The Clean Slate Act

Can I do anything about my criminal record in New York?

They say “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.” However, that “time” also meant the lifetime record for an offense, even after you’ve paid your debt to society and turned your life around, and has in fact has prevented many people from attaining better job prospects and grow their careers.

Over the last decade and a half, the New York Legislature has taken several steps to address the legacy of criminal convictions for people who have proven they can remain on the right side of the law.

In 2009, CPL 160.58 allowed certain drug convictions and nonviolent felonies to automatically be *conditionally* sealed upon completion of parole and/or a drug treatment program. It was conditional in that the record would be unsealed upon any subsequent arrest (sealed again if the case ended in favor of the defendant), but there was also a provision to seal up to three prior misdemeanor drug convictions; this created a chance for people whose crimes were borne of addiction to put their pasts behind.

In 2017, CPL 160.59 went into effect, allowing certain convictions to be sealed upon motion to the Court 10 years after the termination of sentence. This included misdemeanors and most non-violent felonies, with certain conditions that had to be met, including a maximum number of convictions to be sealed and the ten year period counting from the most recent sentence. Helping people through this process was a practice area for me for several years and I was able to seal a number of records.



In 2021, under the 2021 Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act, convictions on most marijuana offenses were set to be automatically expunged with a deadline of March 31^st, 2023. Expungement, not just sealing; sealed convictions are still visible to certain courts and law enforcement agencies, but expungement means it legally never happened. Expungement is a rare thing in the New York system.

And in the latest step toward reformative justice, as of November of 2024, The Clean Slate Act has taken effect.

What is the Clean Slate Act?

Many criminal convictions will now be automatically sealed after several years.

DUI convictions under the vehicle and traffic law will be automatically sealed after three years.

Misdemeanors will be sealed after three years, counting from release from incarceration, if that was part of the sentence.

Felony convictions, with certain exceptions, will be sealed after eight years, counting from release from incarceration, if that is part of the sentence.

What are some exceptions to the Clean Slate Act?

Sealing will not happen while there is a pending charge* or while the defendant is under community supervision, meaning parole or probation. The clock doesn’t start when community supervision ends, but that will prevent the automatic sealing until it is complete.

Any subsequent conviction* during those periods will reset the clock, which starts after release from incarceration on the new conviction. 

Just as with CPL 160.59, sex crimes and class-A felonies which are not drug felonies cannot, and therefore will not, be sealed.

*pending and subsequent convictions includes those in other jurisdictions unless they are for specific felonies that are not felonies in New York State.