Expungement in Washington State: Vacating Misdemeanors and Felonies

Washington State doesn’t actually use the word “expungement.” What people usually mean by expungement in Washington State is a court order vacating a conviction: the judge withdraws your guilty plea or sets aside the verdict, dismisses the charge, and releases you from the penalties attached to it.¹ Once that order is signed, you can tell employers, landlords, and licensing boards that you were not convicted of the crime.² The rules differ by offense class, several crimes are permanently excluded, and non-citizens need to read the immigration section before filing anything.

Vacating a Misdemeanor or Gross Misdemeanor

You can petition the sentencing court to vacate a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor if all of these are true:³

You have completed every term of your sentence, including treatment, probation, and all legal financial obligations.
You have no criminal charges pending in any Washington, out-of-state, federal, or tribal court.
At least three years have passed since the later of your release from supervision, release from confinement, or sentencing date. For a domestic violence crime, the waiting period is five years.
You picked up no new convictions during that waiting period.

A change that took effect June 6, 2024, matters for anyone still paying off court debt. The three- or five-year clock now runs from your release or sentencing date and no longer waits until your legal financial obligations are paid off. You still have to pay them in full before the judge will grant the vacation, but the waiting period can run in the background. The new rule applies retroactively to older convictions.³

Vacating a Felony

Felonies run on a separate statute and start with an extra step. Before you can ask the court to vacate, you need a certificate of discharge, which the court issues after you have completed every condition of your sentence, including financial obligations.⁴ If one was never issued automatically, you can file a motion asking for it.

Once you have the certificate, you must also meet these conditions:¹

No pending charges in any Washington, out-of-state, or federal court.
For a Class C felony, at least five years since the later of your release from community custody, release from confinement, or sentencing date, with no new convictions in that five-year window.
For a Class B felony, at least ten years since that same later date, with no new convictions in those ten years.

The felony waiting period has always run independently of unpaid financial obligations, so the 2024 misdemeanor change did not alter the felony clock.

Convictions That Cannot Be Vacated

Washington permanently excludes several categories of conviction from vacation, and this is where many applicants hit a wall.

On the misdemeanor side, you cannot vacate a DUI, actual physical control while under the influence, or operating a railroad while intoxicated. The ban also covers violent offenses as defined in RCW 9.94A.030 (and attempts), sex offenses under chapter 9A.44 RCW except failure to register, obscenity and pornography offenses under chapter 9.68 RCW, and sexual exploitation of children under chapter 9.68A RCW.³

On the felony side, violent offenses and crimes against persons are generally excluded. Three narrow exceptions let you ask for vacation of a second-degree assault, a third-degree assault not committed against a law enforcement officer, or a second-degree robbery, provided the conviction carried no firearm, deadly weapon, or sexual motivation enhancement. Felony DUI offenses under RCW 46.61.502 and 46.61.504 are off the table. Class A felonies have no vacation pathway at all; the statute only sets waiting periods for Class B and Class C.¹

The Cannabis and Drug Treatment Shortcuts

Two categories bypass the usual discretion. If you were 21 or older at the time and were convicted of a misdemeanor cannabis offense, the court must vacate the conviction when you apply. The statute reaches back to predecessor possession laws from as far back as 1971.³

A parallel rule covers certain drug possession convictions. If you complete a substance use disorder program, or show six months of substantial compliance with treatment through a recovery navigator or diversion program, the court must vacate those convictions on proof of completion.

How to File

Start by pulling your own criminal history. The Washington State Patrol’s WATCH system runs a name-and-date-of-birth background check online for $11 and returns results immediately.⁵ That report gives you the case numbers, court names, conviction dates, and dispositions you need for the forms.

Gather the case number and court, the date of conviction and the specific offense, the date you completed your sentence, a copy of the judgment and sentence, and for felonies the certificate of discharge.

Different forms apply to different courts. Misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors use the Petition and Declaration for Order Vacating Conviction (CrRLJ 09.0100). Felonies use the Motion and Declaration for Order Vacating Record of Felony Conviction (CR 08.0900), which also has a guided interview on the Washington Courts website that generates the paperwork from your answers.⁶ File the original with the clerk of the court where you were convicted, whether that is municipal, district, or superior court.

After filing, serve a copy on the prosecuting attorney’s office that handled your case. The felony form asks you to note the service date.⁷ Keep proof: a stamped copy, a signed receipt, or a declaration of mailing. Without it, the court will usually continue the hearing.

At the hearing, the prosecutor can object, usually on grounds of inaccurate information, an unfinished waiting period, or outstanding financial obligations. For most misdemeanors and felonies the judge’s decision is discretionary; meeting the technical requirements does not guarantee the order. Cannabis vacations and drug possession vacations after treatment are the exceptions where the court must grant it.³

After the Order Is Signed

The clerk sends a copy of the order to the Washington State Patrol and the arresting law enforcement agency, and the WSP updates its records so the conviction no longer appears on your public criminal history report.⁵ From that point you can state on applications that you were not convicted of the crime.²

Private background check companies are a separate problem. The WSP update doesn’t reach the commercial databases those companies maintain, so a vacated conviction can keep showing up on employment screens. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires these companies to follow reasonable procedures to ensure the “maximum possible accuracy” of what they report.⁸ If a report shows a vacated conviction as current, dispute it directly with the screening company and attach a copy of your vacation order. The company then has to correct or remove the entry.

Immigration Warning for Non-Citizens

If you are not a U.S. citizen, read this before you file. A Washington vacation does not automatically erase the conviction for immigration purposes, and acting on the wrong assumption has led to deportations.

Federal immigration law uses its own definition of “conviction.” Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a conviction exists whenever a court has found you guilty or accepted a guilty plea and imposed some form of punishment or restraint on liberty.⁹ When a state later vacates that conviction through a rehabilitative statute or to help the person avoid immigration consequences, USCIS still treats the conviction as existing. The Board of Immigration Appeals has held that state actions to expunge or vacate under a rehabilitative statute have no immigration effect.

A vacated conviction stops counting for immigration only when it was vacated because of a constitutional or procedural defect in the original case, such as ineffective assistance of counsel or a failure to advise you of immigration consequences before you entered your plea.⁹ Washington’s standard vacation is rehabilitative, so it generally will not help. Talk to an immigration attorney before filing. The right strategy for an immigration case may look nothing like the state process.

Firearm Rights

Washington prohibits firearm possession for anyone convicted of a “serious offense,” any felony, and a growing list of misdemeanors including domestic violence crimes, stalking, harassment, and prior DUI offenses within seven years of another DUI.¹⁰ Vacating a conviction can remove the state-law disability because the underlying conviction is undone, but federal firearm prohibitions under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) operate independently and whether a state vacation satisfies the federal standard depends on how the vacation interacts with the restoration of civil rights. Washington also has a separate court petition to restore firearm rights. If regaining those rights is a priority, work with an attorney who can evaluate both state and federal angles for your specific conviction.

Where to Get Free Help

You can file on your own, but help is available. The King County Bar Association runs a Records Project that pairs eligible clients with volunteer attorneys who handle the entire case at no cost, and other counties operate similar programs. Washington Law Help (washingtonlawhelp.org) publishes self-help guides and a county-by-county directory of free legal services. If you are not sure your conviction qualifies, these resources can screen your case before you spend time on paperwork.

1
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 9.94A.640 – Vacation of Offender’s Record of Conviction
2
Washington Courts. Instructions for Vacating Misdemeanor and Gross Misdemeanor Convictions
3
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.96.060 – Vacating Records of Conviction for Misdemeanor and Gross Misdemeanor
4
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.94A.637 – Discharge Upon Completion of Sentence
5
Washington State Patrol. Criminal History
6
Washington State Courts. Court Forms – Vacating/Sealing Records
7
Washington State Courts. Motion and Declaration for Order Vacating Record of Felony Conviction
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681e – Compliance Procedures
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjudicative Factors
10
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 9.41.040 – Unlawful Possession of Firearms