{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-431.073","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 431.073","heading":"Certain felony convictions may be vacated and the records expunged --","body":"Application -- Hearing -- Vacating conviction without a hearing -- Order to\nvacate and expunge -- Application form -- Fees -- Retroactivity.      (Effective\nuntil April 30, 2027)\n(1) Any person who has been:\n(a) Convicted of a Class D felony violation of KRS 17.175, 186.990, 194A.505,\n194B.505, 217.181, 217.207, 217.208, 218A.140, 218A.1415, 218A.1416,\n218A.1417, 218A.1418, 218A.1423, 218A.1439, 218A.282, 218A.284,\n218A.286, 218A.320, 218A.322, 218A.324, 218A.500, 244.165, 286.11 -057,\n304.47-025, 324.990, 365.241, 434.155, 434.675, 434.850, 434.872, 511.040,\n512.020, 514.030, 514.040, 514.050, 514.060, 514.065, 514.070, 514.080,\n514.090, 514.100, 514.110, 514.120, 514.140, 514.15 0, 514.160, 516.030,\n516.060, 516.090, 516.108, 517.120, 518.040, 522.040, 524.100, 525.113,\n526.020, 526.030, 528.020, 528.040, 528.050, 530.010, or 530.050;\n(b) Convicted of a series of Class D felony violations of one (1) or more statutes\nenumerated in paragraph (a) of this subsection arising from a single incident;\n(c) Granted a full pardon; or\n(d) Convicted of a Class D felony, or an offense prior to January 1, 1975 which\nwas punishable by not more than five (5) years' incarceration, which was not a\nviolation of KRS 189A.010, 508.032, or 519.055, abuse of public office, a sex\noffense, or an offense committed against a child, and did not result in serious\nbodily injury or death; or of multiple felony offenses eligible under this\nparagraph;\nmay file with the court in which he or she was convicted an application to have the\njudgment vacated. The application shall be filed as a motion in the original criminal\ncase. The person shall be informed of the right at the time of adjudication.\n(2) (a) A verified application to have the judgment vacated under this section shall be\nfiled no sooner than five (5) years after the completion of the person's\nsentence, or five (5) years after the successful completion of the person's\nprobation or parole, whichever occurs later.\n(b) Upon the payment of the filing fee and the filing of the application, the Circuit\nCourt clerk shall serve a notice of filing upon the office of the\nCommonwealth's attorney or county attorney that prosecuted the case and the\ncounty attorney of the c ounty where the judgment was entered. The office of\nthe Commonwealth's attorney or county attorney that prosecuted the case\nshall file a response within sixty (60) days after being served with the notice\nof filing. That time period may be extended for good cause, but the hearing on\nthe application to vacate the judgment shall occur no later than one hundred\ntwenty (120) days following the filing of the application. The inability to\ndetermine the location of the crime victim shall constitute good cause for a n\nextension of time. No hearing upon the merits of the application shall be\nscheduled until the Commonwealth's response has been filed, or if no\nresponse is received, no later than one hundred twenty (120) days after the\nfiling of the application.\n(c) In any case in which the Commonwealth objects that the application is grossly\nincomplete, the court shall order the person or agency originating the\napplication to supplement the application.\n(3) Upon the filing of the Commonwealth's response to an applica tion, or if no\nresponse is received, no later than one hundred twenty (120) days after the filing of\nthe application, the court shall set a date for a hearing and the Circuit Court clerk\nshall notify the office of the Commonwealth's attorney or county atto rney that\nprosecuted the case. The office of the Commonwealth's attorney or county attorney\nthat prosecuted the case shall notify the victim of the crime, if there was an\nidentified victim. The Commonwealth's attorney or county attorney shall be\nauthorized to obtain without payment of any fee information from the\nTransportation Cabinet regarding the crime victim's address on file regarding any\nvehicle operator's license issued to that person.\n(4) (a) In an application pursuant to subsection (1)(d) of this s ection, upon the filing\nof the Commonwealth's response objecting to the vacating of a judgment and\nexpungement of a record, the court shall schedule a hearing within one\nhundred twenty (120) days of the Commonwealth's response. The prosecutor\nshall specify  in the objection the reasons for believing a denial of the\napplication is justified. At the hearing at which the applicant or his or her\nattorney must be present, the applicant must prove by clear and convincing\nevidence that:\n1. Vacating the judgment and  expunging the record is consistent with the\nwelfare and safety of the public;\n2. The action is supported by his or her behavior since the conviction or\nconvictions, as evidenced that he or she has been active in rehabilitative\nactivities in prison and is living a law-abiding life since release;\n3. The vacation and expungement is warranted by the interests of justice;\nand\n4. Any other matter deemed appropriate or necessary by the court to make\na determination regarding the petition for expungement is met.\n(b) At the hearing, the applicant may testify as to the specific adverse\nconsequences he or she may be subject to if the application is denied. The\ncourt may hear testimony of witnesses and any other matter the court deems\nproper and relevant to its determi nation regarding the application. The\nCommonwealth may present proof of any extraordinary circumstances that\nexist to deny the application. A victim of any offense listed in the application\nshall have an opportunity to be heard at any hearing held under this section.\n(c) If the court determines that circumstances warrant vacation and expungement\nand that the harm otherwise resulting to the applicant clearly outweighs the\npublic interest in the criminal history record information being publicly\navailable, then the original conviction or convictions shall be vacated and the\nrecords shall be expunged. The order of expungement shall not preclude a\nprosecutor's office from retaining a nonpublic record for law enforcement\npurposes only.\n(5) The court may order the judgment vacated, and if the judgment is vacated the court\nshall dismiss with prejudice any charges which are eligible for expungement under\nsubsection (1) of this section or KRS 431.076 or 431.078, and, upon full payment of\nthe fee in subsection (11) of this section, order expunged all records in the custody\nof the court and any records in the custody of any other agency or official, including\nlaw enforcement records, if the court finds that:\n(a) The person had not in the five (5) years prior to the filin g of the application to\nhave the judgment vacated been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor;\n(b) No proceeding concerning a felony or misdemeanor is pending or being\ninstituted against the person; and\n(c) For an application pursuant to subsection (1)(d) of this section, the person has\nbeen rehabilitated and poses no significant threat of recidivism.\n(6) If the court has received a response from the office of the Commonwealth's attorney\nor county attorney that prosecuted the case stating no objection to th e application to\nhave the judgment vacated, or if one hundred twenty (120) days have elapsed since\nthe filing of the application and no response has been received from the victim or\nthe office of the Commonwealth's attorney or county attorney that prosecut ed the\ncase, the court may, without a hearing, vacate the judgment in the manner\nestablished in subsection (5) of this section.\n(7) Upon entry of an order vacating and expunging a conviction, the original conviction\nshall be vacated and, upon full payment of the fee in subsection (11) of this section,\nthe record shall be expunged. The court and other agencies shall cause records to be\ndeleted or removed from their computer systems so that the matter shall not appear\non official state -performed background ch ecks. The court and other agencies shall\nreply to any inquiry that no record exists on the matter. The person whose record is\nexpunged shall not have to disclose the fact of the record or any matter relating\nthereto on an application for employment, credit , or other type of application. If the\nperson is not prohibited from voting for any other reason, the person's ability to\nvote shall be restored and the person may register to vote.\n(8) An order vacating a conviction under this section shall not extend or revive an\nexpired statute of limitations, shall not constitute a finding of legal error regarding\nthe proceedings leading to or resulting in the conviction, shall not nullify any\nfindings of fact or conclusions of law made by the trial court or any appella te court\nregarding the conviction, and shall not constitute a finding of innocence regarding\nthe conviction.\n(9) The Administrative Office of the Courts shall establish a form application to be\nused in filing an application to have judgment vacated and records expunged.\n(10) The filing fee for an application to have judgment vacated and records expunged\nshall be fifty dollars ($50), which shall be deposited into a trust and agency account\nfor deputy clerks and shall not be refundable.\n(11) (a) Upon the issu ance of an order vacating and expunging a conviction pursuant\nto this section, the applicant shall be charged an expungement fee of two\nhundred fifty dollars ($250), which may be payable by an installment plan in\naccordance with KRS 534.020.\n(b) When the o rder is issued, the court shall set a date, no sooner than eighteen\n(18) months after the date of the order, by which the defendant must comply\nwith the installment payment plan. The applicant shall be given notice of the\ntotal amount due, the payment freq uency, and the date by which all payments\nmust be made. The notice shall state that the expungement cannot be\ncompleted until full payment is received, and that if the applicant has not\ncompleted the installment payment plan by the scheduled date, he or sh e shall\nappear on that date to show good cause as to why he or she is unable to satisfy\nthe obligations. Notwithstanding provisions of KRS 534.020 to the contrary,\nno applicant shall be ordered to jail for failure to complete an installment plan\nordered pursuant to this section.\n(c) The revenues and interest from the expungement fee shall be deposited in the\nexpungement fund created in KRS 431.0795.\n(12) This section shall be retroactive.\nEffective: June 29, 2023","path":["KRS Chapter 431"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=53904","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:59:45Z","sha256":"2dd4d4caa08f2a53b411a525e77590336769bce27e77fdc36151677a4b54541b","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-431.070","next":"us-ky/krs-431.074"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}