How to Get Your Record Expunged in Kentucky: Costs and Filing Steps

To get your record expunged in Kentucky, you file a petition in the Circuit Court where your case was handled, after meeting the waiting period for your record type. Acquittals and most dismissals cost nothing and, since July 15, 2020, are expunged automatically 30 days after the case ends. Misdemeanor convictions cost $100 to petition and require a five-year clean record. Class D felony convictions cost $300 total if granted, also require five years, and give the judge discretion to say no. Class A, B, and C felonies cannot be expunged at all.

Start With What Kind of Record You Have

The rules split sharply depending on how your case ended. Before anything else, figure out which category yours falls into.

Acquittals and Dismissals With Prejudice

If you were found not guilty or the charges were dismissed with prejudice, and the case closed on or after July 15, 2020, the court expunges the record automatically 30 days later unless you object. You file nothing and pay nothing.¹

For older cases (before July 15, 2020), you file a petition at least 60 days after the court’s order. Still no filing fee.¹

Dismissals Without Prejudice

When a prosecutor could still refile, you wait longer: one year for a misdemeanor charge, three years for a felony charge, measured from the dismissal date. No filing fee.²

Misdemeanor Convictions

You can petition to expunge a misdemeanor conviction, violation, or traffic infraction five years after finishing your sentence or probation, whichever ended later. The petition also sweeps in any charges dismissed or amended as part of the same case.³

The court must grant the petition if:

The offense was not a sex offense or an offense committed against a child
You have not been convicted of any felony or misdemeanor in the five years before filing
No felony or misdemeanor charge is pending against you
The offense cannot be enhanced for a repeat conviction, or the enhancement window has expired

If your misdemeanors came from a single incident, the court must grant expungement when you meet these criteria. Multiple unrelated incidents leave the decision to the judge.³

Class D Felony Convictions

Kentucky permits expungement of Class D felony convictions, including multiple Class D felonies, under KRS 431.073. Wait at least five years after completing your sentence, probation, or parole, whichever ends last.⁴

Not every Class D qualifies. The statute excludes:

DUI convictions under KRS 189A.010
Sex offenses
Offenses committed against a child
Abuse of public office
Offenses that resulted in serious bodily injury or death
Certain assault charges under KRS 508.032 and tampering with a prisoner monitoring device under KRS 519.055

Class A, B, and C felonies are not eligible at all.⁴

Along with the same clean-record and no-pending-charges requirements, the judge must find that you have been rehabilitated and pose no significant threat of reoffending. This finding is discretionary, which is where felony petitions differ most from misdemeanors. Evidence of stable employment, community ties, or other proof of rehabilitation matters here.⁵

Juvenile Adjudications

For a status offense or a public offense adjudicated in juvenile court, you can petition two years after the court’s jurisdiction ended or two years after your unconditional release from commitment, whichever is later. A court may waive the two-year wait for extraordinary circumstances. Juvenile expungement is unavailable if the offense was a sex crime under KRS 17.500, if it would classify you as a violent offender under KRS 439.3401, or if any proceeding is currently pending.⁶

What It Costs

Acquittals or dismissed charges: no filing fee²
Misdemeanor convictions: $100 filing fee, of which $50 is non-refundable; the remaining $50 may be refunded if the petition is denied³
Class D felony convictions: $50 non-refundable filing fee, plus a $250 expungement fee if granted, for $300 total. The $250 can be paid in installments⁴
Eligibility certification for any conviction petition: $40, obtained through the Administrative Office of the Courts before filing⁷

Kentucky courts have a general fee waiver process. If your income falls at or below the court’s sliding scale of indigency, you can file a motion asking that fees be waived.

How to File

For any conviction, get an expungement eligibility certification first. Apply through the Administrative Office of the Courts, online or by mail, and pay the $40 fee by credit card, debit card, check, or money order. The certification confirms you meet the statutory requirements.⁷ No certification is needed for acquittals or dismissals.²

Then gather what you need for the petition:

Your full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number
The case number, dates of arrest and charge, the disposition, and the court that handled the case
The name of the arresting agency
Every agency that may hold records: Kentucky State Police, the arresting department, the local jail, and any probation or parole office involved

Petition forms are available from the AOC website and at local circuit court clerk offices. File the completed petition with the Circuit Court Clerk in the county where the conviction happened or the charge was resolved. You can file in person or by mail.

What Happens Next

For a misdemeanor petition, the court sets a hearing at least 30 days out and notifies the county attorney and any identified victim.³

For a felony petition, the Commonwealth’s Attorney who prosecuted the case has 60 days to respond. The prosecutor or a victim can object with specific reasons. If someone objects, or the judge wants a hearing, it must happen within 120 days of filing. At the hearing, be ready to present evidence of rehabilitation and explain why expungement serves the public interest.⁵

Courts commonly deny petitions for failing the five-year clean-record rule, having pending charges, or a persuasive objection from the prosecution. There is no formal statutory appeal from a denial, but you can refile once the disqualifying condition is resolved.

What the Order Does

Once granted, the proceedings are legally deemed never to have occurred. Courts and other agencies must delete or remove the records so an official state background check shows nothing. You can legally state on employment, credit, and housing applications that no record exists for the expunged matter.¹ The clerk sends copies to you, the prosecutor, the Kentucky State Police, the arresting agency, and the local jail. If other agencies need the order, tell the court within 60 days.⁸

Where Expungement Stops

A Kentucky order binds Kentucky agencies. It does not automatically clear your FBI record; the Bureau updates only when the Kentucky State Police or another authorized agency submits a request. Check your federal record a few months after expungement, and challenge it directly with the FBI if the expunged entry still appears.

Private background check companies must follow reasonable procedures to ensure maximum possible accuracy under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.⁹ Some pull from outdated databases anyway. If an employer’s private check surfaces an expunged record, you can dispute the report, and failure to correct it may violate federal law.

Immigration is the biggest limit. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services does not recognize state expungements granted for rehabilitation or completion of a sentence. A vacatur based on a genuine legal defect in the case may not count as a conviction, but a routine Kentucky expungement based on five clean years still counts against you for visa, green card, and citizenship purposes.¹⁰ Talk to an immigration attorney before relying on expungement for immigration relief.

Firearm rights are also uncertain. State expungement vacates the judgment, but federal law independently bars firearm possession by anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year in prison. Whether the state vacatur restores federal gun rights depends on how federal authorities read the order. If gun rights matter to you, ask an attorney who works in both state and federal firearms law before assuming expungement resolves it.

Should You Hire an Attorney?

The forms are public, and the process is designed to be usable without a lawyer. A single dismissed charge or a clean-record misdemeanor petition is often manageable on your own. Felony petitions carry more risk: the judge has discretion, the prosecutor may object, and you may need to argue rehabilitation at a hearing. Multiple convictions, borderline eligibility, or any immigration angle make an attorney worth the money. If you cannot afford private counsel, the Department of Public Advocacy and Kentucky legal aid organizations may help.

1
Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 431.076 – Expungement of Records
2
Department of Public Advocacy. Expungement
3
Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 431.078 – Expungement of Misdemeanor, Violation, and Traffic Infraction Convictions
4
Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 431.073 – Certain Felony Convictions May Be Vacated and the Records Expunged
5
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 431.073 – Certain Felony Convictions May Be Vacated and the Records Expunged
6
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 610.330 – Expungement of Offenses and Proceedings From Juvenile Court Records
7
Office of the Boone County Circuit Clerk. Expungements
8
Kentucky Justice Online. Criminal Record Expungement
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1681e – Compliance Procedures
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Manual – Volume 12, Part F, Chapter 2 – Adjudicative Factors