Certified Copies Before an Expunction
Should I Get Certified Copies of My Case Documents Before It Is Expunged?
Once an expunction is completed, the government records relating to your arrest and criminal case are deleted and destroyed. That is the purpose of an expunction—but it will make obtaining official records later impossible.
Before we complete your expunction, you need to decide whether to obtain certified copies of the documents from your case. For most cases, obtaining the certified records will cost approximately $150 in clerk's fees.
What are certified copies?
Certified copies are official copies issued by the court clerk. Each document will be stamped with the seal of the county and hand-initialled. The clerk’s certification proves that the documents are true and correct copies of the court’s records.
The certified packet may include:
The complaint, information, indictment, or other charging document
The motion and order dismissing the case
The court’s docket sheet or final disposition
Here is an example of a document that has been certified.
Why might I need these records later?
Certified copies can be useful if you later need official documentation for:
An immigration, citizenship, or visa application
International travel, residency, or employment
A professional license, such as a medical, nursing, teaching, legal, real-estate, or security license
Military service, government employment, or a security clearance
Correcting an inaccurate background check
Establishing firearm eligibility
Explaining the arrest to an agency that can still legally ask about it
Any future legal proceeding in which the exact charge and outcome matter
Immigration authorities, licensing boards, and government agencies sometimes require certified court records even when the case was dismissed or expunged.
Does everyone need certified copies?
No. Most people will probably never need them.
You may reasonably decide not to spend the additional money if you are a U.S. citizen, do not hold or anticipate applying for a sensitive professional license or security clearance, and have no other reason to expect that an agency will request official court records.
Obtaining copies is mainly a precaution against the possibility that you will need them later, after the original records are no longer available.
Who should seriously consider getting them?
You should strongly consider obtaining certified copies if:
You are not a United States citizen
You may apply for citizenship, lawful permanent residency, or another immigration benefit
You expect to apply for a visa or residency in another country
You hold—or may seek—a professional license
You anticipate military service, government employment, or a security clearance
You simply want an official personal record of what happened
If immigration is a concern, you should ask an immigration attorney whether you need certified copies.
Why can’t I just get the records later?
After the expunction, the clerk, prosecutor, police department, and other agencies will no longer have records.
What is the cost?
For most cases, the clerk’s fee for obtaining the certified documents will be approximately $150. The exact amount will vary depending on the number of documents.
What should I do?
Certified copies are optional, and not everyone needs them. Spending approximately $150 may be worthwhile if you are likely to face immigration, licensing, international-travel, government-employment, or similar questions in the future.
If none of those circumstances applies to you, it may be reasonable to proceed without certified copies.