A past arrest, criminal charge, or conviction can continue affecting a person long after the court case has ended. Criminal records may appear during employment screenings, housing applications, professional licensing reviews, and other background checks. Even a charge that was dismissed can create confusion or raise questions when it remains publicly accessible.

Virginia’s record-sealing laws changed significantly in 2026, creating new opportunities for some people to limit public access to qualifying criminal records. The changes include automatic sealing for certain records and a petition-based process for some misdemeanor convictions, deferred dismissals,s and lower-level felony convictions.

However, not every Virginia criminal record qualifies for sealing. Eligibility can depend on the original charge, final disposition, offense date, criminal history, waiting period,od and other statutory requirements. Understanding the difference between automatic record sealing, petition-based sealing,g and expungement is an important first step.

Quick Answers About Virginia’s 2026 Record-Sealing Laws

Did Virginia expand criminal record sealing in 2026?
Yes. Major provisions of Virginia’s criminal record-sealing system became effective July 1, 2026. The new framework provides different procedures for automatically sealing certain records and petitioning a circuit court to seal other qualifying charges or convictions.

Are all Virginia criminal records now sealed automatically?
No. Automatic sealing is limited to specific offenses and case outcomes. Some people must file a petition, satisfy a waiting period,d and demonstrate that they meet the statutory requirements.

Can a criminal conviction be sealed in Virginia?
Certain convictions may qualify. Virginia law potentially allows petition-based sealing for qualifying misdemeanors, Class 5 or Class 6 felonies,es and certain felony larceny offenses. Numerous offenses are specifically excluded.

How long must someone wait to petition for record sealing?
Under the general petition-based process, qualifying misdemeanors are generally subject to a seven-year conviction-free period, while qualifying felonies are generally subject to a 10-year conviction-free period. The starting date depends on the latest applicable event identified in the statute.

Is record sealing the same as expungement?
No. Although both forms of relief can restrict access to a criminal record, Virginia treats expungement and record sealing as separate legal processes with different qualifications and procedures.

Does sealing completely destroy a criminal record?
No. Sealing generally prohibits public access, but sealed records may remain available for certain governmental, law-enforcement, court, employment,t and legally authorized purposes.

What Changed Under Virginia’s Record-Sealing Laws in 2026?

Before the new Virginia record-sealing framework became effective, relief from an old criminal record was considerably more limited. Traditional Virginia expungement law primarily focused on cases that did not result in a conviction, such as charges ending in an acquittal, dismissal,l or nolle prosequi.

The 2026 changes establish a broader system containing several potential paths:

• Automatic sealing following certain acquittals or dismissals
• Automatic review and sealing of some older misdemeanor records
• Automatic sealing of certain qualifying misdemeanor convictions
• Sealing of former marijuana-possession records
• Petition-based sealing for certain deferred dismissals and convictions
• Procedures for sealing related ancillary matters in qualifying cases

This does not mean that every charge or conviction can be removed from public view. Each path has its own requirements, exceptions, and limitations. A person’s complete criminal history may affect whether a particular record qualifies.

What Does It Mean to Seal a Criminal Record in Virginia?

Under Virginia law, sealing generally means prohibiting public access to records related to an arrest, charge,e or conviction held by courts, law-enforcement agencies, the Central Criminal Records Exchange and, in applicable cases, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

Once a qualifying record is sealed, it generally should not remain available through ordinary public court-record searches. Law enforcement must generally respond to an ordinary inquiry as though no record exists, unless disclosure is authorized for a purpose permitted by law.

In many ordinary employment and state or local government situations, a person may also be permitted to deny or decline to disclose a sealed arrest, charge,e or conviction. Important exceptions apply, including certain law-enforcement positions, federally regulated employment, national-security work and circumstances in which disclosure is specifically required by state or federal law.

Sealing, therefore, offers meaningful privacy, but it does not physically erase every trace of an arrest or conviction or make the underlying event legally irrelevant in every situation.

Which Dismissed Charges May Be Automatically Sealed?

Virginia law now provides prospective automatic sealing for certain charges that end without a conviction.

When a person is charged with a misdemeanor other than a traffic infraction and is acquitted, or the charge is dismissed with prejudice, the court generally must order the charge automatically sealed unless the person objects.

For a felony charge that ends in an acquittal or dismissal with prejudice, the individual may make an immediate oral request for sealing. If the Commonwealth’s attorney concurs, the court must order the qualifying records sealed.

Virginia also provides a separate review process for certain older misdemeanor charges with offense dates on or after January 1, 1986. This process may apply when the charge resulted in an acquittal, nolle prosequi,i or dismissal and the person’s criminal history meets additional requirements. Deferred dismissals following a finding of sufficient facts for guilt are excluded from this particular automatic process.

Because different rules apply to different dispositions, it is important to determine exactly how the court recorded the outcome. “Dismissed,” “dismissed with prejudice,” “nolle prosequi,i” and “deferred and dismissed” do not necessarily produce the same sealing result.

Which Convictions May Be Automatically Sealed?

Virginia’s automatic record-sealing law applies to a limited group of convictions rather than every misdemeanor conviction.

Subject to the statute’s additional requirements, qualifying convictions may include certain misdemeanor offenses involving:

• Petit larceny
• Concealment or shoplifting
• Trespassing
• Misdemeanor marijuana-related offenses under the identified statute
• Disorderly conduct

For these listed convictions, automatic sealing generally requires that at least seven years have passed since the conviction without a new reportable criminal conviction during that period. A conviction may not qualify for automatic sealing if the person was convicted on the same date of another offense that is not eligible for automatic sealing.

Former marijuana-possession offenses under Virginia Code § 18.2-250.1 are addressed separately. The law directs qualifying records involving that former statute to be sealed without requiring entry of a court order, subject to certain limitations affecting DMV records and federal requirements.

Automatic Does Not Always Mean Immediate

The term “automatic sealing” can create the impression that every qualifying record will disappear from public access immediately. That is not necessarily how the system works.

Some current cases may be ordered sealed by the court when the qualifying disposition is entered. Other records are identified through periodic electronic reviews involving the Virginia State Police, the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia, and participating circuit court clerks.

Some reviews occur monthly, while other retrospective reviews occur at least annually. A record may also be omitted from an automatic electronic process if the available data does not allow the agency to determine eligibility.

For that reason, someone should not assume that an old Virginia criminal record has been sealed merely because it appears to satisfy a general description of the law. Confirming the exact disposition and current status of the record may be necessary.

Who May Petition to Seal a Criminal Conviction?

The petition-based process is broader than automatic sealing, but it also has more detailed eligibility requirements.

Subject to the statutory exclusions, a person may potentially petition to seal a qualifying:

• Misdemeanor conviction
• Misdemeanor charge that was deferred and dismissed
• Class 5 felony conviction
• Class 6 felony conviction
• Class 5 or Class 6 felony charge that was deferred and dismissed
• Grand larceny conviction or another felony larceny offense punished under Virginia Code § 18.2-95

The offense date generally must have occurred on or after January 1, 1986. Related ancillary matters, such as certain probation violations, failures to appear or bond matters, may also be included when permitted by law.

The petition must be filed in the circuit court of the Virginia county or city where the case was resolved. The Commonwealth is made a party to the proceeding, and the person must request that the Central Criminal Records Exchange provide the court with the relevant Virginia and national criminal history information.

What Requirements Apply to Petition-Based Record Sealing?

Eligibility is not determined solely by the name or classification of the offense. The circuit court must find that the statutory criteria have been satisfied.

Those criteria generally include:

• No prior Class 1 or Class 2 felony or other felony punishable by life imprisonment
• No Class 3 or Class 4 felony conviction within the previous 20 years
• No other felony conviction within the previous 10 years
• A required conviction-free period following the latest applicable event
• Evidence of rehabilitation when the underlying matter involved alcohol or drug use or dependence
• Full payment of court-ordered restitution related to the matter
• Compliance with the lifetime limitation on qualifying petitions
• A finding that continued dissemination of the record causes or may cause a manifest injustice

The required conviction-free period is generally seven years for a misdemeanor and 10 years for a felony. The period may begin from the latest applicable event, which can include the conviction, deferred dismissal, release from incarceration or the resolution of a related probation, parole or suspended-sentence violation.

Virginia generally limits a person to two granted petitions under this broader sealing provision when the matters arose from different sentencing events. Multiple qualifying charges arising from the same transaction or occurrence may sometimes be included in one petition. A different provision applies to certain offenses related to automatic sealing and does not impose the same lifetime petition limit.

What Criminal Records Are Not Eligible for Sealing?

Virginia law contains an extensive list of offenses that are not eligible under the general petition-based sealing process. The exclusions are detailed and should be evaluated using the exact statute under which the person was charged or convicted.

Examples of potentially ineligible matters include:

• DUI and certain related driving offenses
• Violent felony offenses
• Offenses requiring registration with the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry
• Certain firearm-related felony offenses
• Violations of protective orders
• Certain offenses involving family or household members
• Certain sexual offenses
• Hate crimes
• Certain offenses involving minors
• Certain animal-cruelty offenses
• Conspiracies, attempts or solicitations involving ineligible offenses

This is not a complete list. The facts surrounding the case may also matter. Two offenses that sound similar in everyday language may have very different eligibility outcomes because they were charged under different Virginia Code sections.

Is Record Sealing the Same as Expungement in Virginia?

Record sealing and expungement are related, but they are not interchangeable.

Virginia’s traditional expungement process generally applies to qualifying police and court records involving cases that did not result in a conviction. Record sealing operates under a separate statutory framework and may apply to certain convictions, deferred dismissals and automatically qualifying records.

In some cases, an individual whose record has been sealed may still be permitted to seek expungement. The best option depends on the charge, disposition, criminal history and applicable version of Virginia law.

Anyone researching Virginia expungement and record sealing should be careful about relying on information written before July 1, 2026. Older articles may accurately describe the previous law but fail to account for the new sealing opportunities now available.

Will a Sealed Record Still Appear on a Background Check?

A properly sealed record generally should not be available through ordinary public court searches or routinely disseminated from Virginia’s central criminal-history system. However, sealing does not guarantee that the record will be inaccessible in every context.

Virginia law authorizes disclosure or consideration of sealed records for certain purposes, including some:

• Law-enforcement and criminal-justice functions
• Firearm eligibility determinations
• Bail, sentencing and pretrial proceedings
• Child-custody proceedings
• Governmental or federally required background investigations
• Law-enforcement and other specially regulated employment
• National-security positions

A sealed felony conviction may also have to be disclosed when determining eligibility for jury service.

Additionally, sealing does not automatically restore civil rights or firearm rights. It does not eliminate outstanding fines, costs, forfeitures, penalties or restitution obligations.

How Can Someone Find Out Whether a Record Qualifies?

Determining eligibility usually begins with obtaining accurate information about the original case. Important details include:

• The exact criminal charge and Virginia Code section
• Whether the matter was a misdemeanor or felony
• The date of the offense
• The final disposition
• Whether the charge was dismissed with or without prejudice
• Whether sufficient facts for guilt were found before a deferred dismissal
• The date any incarceration, probation or parole ended
• Whether restitution was ordered and fully paid
• The person’s complete Virginia and national criminal history
• Whether multiple charges arose from the same occurrence

Relying solely on memory or an informal online court search can lead to an incorrect eligibility assumption. Court documents, charging instruments and criminal-history records may need to be examined before deciding which procedure applies.

Do You Need an Attorney to Seal a Criminal Record in Virginia?

Virginia courts provide criminal-sealing forms that may be used by represented or self-represented individuals. However, the availability of a form does not mean that every case is simple.

Petition-based record sealing can involve classifying the offense, calculating the correct waiting period, reviewing the petitioner’s criminal history, identifying related matters, serving the Commonwealth’s attorney and demonstrating manifest injustice. The Commonwealth may object, and the court may conduct a hearing before deciding whether the record should be sealed.

An attorney can evaluate the record, identify the appropriate legal process and help present the information the circuit court will consider. The Virginia court system began making its criminal-sealing forms available with the implementation of the new process in July 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions About Virginia Record Sealing

Can every misdemeanor be automatically sealed in Virginia?
No. Automatic conviction sealing applies only to certain listed misdemeanor offenses and requires additional conditions to be satisfied. Other misdemeanors may require a petition, and some offenses are expressly excluded.

Can a felony conviction be sealed in Virginia?
Some Class 5 and Class 6 felonies and certain felony larceny offenses may qualify for petition-based sealing. More serious felonies and other specifically excluded offenses generally do not qualify under the broader petition process.

Can a DUI conviction be sealed in Virginia?
Virginia Code § 18.2-266 is included among the offenses that are ineligible under the general petition-based sealing statute. Anyone with multiple charges or an unusual disposition should still have the complete case record reviewed.

What happens if a dismissed charge is not automatically sealed?
The person may have another potential remedy, including petition-based sealing or expungement, depending on the disposition and criminal history.

How long does the Virginia record-sealing process take?
There is no single timeline. Automatic sealing may depend on monthly or annual agency reviews. Petition-based sealing requires filing in circuit court, notice to the Commonwealth, criminal-history review and potentially a hearing.

Does sealing a felony restore firearm rights?
No. A sealing order does not independently restore civil rights or the right to possess, transport or carry a firearm.

Can sealed records still be used in a future criminal case?
Yes. Virginia law allows sealed records to be disclosed and considered in certain future bail, pretrial and sentencing proceedings.

Speak With a Virginia Record-Sealing Attorney

Virginia’s new record-sealing laws may give some people a meaningful opportunity to limit public access to an old arrest, dismissed charge, misdemeanor conviction or qualifying felony conviction. However, the new law contains multiple procedures, detailed waiting periods and significant exclusions.

Felty Law Firm helps clients evaluate criminal records, understand the difference between expungement and record sealing and determine which legal options may be available under Virginia law.

Learn more about our Expungement and Sealing of Criminal Records services, or contact Felty Law Firm in Abingdon, Virginia, to schedule a confidential consultation. Call or text (276) 676-2660 to discuss your record and possible next steps.