 2020, criminal records eligible for expunction in North Carolina are generally limited to the following categories:

• A first-time conviction of a nonviolent felony
• One or multiple non-violent misdemeanor convictions
• A first-time conviction of certain offenses committed before age 18/22
• All charges that are dismissed or disposed “not guilty”
• A conviction that was the result of being the victim of human trafficking.
This summary provides details of the following sixteen expunction statutes:
• Juvenile Record………………………………… NCGS §7B-3200 .…………… [p. 6]
• Misdemeanor Under Age 18…………………… NCGS §15A-145 ………..…… [p. 7]
• Gang Offense Under Age 18…………………… NCGS §15A-145.1…………… [p. 7]
• Controlled Substance Under Age 22 …………… NCGS §15A-145.2………….. [p. 8]
• Toxic Vapors Under Age 22………………………. NCGS §15A-145.3………….. [p. 9]
• Nonviolent Felony Under Age 18……….……… NCGS §15A-145.4………….. [p. 10]
• Nonviolent Offense……………………………… NCGS §15A-145.5…………… [p. 11]
• Prostitution Offense……………………………… NCGS §15A-145.6…………… [p. 12]
• Cond. Discharge for Threat of Mass Violence….. NCGS §15A-145.7………………. [p. 12]
• Charge Remanded for Juvenile Adjudication…… NCGS §15A-145.8…………… [p. 12]
• “Raise the Age” Parity/Under 18 Convictions….. NCGS §15A-145.8A………… [p. 13]
• Certain Offenses by Human Trafficking Victim… NCGS § 15A-145.9……..……. [p. 13]
• Charge Resulting in Dismissal or Not Guilty ….. NCGS §15A-146…………….. [p. 14]
• Identity Theft and Mistaken Identity……………. NCGS §15A-147…………….. [p. 14]
• DNA Records……………………………………. NCGS §15A-148…………….. [p. 15]
• Pardon of Innocence……………………………. NCGS §15A-149…………….. [p. 15]

In addition, this summary provides the following information and resources:
• Overview of Recent Legislative Reforms ……………..……………………….………. [pp. 4-5]
• Certificate of Relief……………………………. NCGS §15A-173……………… [p. 16]
• Indigent Fee Waiver ………………………………………………………………….. [p. 16]
• Petitioning for Expunction of a Criminal Record…………………………………… [p. 3]
• Eligibility Overview………………………………………………………………….. [p. 17]
• Reviewing a Criminal Record to Determine Expunction Eligibility: Decision Tree… [p. 17]
• Completing Form AOC-CR-281 Using a CIPRS Report…………………………….. [p. 18]
• How to Read an ACIS Criminal Record Report……………………………………….[p. 19]
• Petition for Expunction of Nonviolent Offense, Sample……………………………… [p. 20]
• Petition for Expunction of Dismissed Charges, Sample……………………………… [p. 21]
• Petitioner’s Affidavit, Worksheet…………………………………………………….. [p. 22]
• Petitioner’s Affidavit…………….……………………………………………………. [p. 23]
• Affidavit of Good Character, Worksheet……………………………………………… [p. 24]
• Affidavit of Good Character…………….…………………………………………….. [p. 25]

Also included in this summary are answers to questions regarding terms, interpretations, and procedures that frequently arise in petitioning for relief under North Carolina’s expunction laws. These frequently asked questions are located on pages 25 through 31.

The primary goal of this expunction guide is to increase access to expunction relief for North Carolinians with criminal records by providing members of the North Carolina bar with the information necessary to practice in this area of law. The vast majority of individuals actually eligible for expunction relief do not obtain it. The number of expunction orders in FY 2018/2019 is displayed below and startlingly small relative to the estimated 25 percent of adults in our state with a criminal record. If you are an attorney and find this guide helpful, I urge you to consider assisting low-income North Carolinians with pro bono or reduced-fee legal services.