When a person is charged with a crime and arrested, the police make a report that includes their name, date of birth, address, photo, fingerprint, and license number.

This record is kept in police records, and then the case is presented in court. These charges are dismissed if the state is unable to prove them, but the arrest record and charges usually remain in police records or court documents. You can only have it expunged a year after you were charged.

In this article, we’ll explain in detail how long dismissed charges stay on record, the difference between being charged and convicted, and how you can get your dismissed charges expunged.

How Long Do Dismissed Charges Remain on Your Record?

Dismissed charges remain on your record for a year. After a year has passed, you can apply for the expungement of these charges from your record.

It will take somewhere between 30-180 days to get a clean record once you have filed a petition for expungement. Based on the type and nature of the charges, you could get them expunged. If that’s not possible, then you could request a nondisclosure order.

Getting Your Charges Expunged or Receiving a Nondisclosure Order

Every state has different rules for expunging charges and receiving a nondisclosure order. However, generally speaking, once your case has been completely dismissed, you can go ahead and file a petition to have these charges wiped out.

In some cases, though, you may not be eligible for an expungement. In this case, you can ask for an order of nondisclosure. A nondisclosure order will seal your record and hide your charges from the general public.

This does not mean that your charges will completely vanish; they can still be accessed by law enforcement agencies and licensing boards.

In both cases, the general public, employers conducting background checks, and property leasing agents can’t view these charges on your records.

Criteria for Eligibility

Each state has specific eligibility criteria for expungement or sealing of dismissed charges, which, once met, allow you to proceed with the process. Here are some of them:

1. The charges were non-violent, i.e., they were misdemeanors and not felonies.
2. All the charges were dropped, and you were acquitted from the trial.
3. Successful completion of a prescribed adjudication program.
4. You have no past criminal record, and you have not been convicted of any other crimes since the charges were dismissed.

What Is a Clean Record?

If you’ve never faced charges for a felony or a misdemeanor, and you’ve never been convicted, then you can consider yourself to have a clean record. Having a clean record means nothing shows up when someone tries to find information about you, such as through public records or background checks.

Depending on what you were charged with, it can have a significant effect on your life, even if the charge has been dismissed.

Unfortunately, dismissed charges aren’t automatically removed from public records. Anyone can go online and search for information about you, and this can affect your ability to get a job, especially if people are using the best free people search tools to conduct background checks on you.

The Difference Between Being Charged and Being Convicted

There is a clear difference between being charged and being convicted. A police officer can arrest you based on any sort of crime. This is a charge based on the arrest made. A case will be built upon the charge, and you’ll be presented to a judge.

If you’re unable to prove that you’re not guilty of the crime you’ve been charged with, you’ll be convicted, and a sentence will be given to you.

If you’re able to get your case dismissed for whatever reason, your criminal record will still show that you were once charged. The only way to wipe your record clean is by getting it expunged or obtaining a nondisclosure order.

Stay Informed About How Much Information of Yours is Publicly Available

Thanks to the internet, it is not incredibly easy to find information about anyone. You can use a people lookup search tool to see how much information about you is publicly available. This will give you a good idea of your online footprint, and you can then decide how you want to remove the information you don’t want other people to see.

Keep your social media profiles private. If you have any charges you believe aren’t eligible to be expunged, then we recommend speaking to a lawyer to get the best advice.