To expunge a driving record in Maryland, you work with one of two systems depending on what you want cleared. The Motor Vehicle Administration removes eligible entries from your public driving record automatically after three, five, or ten years of clean driving. Court records from criminal traffic charges are separate and require you to file a petition in the court that handled the case.
Figure Out Which Record You’re Trying to Clear
Your MVA driving record is the one insurers pull and employers see when they check your driving history. It tracks violations, points, suspensions, and revocations. A separate court record exists for any traffic charge serious enough to go through the criminal system, such as reckless driving, driving on a suspended license, or DUI.
Clearing one does not clear the other. The MVA handles its records under Maryland Transportation Article Section 16-117.1 without any filing on your part. Court records are governed by Maryland Criminal Procedure Section 10-105 and require a petition. If a criminal traffic charge is in your past, you may need to go through both tracks to fully clean up your history.
Automatic MVA Expungement and the Three Waiting Periods
The MVA reviews driving records on a rolling basis and must expunge qualifying entries within 31 days of the date you become eligible.1Library of Maryland. COMAR 11.11.16.02 – Expungement of a Public Driving Record You don’t file a form. How long you wait depends on the worst thing on your record:
- Three years if your license has never been suspended for driver safety reasons and never been revoked. The clock runs from your most recent moving violation conviction or criminal motor vehicle offense.
- Five years if you have had one driver safety-related suspension but no revocations.
- Ten years if you have had multiple driver safety suspensions or any revocation. During this period you also must avoid any probation before judgment for a hit-and-run or alcohol-related driving offense.
The clock resets with every new moving violation. Pick up a speeding ticket in year two of a three-year wait and you start over at zero.2Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 16-117.1 – Expungement of Certain Driving Records
What the MVA Will Never Remove
Some entries stay on your MVA record no matter how long you wait. The statute carves out three permanent categories:
- Entries tied to a moving violation or accident that resulted in someone’s death.
- Records the state needs to calculate enhanced penalties if you reoffend.
- Records still within the mandatory retention periods set by Transportation Article Section 16-819.
These restrictions apply regardless of your eligibility tier.2Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 16-117.1 – Expungement of Certain Driving Records
Clearing a Criminal Traffic Case From Court Records
If you were charged with a traffic offense that carried possible jail time, a court record exists separately from your MVA record. You can petition to expunge it under Section 10-105 only if your case ended in one of these ways: acquittal, dismissal, nolle prosequi, stet, probation before judgment (with some alcohol- and drug-related exceptions), a full unconditional governor’s pardon for a single non-violent crime, or a conviction for conduct that has since been decriminalized.
A straight guilty verdict for most criminal traffic offenses generally cannot be expunged.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Criminal Procedure 10-105 – Expungement of Record After Charge is Filed
Court Waiting Periods
Even a qualifying outcome usually has a wait attached:
- Three years after an acquittal, dismissal, or nolle prosequi, unless you file a written general waiver releasing all tort claims from the charge, which lets you file right away.
- For probation before judgment or stet, the later of three years after the disposition or the date you were discharged from probation or completed any required drug or alcohol treatment.
- Fifteen years after discharge from probation for a DUI or DWI PBJ (see below).
Filing before the waiting period expires gets your petition rejected.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Criminal Procedure 10-105 – Expungement of Record After Charge is Filed
DUI and DWI Probation Before Judgment
For years a PBJ for driving under the influence or driving while impaired by alcohol was permanently ineligible. That changed on October 1, 2024. Maryland now allows expungement of a PBJ for violations of Transportation Article Section 21-902(a) (driving under the influence of alcohol) and Section 21-902(b) (driving while impaired by alcohol) under strict conditions.4Maryland General Assembly. House Bill 105 Chapter 715 – DUI/DWI PBJ Expungement
You cannot file until 15 years after you were discharged from probation. During that entire 15-year stretch, you must not be convicted of any crime other than a minor traffic violation, and you must not receive another PBJ for any alcohol-related driving offense. One slip ends your eligibility.
Two limits are worth knowing. The law covers alcohol-related offenses only. A PBJ for driving under the influence of drugs or a combination of drugs and alcohol under Section 21-902(c) or (d) remains permanently ineligible. And a full DUI or DWI conviction, as opposed to a PBJ, still cannot be expunged from your court record.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Criminal Procedure 10-105 – Expungement of Record After Charge is Filed
Filing the Court Petition
File in the court where the case was originally resolved. Cases in more than one court require a separate petition in each.
Pick the Right Form
Two forms cover almost every traffic situation. Use Form CC-DC-CR-072A if your case ended in acquittal, dismissal, PBJ, nolle prosequi, stet, a finding of not criminally responsible, or transfer to juvenile court.5Maryland Judiciary. Petition for Expungement of Records – Form CC-DC-CR-072A Use Form CC-DC-CR-072B if your case ended in a guilty disposition that qualifies, such as a pardoned conviction or conduct that has since been decriminalized.6Maryland Judiciary. Petition for Expungement of Records – Non-Marijuana/Cannabis Related Offenses – Guilty Disposition – Form CC-DC-CR-072B
Both are on the Maryland Judiciary website or at any clerk’s office. You’ll need your case number, the date of arrest or citation, the specific charges, and the court where the case was heard.
Filing Fees
Form CC-DC-CR-072A is free. Form CC-DC-CR-072B costs $30 per case, nonrefundable even if the court denies the petition. The fee is per case, not per charge, so one case with multiple charges still costs $30. If you cannot afford it, ask the court for a waiver.7Maryland Courts. Expungement (Adult)
What Happens After You File
The court serves the State’s Attorney and sends written notice to any listed victims. Both have 30 days to object.8Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Criminal Procedure 10-110 – Expungement of Records If no one objects, the court enters an expungement order without a hearing. Most traffic petitions resolve this way. If an objection is filed, a judge holds a hearing and weighs the offense, your history, and whether expungement serves the interests of justice.
Once the order issues, every agency holding related records has 60 days to comply and must confirm compliance in writing to the court and to you. From filing to final compliance, expect roughly three to four months.
If You Hold a Commercial Driver’s License
Federal law blocks most of the benefit of expungement for CDL and commercial learner’s permit holders. Under 49 CFR 384.226, states are prohibited from masking, deferring judgment on, or diverting traffic convictions in a way that keeps them off a CDL holder’s Commercial Driver’s License Information System record. The rule applies to any traffic violation in any vehicle, with narrow exceptions for parking, vehicle weight, and vehicle defect violations.9eCFR. 49 CFR 384.226 – Prohibition on Masking Convictions A Maryland expungement may clear your state record while the conviction still appears in CDLIS. Weigh that before investing time and money in a petition.
What an Expunged Record Means in Practice
Once your records are expunged, Maryland law prohibits employers, educational institutions, and government agencies from requiring you to disclose the expunged charge on applications or in interviews. You can legally answer “no” to questions about criminal charges that have been expunged, and an employer cannot fire you or refuse to hire you solely for declining to disclose. A violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine, up to one year in jail, or both. Government employees who violate it can also be removed from their positions.10Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Criminal Procedure 10-109 – Expungement of Records
Private background check companies sometimes keep reporting expunged records because they pull from outdated databases. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, these companies must use reasonable procedures to ensure maximum possible accuracy. If an expunged record shows up, dispute the report with the screener and cite your expungement order. Keep a certified copy of the order on hand for exactly this purpose.
Federal agencies are not bound by Maryland’s expungement law. For Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or a security clearance, the federal government can still access expunged records through databases like the National Crime Information Center, and clearance forms typically require you to disclose criminal history regardless of sealing or expungement.
Check Your Record Before and After
Order a copy of your Maryland driving record online through the MVA portal at mymva.maryland.gov.11Maryland MVA. Driving Record Information Looking at it beforehand shows what’s still there and whether the automatic MVA process has already cleared older entries. Checking again after the 60-day compliance window following a court order confirms that agencies actually followed through.