Pennsylvania Automatic Record Sealing

Automatic record sealing is a way to restrict access to your Pennsylvania criminal record without having to go to court or file paperwork. Just like petition-based sealing, automatic sealing limits access to your record. This means it won’t show up on background checks and most people won’t be able to see it, including:

  • Employers
  • Landlords
  • The general public.

When a record is automatically sealed under Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate law, a person does not need to get on a list or file anything with the court to clear their record. Not everyone qualifies for automatic sealing and some case types are not eligible. If you do qualify, however, this process has the same effect as petition-based sealing, but is much simpler.

Rasa's eligibility tool can help you check your record to make sure that any qualifying charges were automatically sealed under Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate law.

How Automatic Record Sealing Works

In Pennsylvania, some records can be sealed automatically. That means you shouldn’t need to file a petition or appear in court. The work should be done by government agencies, and the process should happen without any action on your end.

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: The Court Reviews Your Record

Every month, the court looks at records across the state to see which records qualify for automatic sealing. Eligible records are identified without a petition or application. 

Step 2: The Court Issues an Order of Limited Access

If your record qualifies for automatic sealing under Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate law, the court will automatically issue an “Order of Limited Access.”’ Different agencies get the Order of Limited Access and this court order controls who can access or view your record. This order is what ‘seals’ your record. Most employers, landlords, and background check companies cannot access or disclose sealed records.

Step 3: Check to See if Your Record is Sealed

You can use Rasa’s eligibility tool to help navigate and check to see if your records might have been sealed under the automatic sealing process. Rasa’s tool will tell you which crimes are still on your record. It will also show you which crimes could be eligible for automatic record clearance. Rasa’s Pennsylvania services aren’t live yet, but you can sign up here to be notified when they go live.

Who Qualifies for Automatic Record Sealing in Pennsylvania?

To get your record sealed automatically, you have to meet some requirements. These requirements are similar to petition-based sealing. This section will walk through the charges and conviction types that can be sealed automatically, as well as give you a sense of the type of records that are not eligible for automatic record sealing.

Basic Requirements

You may qualify for automatic record sealing if:

  • You’ve paid all court-ordered restitution
  • You meet the rules for petition-based sealing, including:
    • You have no disqualifying crimes on your record. There are some types of crimes that disqualify you from sealing anything on your record. More violent crimes like murder, first degree felonies, or cases that can be punished by 20+ years in prison can make a person ineligible to clear anything from their record. 
    • You have a type of criminal record that is eligible for sealing. Pennsylvania has a list of crimes that cannot be sealed, even if you meet all of the other requirements. Some people may be eligible to seal some crimes but not others under Pennsylvania law.  
    • You have remained crime free for the requisite waiting period. To seal your record in Pennsylvania, you must be crime-free for 7 years for misdemeanor sealing, 10 years for felony sealing, and 15 years to clear both.

For a more in depth outline of petition-based sealing rules, check out our Pennsylvania petition-based sealing page. Automatic sealing has extra requirements, in addition to the basic requirements.

Disqualifications

If you have any of these convictions or combinations of convictions on your record, your record cannot be automatically sealed. If you are ineligible for automatic sealing, you might be able to use another record sealing option instead. Convictions that disqualify your record from automatic sealing are: 

  • A felony conviction, unless it’s a ‘qualifying offense.’ Qualifying offenses are drug felonies, including possession and distribution, unless the judge imposed more than a 30 month sentence.
  • 2 or more convictions with first-degree misdemeanors or higher. This means if you have two convictions for a first degree misdemeanor or felony of any severity level, you are not eligible for automatic record sealing.
  • 4 or more cases with any charges at the misdemeanor or felony level. If you have 4 cases on your record (except ungraded or summary charges), you are not eligible for automatic record sealing.
  • Certain disqualifying offenses, such as sex offenses, animal cruelty, and domestic violence related offenses are not eligible for automatic record sealing.

Eligibility Requirements

Some crimes are never eligible for automatic sealing even if your record isn’t disqualified for the reasons above.

Misdemeanors Not Eligible for Automatic Sealing

Some types of misdemeanors cannot be automatically sealed, even if the person meets all of the other requirements for automatic sealing. Types of charges that are not eligible are:

  • Danger to the person: Includes crimes like simple assault, stalking and hazing. 
  • Crimes against the family: Includes crimes like bigamy, concealing the death of a child, or endangering a child. These offenses broadly cause harm to a member of one’s family. 
  • Gun or firearm-related offenses: Misdemeanor firearm offenses like altering a gun, or selling a gun illegally are not eligible for automatic sealing. 
  • Cruelty to animals: Crimes like animal neglect, animal cruelty, and animal fighting are not eligible for automatic sealing. 
  • Corruption of minors: A case that relates to corrupting the morals of a minor cannot be automatically sealed. Many of these crimes are felonies, but even the misdemeanor charges are ineligible for automatic sealing.  
  • Crimes that require sex offender registration: Any crime that requires you to register as a sex-offender cannot be automatically sealed. You can find a list of applicable charges here.

Eligible Felonies:

Most felonies are not eligible for automatic sealing. Only specific, drug-related felonies qualify. If your felony is part of the ‘Controlled Substances, Drugs, Device, and Cosmetic Act,’ (DDCA) it is eligible for automatic sealing. Examples of felonies included under this act are:

  • Making drugs of different kinds.
  • Possession of drugs.
  • Selling drugs.
  • Less common offenses, like counterfeiting pharmaceuticals or professional violations.

Generally, DDCA crimes relate to the manufacture, distribution, and possession of drugs. First degree felonies are not eligible for automatic sealing, even if they are included in the DDCA. Also, if you have a charge on your record where:

  • The judge imposed a minimum sentence of 30 months or more
  • The judge imposed a maximum sentence of 60 months or more

This offense is not eligible for automatic sealing. There are some drug-related charges that have sentencing guidelines that include 30+ months as a minimum sentence, or 60+ months as a maximum sentence. If you were sentenced to this amount of time, you cannot get your drug-related felonies sealed. 

Other Eligible Records

Pennsylvania also offers automatic expungement for non-conviction charges, as well as summary offenses. There is a five-year waiting period before summary offenses are automatically sealed. Pardons also result in automatic clearing. 

Effects of Sealing Your Record

When your record is sealed, whether automatically or through a petition, it becomes harder to access. This means it doesn’t show up on most background checks and won’t appear in searches available to the general public.

Sealing a record has a few effects, including:

Access to Your Record is Restricted. 

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, sealed records do not appear on background checks. This means:

  • Most employers can’t access your criminal record. Jobs or promotions that were not available because of background-check restrictions become available.  
  • Most landlords won’t know about your past charges. Typical background checks won’t show sealed records, which means sealing your record opens up better housing opportunities. 
  • It could be easier to get a professional license. Licensing boards can still see sealed records, but can’t use them as the sole reason to deny a person a professional license. 

This means that employment and housing opportunities that were not available to you with a record become available. 

Employers are Protected

The employment benefits of getting a record sealed do not stop at background checks. Pennsylvania law also provides protections for employers who hire employees with sealed records. If an employee commits a crime related to their sealed record, their employer is not on the hook for that crime. This is another way automatic sealing improves employment. 

You Get a Second Chance

Sealing your record helps you move forward. Many people with sealed records:

  • Get better jobs.
  • Find better housing.
  • Get professional licenses. 
  • Go back to school.
  • Feel more confident about their future.

Rasa can help you make sure that your automatic record sealing was done correctly and thoroughly. Our eligibility tool lets you see if you have any crimes on your record that are or will be eligible for automatic sealing.