How Long Do Misdemeanors Stay on Your Record in Ohio?

In Ohio, a misdemeanor conviction stays on your record for life. There is no statute that causes it to drop off after a set number of years, and background check providers can report it indefinitely. The only way to remove it is to petition the court to seal the record, which you can do after a short waiting period if the offense is eligible. That is the complete answer to how long misdemeanors stay on your record in Ohio: permanently, unless you act.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation keeps conviction records in a centralized database that employers, landlords, and the public can access. A misdemeanor from twenty years ago looks the same in that system as one from last year. People moving to Ohio from states where low-level offenses age off background checks are often caught off guard by this.

When You Can Petition To Seal

Ohio law requires a waiting period that begins on the date of your “final discharge” from the sentence. The length depends on the severity of the offense:

Minor misdemeanors: six months after final discharge.
First- through fourth-degree misdemeanors: one year after final discharge.

These timelines come from R.C. 2953.32, which was reorganized by Senate Bill 288.¹

Final discharge is not the day you were convicted or sentenced. It is the day you finish every part of the sentence: jail time served, probation completed, fines paid, and restitution paid in full. If you still owe restitution or remain on community control, the clock has not started.

Unpaid court costs are treated differently. Court costs are not part of your criminal sentence, so owing them does not block eligibility or delay your waiting period. A judge may still weigh outstanding court costs when deciding whether to grant the petition.¹

Misdemeanors That Can Never Be Sealed

Several categories of misdemeanor are permanently ineligible. Filing for one of these wastes a filing fee and guarantees denial.

All traffic offenses, including OVI. Any conviction under Revised Code chapters 4506, 4507, 4510, 4511, or 4549 is permanently ineligible. That covers OVI/DUI, driving under suspension, and reckless operation. Bail forfeitures in traffic cases are also excluded.²
Sex offenses under R.C. 2907, including sexual imposition and gross sexual imposition.³
First-degree misdemeanor offenses of violence. The statute carves out narrow exceptions, including riot, simple assault, inciting to violence, and inducing panic, which remain eligible despite being M1 offenses of violence.³
Domestic violence, with one exception: a fourth-degree misdemeanor domestic violence conviction can be sealed under R.C. 2953.32(A)(2).²
Any M1 misdemeanor or felony where the victim was under sixteen at the time of the offense, except for nonsupport convictions under R.C. 2919.21.³

Confirm your specific offense is eligible before paying any fees.

How Many Misdemeanors You Can Seal

Ohio does not set a numerical cap on the total misdemeanor convictions you can seal. Any person can seek to seal any number of eligible convictions, as long as each offense individually qualifies.² You can also request sealing of more than one case in a single application.¹

When two or more convictions result from the same act, or from offenses committed at the same time, they count as a single conviction. Convictions from the same indictment or plea involving related acts within a three-month period may also count as one, unless a judge decides treating them separately serves the public interest.¹

Filing the Petition

You file with the Clerk of Courts in the same court that handled the original conviction. The petition requires the case number, the court, the date of conviction, and the date of final discharge. If the court’s online records are incomplete, you may need to pull the physical case file at the courthouse.

Filing fees vary by county. Hamilton County charges $50.⁴ Montgomery County charges $100.⁵ If you cannot afford the fee, you can request a waiver by filing an affidavit of indigency.

You cannot have any open or pending criminal cases at the time of filing. That includes outstanding warrants and pending traffic matters. Everything has to be resolved first.

What Happens at the Hearing

Once the petition is accepted, the court notifies the prosecutor, who can file an objection. In cases involving a victim, the prosecutor must be notified at least 60 days before the hearing. The probation department conducts a background investigation to confirm you have no pending charges and meet eligibility requirements.⁶

The hearing has to be scheduled no fewer than 45 and no more than 90 days after filing. The judge applies a balancing test: your interest in sealing against the government’s legitimate need to keep the record public.¹ If the judge grants the petition, the court orders the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and other agencies holding your records to seal them.⁶

What a Sealed Record Actually Does

Sealing does not erase the record. It still exists in court and law enforcement systems. What changes is who can see it and what you must disclose.

Once a record is sealed, the proceedings are legally deemed not to have occurred. Since September 30, 2021, you have no duty to disclose information contained in a sealed record, and courts cannot question you about it or review it. On a job application asking about criminal history, you can legally answer that you have no record.²

The exceptions matter. Law enforcement and government officials keep access for criminal investigations. Employers in law enforcement, education, and healthcare can see sealed records through their specialized background check processes. Prosecutors can access sealed records to determine eligibility for pretrial diversion. For most private-sector jobs and housing applications, a sealed record will not appear.²

Why an Unsealed Misdemeanor Never Expires on a Background Check

Federal law places no time limit on how long a criminal conviction can be reported. The Fair Credit Reporting Act limits the reporting of arrests without convictions, civil judgments, and other adverse information to seven years, but conviction records are explicitly excluded from that restriction. A background check company can report an unsealed misdemeanor indefinitely, regardless of its age.⁷

Some states limit how far back employers can look. Ohio has not passed such a restriction. Between Ohio’s permanent record system and the FCRA’s exemption for convictions, an unsealed misdemeanor will follow you on standard background checks for life. If the offense is eligible, sealing is the only way to change that.

1
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2953.32 – Sealing or Expungement of Record of Conviction Record or Bail Forfeiture
2
Supreme Court of Ohio. Adult Rights Restoration and Record Sealing
3
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2953.36 – Sealing of Record
4
Hamilton County Clerk of Courts. Record Sealing/Expungement
5
Montgomery County Clerk of Courts. Montgomery County Clerk of Courts – Expungements/Sealing of Record
6
Greene County, Ohio. FAQ and Application for Sealing of Record ORC 2953.32
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports