Free Expungement in Kentucky: Who Qualifies and How to File

You can get a free expungement in Kentucky in two situations: your case ended without a conviction, or you have a conviction but qualify as a “poor person” under KRS 453.190 and the judge waives the fees. Non-conviction outcomes carry no filing fee under KRS 431.076, and acquittals or dismissals with prejudice entered after July 2020 are sealed automatically without a petition at all.¹

Non-Conviction Cases Cost Nothing to File

If your case ended in an acquittal, a dismissal with prejudice, or a grand jury’s decision not to indict (a “No True Bill”), KRS 431.076 charges no filing fee to seal those records.¹

There are still waiting periods. You can petition 60 days after an acquittal. A dismissal without prejudice requires a one-year wait for misdemeanors and three years for felonies. If a grand jury declined to indict, wait six months from the date the District Court held the matter over to the grand jury.¹

Automatic Sealing Since July 2020

Since July 2020, acquittals and dismissals with prejudice are sealed automatically. The court is required to order expungement 30 days after entering the order, unless you object. If your acquittal or dismissal with prejudice was entered before July 2020, you still need to file a petition, but the filing remains free.² Convictions are never sealed automatically, whenever they occurred.

What a Conviction Expungement Normally Costs

If you’re clearing a conviction rather than a dismissed charge, the standard price tag is real:

Misdemeanors, violations, and traffic infractions carry a flat $100 filing fee. If the petition is denied, only $50 is refundable.³
Class D felonies require a $50 filing fee at application and a $250 expungement fee charged only if the judge grants the order. The $250 can be paid on an installment plan.⁴

On top of the court fees, a conviction petition requires a Certificate of Eligibility from the Kentucky State Police, which costs $40.⁵

Getting the Fees Waived

To pursue a conviction expungement without paying, file a Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis using Form AOC-026, available from the Kentucky Court of Justice.⁶ The motion asks the court to waive all costs and fees because you cannot afford them. File it at the same time as your expungement petition so the clerk does not require immediate payment.

Kentucky defines a “poor person” eligible for a waiver two ways: your household income falls at or below 100% of the federal poverty level on the sliding scale adopted by the Kentucky Supreme Court, or paying the fees would deprive you or your dependents of basic necessities like food, shelter, or clothing.⁷ Judges can reduce or waive fees even if income sits somewhat above the poverty line; the scale is a guideline, not a hard cutoff.⁸

For reference, the 2026 federal poverty level is $15,960 for a single individual and $33,000 for a family of four.⁹ The AOC-026 includes an affidavit and financial statement where you detail income, expenses, and dependents.

Which Convictions Actually Qualify

Before spending time on a waiver, confirm the conviction is eligible. Most misdemeanors and violations qualify, including traffic infractions; the court must grant expungement for a single-incident conviction and may grant it when multiple misdemeanors from separate incidents are involved.³ Nearly all Class D felonies are eligible under KRS 431.073, which lists dozens of specific offenses and covers most remaining Class D felonies through a separate provision.⁴ Any felony you received a full pardon for can be expunged regardless of class.¹

Class A, B, and C felonies cannot be expunged without a pardon. Among otherwise eligible offenses, these are permanently excluded: sex offenses, offenses committed against a child, DUI convictions, fourth-degree assault involving domestic violence, impersonating a peace officer, abuse of public office, and any conviction that resulted in serious bodily injury or death.¹

The Five-Year Wait for Convictions

For both misdemeanor and Class D felony convictions, you must wait five years after completing your entire sentence before filing. Completing your sentence means finishing everything: jail time, probation, parole, community service, and full payment of restitution. The clock starts when the last obligation is satisfied.³⁴

During that five years, a new felony or misdemeanor conviction resets your eligibility. You also cannot have any pending criminal proceedings when you file.³

How to File Without Paying

Conviction Petitions

Start by requesting a Certificate of Eligibility from the Kentucky Court of Justice, online, by mail, or in person at the Administrative Office of the Courts in Frankfort. Processing runs roughly four to five months due to volume, so plan ahead.¹⁰ The $40 certificate fee is not covered by the AOC-026 waiver, which addresses court costs and filing fees.⁵

Once the certificate arrives, you have 30 days to file your petition with the Circuit Court Clerk in the county of prosecution. Use Form AOC-496.2 for misdemeanors and violations, or Form AOC-496.3 for Class D felonies.¹¹ That 30-day window is strict, and a separate petition is required for each case. File Form AOC-026 with the petition to have court costs and fees waived.⁶ Complete every field; incomplete petitions can be rejected.

Non-Conviction Petitions

For acquittals, dismissals, and failures to indict, use Form AOC-497.2. No certificate of eligibility is needed, and there is no filing fee.¹² If your acquittal or dismissal with prejudice was entered after July 2020 and was not sealed automatically, this form is how you fix that.

What an Expungement Does Not Reach

A Kentucky expungement order binds state courts and state agencies. It does not reach federal databases. Federal courts are not governed by Kentucky’s expungement statutes, and the FBI maintains its records separately. An expunged Kentucky conviction can still surface on a federal-level background check. Federal law provides almost no mechanism for sealing federal criminal records, with only narrow exceptions for certain youthful drug offenses and juvenile adjudications.

Private background check companies are a separate problem. They purchase records in bulk and often fail to update databases when records are sealed. If a third-party report is still showing an expunged charge, you may need to contact the company directly with a copy of the court order. Correcting one vendor does not correct the others.

The Department for Community Based Services is specifically exempt from expunging records related to acquittals and dismissals, so those records may still appear in that agency’s internal files even after a court order.¹

1
Department of Public Advocacy. Guide to Expungement in Kentucky
2
Department of Public Advocacy. Expungement Guidebook
3
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 431.078
4
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 431.073
5
Kentucky Court of Justice. Expungement Certification Process
6
Kentucky Court of Justice. Motion for Waiver of Costs and Fees and to Proceed In Forma Pauperis
7
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 453.190
8
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Part XV Sliding Scale of Indigency
9
HealthCare.gov. Federal Poverty Level (FPL)
10
Kentucky State Police. Expungements
11
Kentucky Court of Justice. AOC-496.2 Petition for Expungement (For Misdemeanor, Violation, or Traffic Infraction Conviction)
12
Kentucky Court of Justice. Petition for Expungement for Acquittal, Dismissal, or Failure to Indict