How Many Expungements Are You Allowed in NC?

In North Carolina, how many expungements you are allowed depends entirely on how your cases ended. Dismissed charges and not-guilty findings can be expunged in unlimited numbers. Convictions are far more restricted: under the main statute for nonviolent offenses, you generally get one round of misdemeanor expungements and one round covering up to three felonies, each after a waiting period.¹

Dismissed Charges and Acquittals Have No Cap

If a charge was dismissed or you were found not guilty, you can expunge it, and there is no limit on how many times you do so. The statute places no cap on the number of dismissals or acquittals a person can clear, and it applies to both misdemeanors and felonies. When a court confirms the charge was dismissed or ended in a not-guilty finding, it must grant the expungement.²

This also covers mixed cases. If some counts resulted in conviction and others were dismissed, the dismissed counts remain expungable even though a conviction stays on the record for the rest.² And using a conviction expungement does not use up any of your dismissal expungements; they are governed by separate statutes and tracked separately.

For many dismissals, you don’t need to count at all because you don’t need to file. For cases disposed on or after December 1, 2021, if every charge in the case was dismissed or ended in a not-guilty finding, the expungement happens automatically, 180 to 210 days after the final disposition.³ The one exception is a felony dismissed as part of a plea agreement to a lesser charge; that one you have to petition for.²

Nonviolent Misdemeanor Convictions: One Round

Under G.S. 15A-145.5, nonviolent misdemeanor convictions can be expunged after a waiting period that depends on how many you have:¹

One nonviolent misdemeanor: 3 years. This was shortened from 5 years by S.L. 2025-71, effective for petitions filed on or after July 9, 2025.
More than one nonviolent misdemeanor: 7 years from the date of the most recent conviction, not counting traffic violations left off the petition.

Once a court grants you a misdemeanor conviction expungement, you generally cannot come back later for another one covering misdemeanor convictions that happened after the date of the expungement order. In practical terms, that is one bite at the misdemeanor apple.

Nonviolent Felony Convictions: Capped at Three

The same statute allows expungement of up to three nonviolent felony convictions. Four or more are not eligible. Waiting periods:¹

One nonviolent felony: 10 years, measured from the conviction date or completion of sentence, probation, or post-release supervision, whichever is later. Breaking or entering under G.S. 14-54(a) requires 15 years.
Two or three nonviolent felonies: 20 years from the date of the most recent conviction listed in the petition.

As with misdemeanors, once you receive a felony expungement, additional felony convictions picked up after the order are not eligible to be expunged later.

Misdemeanor and Felony Expungements Are Tracked Separately

Although each category is a one-time path, the two categories don’t cancel each other out. A person who has expunged misdemeanor convictions can still later be eligible to expunge felony convictions, and someone who has used the felony path can still petition under the misdemeanor path. The statute treats them as two independent allowances.

Multiple Convictions From the Same Court Session Count as One

If you were convicted of more than one nonviolent misdemeanor, or more than one nonviolent felony, in the same session of court, those convictions count as a single conviction for expungement purposes.¹

This has real consequences for the waiting period. Two nonviolent misdemeanors handled together in one court session fall under the single-conviction three-year wait, not the seven-year wait for multiple convictions. “Same session of court” means the same court proceeding, not just charges from the same arrest, so convictions split across different court dates don’t get the benefit.

Other Expungement Statutes Operate Independently

G.S. 15A-145.5 is the most used path, but it isn’t the only one. North Carolina has several narrower statutes aimed at specific groups, and qualifying under one of them doesn’t count against your eligibility under the general nonviolent-conviction statute.

Offenses Committed Before Age 18

G.S. 15A-145 covers expungement of certain misdemeanor convictions for people who committed the offense before turning 18 and have no other convictions. G.S. 15A-145.4 does the same for nonviolent felonies committed before 18.⁴

Drug Offenses for People Under 22

G.S. 15A-145.2 covers certain controlled-substance offenses for people who were not over 21 at the time of the offense. A case dismissed after completing a deferred prosecution under G.S. 90-96 can be petitioned for expungement. A separate provision in the same statute allows expungement of a misdemeanor drug possession conviction, or a felony simple-possession conviction, for first offenders in that age group, but only once.⁵

Convictions That Cannot Be Expunged at All

Even if you are inside the numerical limits, the conviction has to be “nonviolent” as the statute defines it. The statute works by exclusion, and the following are off the table under G.S. 15A-145.5:¹

Class A through G felonies and Class A1 misdemeanors
Any offense where assault is a required element
Offenses requiring sex offender registration, and offenses involving stalking
Impaired driving offenses as defined in G.S. 20-4.01(24a)
Certain drug felonies involving methamphetamine, heroin, or possession with intent to sell or deliver cocaine

Class A through G felonies and sex offenses are essentially permanent on your record. Some of the others may fit a different, narrower statute, but they do not fit the general nonviolent path.

Conditions That Can Still Block an Otherwise-Allowed Petition

Being within the count is not the same as being eligible. Even if the numbers work, a conviction expungement under G.S. 15A-145.5 also requires:¹

An affidavit of good moral character.
No new convictions during the waiting period. For misdemeanor expungements, that means no new felony or misdemeanor convictions other than traffic during the applicable wait. For felony expungements, no misdemeanor convictions in the five years before the petition and no felony convictions during the waiting period.
No outstanding warrants, pending criminal cases, or active indictments in any state or federal court.
All restitution orders and related civil judgments fully satisfied.

The new-conviction rule trips up a lot of petitions. A single misdemeanor during the waiting period restarts the clock, so the years of waiting only count if the rest of the record stays clean. Filing itself costs $175, waived for petitioners who qualify as indigent.⁴

Expungement Does Not Erase a Conviction for Immigration

One boundary worth stating plainly: if you are not a U.S. citizen, a North Carolina expungement does not erase a conviction for federal immigration purposes. The federal definition treats a finding or plea of guilty with some punishment imposed as a conviction, and a state rehabilitative expungement does not change that. You are still required to disclose expunged convictions on immigration applications and in interviews, and answering “no” can be treated as a misrepresentation.⁶ Narrow exceptions exist for convictions vacated on constitutional or procedural grounds and for pre-trial diversions completed without a guilty plea. Anyone with immigration exposure should talk with an immigration attorney before relying on a state expungement.

1
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 15A-145.5 – Expunction of Certain Misdemeanors and Felonies
2
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 15A – North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 15A Criminal Procedure Act, 15A-146
3
North Carolina General Assembly. Senate Bill 565 – Session Law 2024-35
4
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code Chapter 15A, Article 5 – Expunction of Records
5
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 15A-145.2 – Expunction of Records for First Offenders Not Over 21 Years of Age at the Time of the Offense of Certain Drug Offenses
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12, Part F, Chapter 2