Massachusetts Petition to Expunge Form: Filing and Eligibility

To file a Massachusetts petition to expunge a criminal record, download the Petition to Expunge Form from the Massachusetts Probation Service, confirm you qualify under one of the two statutory pathways, and submit the completed form either to the Commissioner of Probation (for a time-based expungement) or to the court that handled your original case (for a grounds-based expungement). There is no filing fee for either route.¹

Where to Get the Form

The Massachusetts Probation Service publishes the official Petition to Expunge Form on Mass.gov.² The form asks for identifying information about you and details about the specific offense or offenses you want expunged. You can attach supporting documents, though for a time-based petition they are not required.

The same form is used for both pathways. What changes is where you send it and what the reviewing body is looking for.

Where to Send the Completed Petition

For a time-based expungement, mail the completed form to:

Office of the Commissioner of Probation
One Ashburton Place, Room 405
Boston, MA 02108

For a grounds-based expungement, file the petition with the court that handled the original case rather than with the Commissioner.¹ Neither route carries a filing fee.

Do You Qualify for Time-Based Expungement?

Time-based expungement is the pathway most petitioners use. It is governed by Chapter 276, Sections 100E through 100U of the Massachusetts General Laws. It is not discretionary. If every statutory requirement is met, the Commissioner of Probation certifies eligibility; if any single requirement is missing, the petition fails.

All of the following must be true to qualify:³

Every offense you want expunged occurred before your 21st birthday.
None of the offenses appears on the statutory exclusion list (see the next section).
At least seven years have passed since you completed every part of your sentence (incarceration, probation, and custody) if any offense was a felony. If all offenses were misdemeanors, the waiting period is three years.
Apart from minor traffic violations carrying a fine of $50 or less, you have no more than two total records on file with the Commissioner of Probation. Multiple offenses from the same incident count as a single record.
You have no criminal appearances or dispositions on file in any other state, U.S. territory, or federal court, again excluding minor traffic fines of $50 or less.
You can certify that, to your knowledge, you are not currently under active criminal investigation.

The record-count requirement catches people off guard. It is not limited to the waiting period and it is not limited to convictions. Your entire criminal history across every jurisdiction cannot exceed two records beyond minor traffic tickets. Someone with one eligible offense at age 19 and two unrelated charges picked up at age 25 will not qualify, even if those later charges were dismissed.

One technical point: any violation of an abuse prevention order or harassment prevention order is treated as a felony for purposes of this statute, which means the seven-year waiting period applies.³

Offenses the Form Cannot Clear

Section 100J permanently excludes a broad set of offenses from time-based expungement. If any record you want to clear falls into one of the following categories, do not file a time-based petition expecting it to succeed:⁴

Any offense that caused death or serious bodily injury, or was committed with intent to cause either.
Any offense committed while armed with a dangerous weapon.
Any felony under Chapter 265, which covers assault, robbery, kidnapping, and other crimes against persons.
Any offense against a person age 60 or older, or against a disabled person.
Any sex offense, sex offense involving a child, or sexually violent offense as defined in the sex offender registry statute.
Any OUI conviction under Chapter 90, Section 24.
Any firearms offense under Chapter 140, Sections 121 through 131Q, or certain weapons charges under Chapter 269.
Any violation of a domestic abuse restraining order, harassment prevention order, or similar protective order.
Assault and battery on a family or household member under Chapter 265, Section 13M.

If your record falls into one of these categories, the grounds-based pathway below is the only remaining route, and it is only available in specific circumstances.

The Grounds-Based Pathway on the Same Form

Section 100K lets a court expunge any record, regardless of your age at the time of the offense and regardless of the exclusion list, if you can prove by clear and convincing evidence that the record was created because of one of six specific problems:⁵

Identity theft or false identification, meaning someone else used your name or you were misidentified as the person who committed the offense.
Conduct that has since been decriminalized, such as possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Demonstrable errors by law enforcement during the investigation or arrest.
Demonstrable errors by civilian or expert witnesses.
Errors by court employees, such as clerks or court reporters, that produced an incorrect record.
Fraud on the court that resulted in the record being created.

Clear and convincing evidence is a high bar. Your own statement is rarely enough. Expect to attach documentary proof, official reports, or similar records that show the specific error or fraud. Either the District Attorney or the petitioner can request a hearing, and if either does, the court must hold one. The judge decides based on “the best interests of justice” and enters written findings of fact before ordering any expungement.⁵

What Happens After You File

For a time-based petition, the Commissioner of Probation reviews your records against every requirement in Section 100I. If you qualify, the office notifies the District Attorney in the county where the offense was prosecuted, and the DA has an opportunity to respond.¹

If the DA objects, the court holds a hearing where both sides present arguments. If the DA does not object, the court may still hold a hearing but is not required to. When the petition is approved, the court issues an expungement order directing destruction of the record.

For a grounds-based petition filed in the original court, the process looks more like a traditional court proceeding. You carry the burden of proof, and the judge issues written findings before ordering expungement.

What an Expungement Order Does

Once a court grants expungement, the record is permanently erased from the court’s files, the Commissioner of Probation’s database, and every other state, municipal, and county agency that holds a copy. The statute defines expungement as “the permanent erasure or destruction of a record so that the record is no longer accessible to, or maintained by, the court, any criminal justice agencies or any other state agency, municipal agency or county agency.”⁶ This is different from sealing, which hides the record but does not destroy it. Sealing is governed by separate statutes with broader eligibility, and if you do not qualify to expunge, it is often the appropriate alternative.⁷

After expungement, no state, municipal, or county agency can require you to disclose the expunged record when you apply for a job, examination, or appointment. You can legally answer “no record” to any question about prior arrests, court appearances, or convictions related to the expunged offense. The record cannot be used against you in any court proceeding, and licensing boards cannot consider it when evaluating your fitness for a profession.⁸

What a Massachusetts Expungement Does Not Reach

Massachusetts can destroy its own records, but it has no control over information already shared beyond state systems. Private background-check companies may hold cached copies, and there can be a lag before databases reflect the court’s order. If an expunged record turns up on a background check, you may need to provide the employer or landlord with a copy of the expungement order and contact the background-check company directly to correct it. FBI records can also persist at the federal level after Massachusetts destroys its copy; the FBI generally updates records after expungement, but delays occur.

Federal immigration law uses its own definition of conviction. Under that definition, a non-citizen remains convicted even after a state expunges the record through a rehabilitative or procedural mechanism.⁹ USCIS applies the same reasoning to naturalization: a judge or jury finding of guilt (or a guilty plea) combined with any form of punishment counts as a conviction, and a state expungement based on completing a rehabilitative program does not change that.¹⁰ The State Department takes the same position for visa applications involving controlled-substance convictions.¹¹ A narrow exception applies if the original conviction was vacated because of a genuine defect in the proceedings. Non-citizens should consult an immigration attorney before filing.

Federal security clearances are another limit. The SF-86 questionnaire requires disclosure of all criminal history “regardless of whether the record in your case has been sealed, expunged, or otherwise stricken from the court record, or the charge was dismissed.” The only exception is federal controlled-substance convictions expunged under 21 U.S.C. 844 or 18 U.S.C. 3607. Trusted-traveler programs such as TSA PreCheck and Global Entry run their own background checks that may surface expunged records, and certain categories of offenses can disqualify you regardless of state-level expungement.

For most Massachusetts petitioners, the practical benefits are in employment, housing, and professional licensing within the state, where the statute controls what agencies and employers can see and ask about.

1
Mass.gov. Request a Time-Based Expungement of Your Criminal Record
2
Mass.gov. Massachusetts Probation Service Petition to Expunge Form
3
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part IV, Title II, Chapter 276, Section 100I
4
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 276, Section 100J
5
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 276, Section 100K
6
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part IV, Title II, Chapter 276, Section 100E
7
Mass.gov. Find Out If You Can Seal Your Criminal Record
8
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 276, Section 100N
9
U.S. Department of Justice. Treatment of Expunged State Convictions Under the Immigration and Nationality Act
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual – Volume 12, Part F, Chapter 2 – Adjudicative Factors
11
U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual. 9 FAM 302.4 – Ineligibility Based on Controlled Substance Violations