{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-431.076","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 431.076","heading":"Expungement of criminal records for those acquitted of crimes, for whom","body":"charges have been dismissed but not in exchange for a guilty plea to another\ncharge, or against whom charges have not resulted in an indictment or an\ninformation filed by the  Commonwealth's attorney -- Effects of an order of\nexpungement -- Expungement by court or upon petition of person charged --\nException for records in the custody of the Department for Community Based\nServices.\n(1) (a) On or after July 15, 2020, if a co urt enters an order of acquittal of criminal\ncharges against a person, or enters an order dismissing with prejudice all\ncriminal charges in a case against a person and not in exchange for a guilty\nplea to another charge, the court shall order the record ex punged upon the\nexpiration of thirty (30) days, unless the person objects to the expungement.\nAs used in this paragraph, \"criminal charges\" shall not include a traffic\ninfraction not otherwise classified as a misdemeanor. The order expunging the\nrecords shall not require any action by the person.\n(b) A person who has been charged with a criminal offense and who has been\nacquitted of the charges, or against whom charges have been dismissed and\nnot in exchange for a guilty plea to another charge, and whose re cords have\nnot been expunged pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection, may petition\nthe court in which the disposition of the charges was made to expunge all\ncharges.\n(c) A person against whom felony charges originally filed in the District Court\nhave not resulted in an indictment by the grand jury or in an information filed\nby the Commonwealth's attorney may petition the District Court in which the\ncharges were filed to dismiss and expunge all charges for which an indictment\nor information has not issued.\n(2) An expungement petition brought under subsection (1)(b) or (c) of this section shall\nbe filed no sooner than:\n(a) Sixty (60) days following the order of acquittal or dismissal with prejudice by\nthe court;\n(b) Six (6) months following the date of th e District Court decision to hold the\nmatter to the grand jury; or\n(c) For charges dismissed without prejudice:\n1. For felony charges, three (3) years following the date of the order of\ndismissal without prejudice; or\n2. For misdemeanor charges, one (1) year following the date of the order of\ndismissal without prejudice.\n(3) (a) If the court finds that the petition under subsection (1)(b) of this section is\nproperly brought, the court shall grant the petition and order the expunging of\nthe records.\n(b) 1. If the expungement petition is brought under subsection (1)(c) of this\nsection, the petition shall be served upon the offices of the county and\nCommonwealth's attorneys that prosecuted the case.\n2. Following the filing of the petition, the court shall notify the county and\nCommonwealth's attorneys of an opportunity for a response to the\npetition. The response shall be filed within ninety (90) days after the\nfiling of the petition.\n3. If a response is  not filed, ninety (90) days after the filing of the petition\nthe court shall dismiss the charges without prejudice and order the\nexpunging of the records.\n4. If a response is filed, ninety (90) days after the date the response is filed,\nif an indictment has not issued, the court shall dismiss without prejudice\nthe charges for which an indictment has not issued and order the\nexpunging of the records.\n(4) An order of expungement pursuant to this section shall expunge all criminal records\nin the custody of th e court and any criminal records in the custody of any other\nagency or official, including law enforcement records, but no order of expungement\npursuant to this section shall expunge records in the custody of the Department for\nCommunity Based Services. Th e court shall order the expunging on a form\nprovided by the Administrative Office of the Courts. Every agency, with records\nrelating to the arrest, charge, or other matters arising out of the arrest or charge, that\nis ordered to expunge records, shall cert ify to the court within sixty (60) days of the\nentry of the expungement order, that the required expunging action has been\ncompleted. All orders enforcing the expungement procedure shall also be expunged.\n(5) (a) If an expungement is ordered under subsecti on (1)(a) or (b) of this section, an\nappellate court which issued an opinion in the case shall order the appellate\ncase file to be sealed and also direct that the version of the appellate opinion\npublished on the court's Web site be modified to avoid use o f the defendant's\nname in the case title and body of the opinion.\n(b) If an expungement is ordered under subsection (1)(c) of this section, an\nappellate court which issued an opinion in the case may, upon motion of the\npetitioner in the case, order the app ellate case file to be sealed and also direct\nthat the version of the appellate opinion published on the court's Web site be\nmodified to avoid use of the petitioner's name in the case title and body of the\nopinion.\n(6) After the expungement, the proceedings in the matter shall be deemed never to have\noccurred. The court and other agencies shall delete or remove the records from their\ncomputer systems so that any official state -performed background check will\nindicate that the records do not exist. The court and other agencies shall reply to any\ninquiry that no record exists on the matter. The person whose record is expunged\nshall not have to disclose the fact of the record or any matter relating thereto on an\napplication for employment, credit, or other type of application.\n(7) Inspection of the records included in the order may thereafter be permitted by the\ncourt only upon petition by the person who is the subject of the records and only to\nthose persons named in the petition.\n(8) Except as provided in subs ection (1)(a) of this section, this section shall be\nretroactive.","path":["KRS Chapter 431"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=50191","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:59:45Z","sha256":"47245dd93893b520cd4e83c7cbd4922ec2f6f9b41c5bfc34b69b456c4f69c235","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-431.075","next":"us-ky/krs-431.078"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}