Ohio Record Sealing and CQE Process: Eligibility, Filing, and Limits

Ohio gives people with criminal records two separate legal tools, and they do different jobs. Ohio record sealing and the Certificate of Qualification for Employment (CQE) are often confused, but sealing hides an eligible conviction from public view, while a CQE leaves the record visible and instead removes the automatic legal bars that block you from professional licenses and certain jobs. For many people the right move is both, pursued in parallel. For others, only one is available or useful. The choice turns on what your record contains and what you are trying to do with your life next.

What Each Tool Actually Does

Sealing, governed by Ohio Revised Code 2953.32, restricts public access to an eligible conviction or non-conviction record. Once sealed, the proceedings are treated as though they never occurred, and you can legally deny the conviction in most situations. The record still exists in a restricted space that certain government actors can reach, but it drops off ordinary background checks.¹

A CQE, under Ohio Revised Code 2953.25, does nothing to hide the record. It converts what would otherwise be an absolute statutory bar to a license or job into a case-by-case decision. The licensing board or employer still evaluates you, but they can no longer reject you solely because of the conviction, and the certificate creates a rebuttable presumption that your convictions are insufficient evidence of unfitness.²

If sealing is available to you, it is the stronger remedy for everyday purposes. A CQE is the tool you reach for when the record will stay visible, either because it cannot be sealed or because a licensing board can still see it through one of the statutory exceptions.

Who Can Seal a Record in Ohio

Senate Bill 288 eliminated the old cap on how many convictions a person could seal and shortened several waiting periods. You can now seek to seal any number of eligible convictions.³ The waiting period runs from your final discharge, which means all jail or prison time, probation, parole, and community control must be fully completed before the clock starts.

Minor misdemeanor: six months after final discharge.
Misdemeanor or fourth- or fifth-degree felony: one year, as long as none of the offenses is a felony offense of violence or theft in office.
One or two third-degree felonies: three years, as long as none is theft in office.
Soliciting improper compensation (theft in office): seven years.

These are minimum floors. If criminal proceedings are pending against you when you apply, the court cannot grant sealing regardless of how much time has passed.¹

Offenses That Cannot Be Sealed

Some convictions are permanently off-limits, no matter how much time has passed or how strong your rehabilitation looks:

First- or second-degree felonies.
Felony offenses of violence that are not sexually oriented offenses.
Sexually oriented offenses that triggered registration under Chapter 2950.
Offenses against victims under age 13, except nonsupport of dependents.
All traffic offenses, including OVI and driving under suspension.
First- or second-degree misdemeanor domestic violence convictions.
Third-degree felonies if you have more than one other felony conviction, or if you have exactly two F3 convictions plus more than two additional misdemeanor convictions.

The third-degree felony rule catches people off guard. The single conviction you want sealed might be eligible in isolation, but the rest of your record can push it outside eligibility. Look at your full criminal history, not just the case in front of you.¹

Sealing Non-Conviction Records

If your case ended in a not-guilty verdict, a dismissal, or a no-bill from a grand jury, you can apply to seal that record immediately. There is no waiting period, and generally no filing fee. Ohio Revised Code 2953.33 governs the process, and it is simpler than sealing a conviction. An arrest that led nowhere still appears on background checks and can cost you a job or a lease, so filing promptly is usually worth the small effort.¹

Filing the Application and the Hearing

You file with the clerk of the court that originally handled your case. Bring the exact case number, the date of final judgment, and the specific charge resolved. Your full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number need to match the existing court file; mismatches cause delays or rejection.

The filing fee for sealing a conviction is typically $50, plus court costs that often push the total to around $100. If you cannot afford it, you can file a separate motion asking the court to waive the fee based on indigency, and the judge rules on that before the sealing application moves forward.

Once the clerk accepts the filing, the prosecutor and any victims are notified. The prosecutor has 30 days before the hearing to file a written objection, and victims may also object. The hearing must be scheduled between 45 and 90 days after you file.³

At the hearing, the judge weighs your interest in sealing against the government’s interest in keeping the record public and decides whether you have been rehabilitated. The statutory factors include your behavior since the conviction, any pending cases, the specific reasons behind any prosecutor or victim objections, and whether law enforcement has a continuing need for access.¹ When no one objects, the hearing often moves quickly. If the judge approves, a court order directs law enforcement and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation to remove the record from public access databases.

What a Sealed Record Still Shows

Sealing restricts who can see the record; it does not erase it. For job applications, housing, and most background checks, a sealed record is invisible and you are not required to disclose it. But Ohio Revised Code 2953.34 keeps the record accessible to specific actors:⁴

Prosecutors and law enforcement, when determining charges in a new case or assessing criminal history for sentencing.
Probation and parole officers supervising you under community control or post-release control.
The Bureau of Criminal Investigation, when conducting background checks required by law for certain professions, including positions involving children, vulnerable adults, or law enforcement.
Courts, when you later apply to seal another offense, because the sealed record still counts toward your conviction history for eligibility purposes.

A sealed conviction also still counts if you are convicted of a new crime. The court can unseal the prior record and use it in sentencing. Private background check companies are supposed to respect sealed records under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, but older entries sometimes linger in commercial databases. If a sealed record appears on a report, you can dispute it with both the reporting agency and the employer who received it.⁵

What a CQE Does

A CQE is available to anyone with an Ohio criminal record, including people whose convictions can never be sealed. It lifts automatic statutory bars to professional licensing and employment, forcing licensing boards and employers to evaluate you individually. The rebuttable presumption of fitness means the licensing board has to articulate specific reasons why your record makes you unfit, instead of you having to prove you deserve the opportunity in spite of it.²

A CQE does not override every restriction. Certain mandatory civil impacts under Ohio’s collateral sanctions statutes remain in place even with a certificate. For most licensing bars and employment restrictions that flow from a conviction, though, the CQE opens the door to individual review.

How to Apply for a CQE

The application runs through two stages. First, complete the petition on the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s online portal at ohreentry.intelligrants.com. You will need your Social Security number, a detailed employment history, personal references who can speak to your rehabilitation, and a complete list of prior convictions. The portal also asks you to identify the specific collateral sanctions blocking your path, whether that is a bar to a nursing license, a restriction on working with children, or an exclusion from another regulated field.⁶

Be specific about how those barriers limit your ability to earn a living. A sentence like “I completed a welding certification but cannot obtain the required state license because of my 2018 conviction” gives the reviewer something concrete to work with. Generic statements about wanting a fresh start do less. Once the DRC finishes its review, you print the petition for the next stage.

Second, file the petition with the Court of Common Pleas in the county where you currently live, not where the conviction occurred. The court assigns the petition to a judge, who may direct the local probation department to investigate your background and current community standing. The court has up to 60 days from filing to decide. If granted, the certificate is recorded in the state’s electronic database, where licensing boards and prospective employers can verify it.⁶

Employer Immunity and Revocation

A CQE gives employers a legal shield that matters in practice. Under ORC 2953.25, an employer who hires someone with a CQE receives immunity from negligent hiring claims related to that person’s criminal record, as long as the employer knew about the certificate at the time of the alleged negligence. That removes one of the quietest reasons employers reject applicants with records.²

The immunity has limits. If the employer later learns the employee has engaged in dangerous behavior or been convicted of a new felony and keeps the person on anyway, the employer can be held liable for negligent retention. The standard is actual knowledge by the person with hiring and firing authority, combined with willful retention after learning of the new risk.

The certificate is automatically revoked if you are convicted of or plead guilty to any felony committed after it was issued. There is no hearing or warning; the conviction itself triggers the revocation, and the DRC periodically flags revoked certificates in its database with the reason and effective date.

Firearms: Sealing Does Not Restore Federal Rights

This is where people make expensive mistakes. Sealing a felony conviction in Ohio does not automatically restore your right to possess firearms under federal law. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.⁷

Federal regulations at 27 CFR § 478.142 allow a state-level expungement or similar proceeding to remove the federal firearm disability, but only if the state action fully restores your right to possess firearms under state law. If the sealing order or the underlying state law restricts firearm possession, or if your firearm rights were not fully restored, the federal disability remains in place.⁸ Ohio sealing does not explicitly address firearm restoration in every case. Talk to an attorney before assuming you can lawfully possess a firearm after sealing a felony.

Federal Convictions Are Outside This System

Ohio’s sealing process reaches only state-level records. If you have a federal conviction, there is currently no standard process for sealing it. The one narrow federal pathway is 18 U.S.C. § 3607, which allows expungement for people who were under 21 at the time of a simple drug possession offense, received pre-judgment probation instead of a conviction, and successfully completed that probation.⁹ A presidential pardon is technically possible but forgives the offense without sealing the record.

Which One You Need, or Whether You Need Both

If your conviction is eligible for sealing and your goal is to keep it out of ordinary background checks, start there. Sealing is the stronger remedy for daily life: jobs, housing, loans. The limits are eligibility and waiting periods.

If your conviction cannot be sealed, or if your path requires a professional license in a field that bars people with records, a CQE is often the more immediately useful tool. It will not hide anything, but it forces the licensing board to look at you as a person rather than reject you by rule.

If both apply, pursue both. Seal the record to control what the public sees, and obtain the CQE to make sure licensing boards cannot use the conviction as an automatic bar even if they reach it through one of the exceptions that lets certain agencies view sealed records. The two tools cover different gaps, and together they close most of them.

1
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2953.32 – Sealing of Record of Conviction
2
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2953.25 – Certificate of Qualification for Employment
3
Ohio Legislature. Senate Bill 288 – As Passed by the Senate
4
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2953.34 – Sealed Records, Inspection and Limitations
5
Federal Register. Fair Credit Reporting – Background Screening
6
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Certificate of Qualification for Employment
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
8
ATF eRegulations. 27 CFR 478.142 – Effect of Pardons and Expunctions of Convictions
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3607 – Special Probation and Expungement Procedures for Drug Possessors