By: Ashley Land

There are many reasons someone may have a background check performed—applying for a new job, applying for a loan, volunteering with youth, etc. If you want to ensure that your record is clean and you don’t miss out on an opportunity because of a misdemeanor on your record from long ago, you may want to consider having an offense expunged from your record.

What is Expungement?
Expungement is a court-ordered process in which the legal record of an arrest or a criminal conviction is “sealed,” or erased in the eyes of the law. In most cases, no record of an expunged arrest or conviction will appear if a potential employer, educational institution, or other company conducts a public records inspection or background search of an individual’s criminal record. The procedure for getting an arrest or conviction expunged, as well as which type of arrests and records may be expunged, will vary from state to state and even county to county.

Is My Misdemeanor Eligible? 
By Kentucky law, for a misdemeanor offense to be expungeable it must be, among other things: more than five years old, not a sex offense, and not an offense committed against a child. Additionally, the individual must not have been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony in the previous five years and there cannot be a felony or misdemeanor currently pending against the individual. The procedure for expungement normally begins with the filing of a petition with the Court.

If you want to know more about having your criminal record expunged, the attorneys at Skeeters, Bennett, Wilson & Humphrey recommend that you seek legal counsel to help you through the process. An attorney can help assure this vitally important process goes smoothly and quickly.