{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-431.078","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 431.078","heading":"Expungement of misdemeanor, violation, and traffic infraction records of","body":"convictions and dismissed or amended charges.\n(1) Any person who has been convicted of:\n(a) A misdemeanor, a violation, or a traffic infraction not otherwise classified as a\nmisdemeanor or violation, or a series of misdemeanors, violations, or traffic\ninfractions arising from a single incident; or\n(b) A series of misdemeanors, violations, or traffic infractions not arising from a\nsingle incident;\nmay petition the court in which  he was convicted for expungement of his\nmisdemeanor or violation record within that judicial district, including a record of\nany charges for misdemeanors, violations, or traffic infractions that were dismissed\nor amended in the criminal action. The person  shall be informed of the right at the\ntime of adjudication.\n(2) Except as provided in KRS 218A.275(8) and 218A.276(8), the petition shall be\nfiled no sooner than five (5) years after the completion of the person's sentence or\nfive (5) years after the succ essful completion of the person's probation, whichever\noccurs later.\n(3) Upon the filing of a petition, the court shall set a date for a hearing, no sooner than\nthirty (30) days after the filing of the petition, and shall notify the county attorney;\nthe vi ctim of the crime, if there was an identified victim; and any other person\nwhom the person filing the petition has reason to believe may have relevant\ninformation related to the expungement of the record. Inability to locate the victim\nshall not delay the proceedings in the case or preclude the holding of a hearing or\nthe issuance of an order of expungement.\n(4) For a petition brought under subsection (1)(a) of this section, the court shall order\nexpunged all records in the custody of the court and any reco rds in the custody of\nany other agency or official, including law enforcement records, if at the hearing the\ncourt finds that:\n(a) The offense was not a sex offense or an offense committed against a child;\n(b) The person had not in the five (5) years prior  to the filing of the petition for\nexpungement been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor;\n(c) No proceeding concerning a felony or misdemeanor is pending or being\ninstituted against the person; and\n(d) The offense is not one subject to enhancement for a second or subsequent\noffense or the time for such an enhancement has expired.\n(5) For a petition brought under subsection (1)(b) of this section, the court may order\nexpunged all records in the custody of the court and any records in the custody of\nany other agency or official, including law enforcement records, if at the hearing the\ncourt finds that:\n(a) The offense was not a sex offense or an offense committed against a child;\n(b) The person had not in the five (5) years prior to the filing of the petitio n for\nexpungement been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor;\n(c) No proceeding concerning a felony or misdemeanor is pending or being\ninstituted against the person; and\n(d) The offense is not one subject to enhancement for a second or subsequent\noffense or the time for such an enhancement has expired.\n(6) Upon the entry of an order to expunge the records, the proceedings in the case shall\nbe deemed never to have occurred; the  court and other agencies shall cause records\nto be deleted or removed from their computer systems so that the matter shall not\nappear on official state -performed background checks; the persons and the court\nmay properly reply that no record exists with re spect to the persons upon any\ninquiry in the matter; and the person whose record is expunged shall not have to\ndisclose the fact of the record or any matter relating thereto on an application for\nemployment, credit, or other type of application.\n(7) The filing fee for a petition under this section shall be one hundred dollars ($100).\nThe first fifty dollars ($50) of each fee collected pursuant to this subsection shall be\ndeposited into a trust and agency account for deputy clerks and shall not be\nrefundable.\n(8) Copies of the order shall be sent to each agency or official named therein.\n(9) 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(10) This section shall be deemed to be retroactive, and any person who has been\nconvicted of a misdemeanor prior to July 14, 1992, may petition the court in which\nhe was convicted, or if he was convicted prior to the inc eption of the District Court\nto the District Court in the county where he now resides, for expungement of the\nrecord of one (1) misdemeanor offense or violation or a series of misdemeanor\noffenses or violations arising from a single incident, provided that  the offense was\nnot one specified in subsection (4) and that the offense was not the precursor\noffense of a felony offense for which he was subsequently convicted. This section\nshall apply only to offenses against the Commonwealth of Kentucky.\n(11) As used in this section, \"violation\" has the same meaning as in KRS 500.080.\n(12) Any person denied an expungement prior to June 25, 2013, due to the presence of a\ntraffic infraction on his or her record may file a new petition for expungement of the\npreviously petitioned offenses, which the court shall hear and decide under the\nterms of this section. No court costs or other fees, from the court or any other\nagency, shall be required of a person filing a new petition under this subsection.","path":["KRS Chapter 431"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=45221","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:59:45Z","sha256":"8de8a5d5ed1971298762210b568bb6fcaea55a6f9cd80a91e71f969f2b8bf016","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-431.076","next":"us-ky/krs-431.079"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}