The 3 Steps to “Seal” Your Criminal Records in Colorado

Sealing your Colorado criminal record typically involves three steps:

1. Obtaining copies of your criminal history,
2. Filing the applicable court forms, and
3. Mailing the “orders to seal” to state agencies.

Once your criminal record is sealed, it generally no longer appears on background checks or public record searches. Plus, you can deny ever having been arrested or convicted of a crime (with rare exceptions). This can improve your odds of getting a job, a lease, a professional license, and other benefits.

You should strongly consider hiring an experienced attorney to determine whether you are eligible for a Colorado record seal and to handle the paperwork-intensive process for you. One mistake can set you back months.

A recent Colorado law has mandated automatic record seals for many cases. However, there is a several-year lag between when your case becomes eligible for sealing and when the automatic sealing occurs. For that reason, you should still petition for a record seal as soon as you are eligible so you can benefit from a clean background check sooner.

In this article, our Denver criminal defense attorneys address the following key topics to help you understand how to seal arrest and conviction records in Colorado:

• 1. Process & Costs
• 2. Wait Times
• 3. Unsealable Records
• 4. Can I deny having a criminal record?
• 5. Seals vs. Expungements
• 6. Denied Petitions
• 7. Automatic Seals
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Additional Reading

If you have juvenile records from before you turned 18, refer to our article on expunging juvenile records in Colorado.

1. Process & Costs

To seal your Colorado criminal records, first confirm that your case is eligible. Then get a copy of your criminal history report from the police department that cited or arrested you. You may also need a current verified copy of your criminal history from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Then fill out and file the relevant forms with the court that heard your case. For example, a criminal case heard in Denver District Court could also be sealed by that same court. You can find links to these forms, filing instructions, and filing costs in the table below:

Colorado Offense To Be Sealed	Sealing/Expungement Forms, Instructions, & Filing Costs
Arrest records which do not result in a charge (C.R.S. 24-72-704)	How to Seal Arrest Records (JDF 416) JDF 417 – Petition to Seal Arrest Records JDF 418 – Order to Seal Arrest Records JDF 419 – Order and Notice of Hearing (Sealing of Arrest Records) JDF 435 – Order Denying Petition to Seal Arrest Records Filing Cost: $0
Charges which do not result in a conviction (C.R.S. 24-72-705)	How to Seal Charges with No Conviction (JDF 491) JDF 477 – Motion to Seal Non-Conviction Records JDF 478 – Order to Seal Non-Conviction Records JDF 492 – Order Denying Motion to Seal Non-Conviction Records JDF 493 – Order and Notice of Hearing to Seal Criminal Justice Records Filing Cost: $0
Convictions in County or District Court (C.R.S. 24-72-706)	How to Seal Convictions (JDF 611) JDF 612 – Motion to Seal Criminal Conviction Records JDF 613 – Order Denying Request to Seal Conviction Records JDF 614 – Order and Notice of Hearing to Seal Conviction Records JDF 615 – Order to Seal Conviction Records Filing Cost: $65
Multiple convictions in same judicial district (C.R.S. 24-72-709)	How to Seal Multiple Cases in the Same Judicial District (JDF 640) JDF 613 – Order Denying Request to Seal JDF 614 – Order and Notice of Hearing JDF 641 – Motion to Seal Multiple Conviction Records JDF 642 – Order to Seal Multiple Conviction Records Filing Cost: $65
A conviction in Municipal Court (C.R.S. 24-72-708)	How to Seal Municipal Convictions (JDF 682) JDF 683 – Petition to Seal Municipal Conviction Records JDF 684 – Order Denying Petition JDF 685 – Order and Notice of Hearing JDF 686 – Order to Seal Filing Cost: $65
Underage DUI convictions (UDD) with a blood alcohol level of .02% to .05% (C.R.S. 42-4-1715)	JDF 305 – Petition for Expungement of UDD (Under Age Drinking and Driving) JDF 306 – Order for Expungement of UDD (Under Age Drinking and Driving) Filing Cost: $0
Juvenile records (C.R.S. 19-1-306)	How to Expunge a Juvenile Delinquency Record (JDF 301) JDF 302 – Petition to Expunge Court Records JDF 304 – Order of Expungement of Records OR JDF 324 – Petition for Expungement of Records for a Law Enforcement Contact Not Resulting in a Referral to Another Agency JDF 326 – Order of Expungement of Records for a Law Enforcement Contact Not Resulting in Referral to Another Agency Filing Cost: $0
Convictions of now lawful conduct (C.R.S. 24-72-711)	How to Seal Convictions of Now Lawful Conduct (JDF 2370) JDF 2371 – Motion to Seal Conviction of Conduct No Longer Prohibited JDF 2374 – Order to Seal Conviction of Conduct No Longer Prohibited Filing Cost: $0
Pardoned Convictions (C.R.S. 24-72-710)	JDF 680 – Motion to Seal Pardoned Convictions JDF 681 – Order to Seal Pardoned Convictions Filing Cost: $65

Once your paperwork is filed, the court will usually grant your petition to seal as long as you meet all eligibility requirements. In rare cases, the court will schedule a hearing before deciding whether to issue a court order to seal. Either way, this process may take a few days or weeks.

If the judge issues a sealing order, you must then send copies of the order to all agencies that have your criminal records on file (such as the police department and the CBI). Once the agencies receive the order in the mail, your criminal records should be sealed within about 30 days.¹

2. Wait Times

If your Colorado criminal case gets dismissed or you are acquitted, you can petition for a record seal immediately. Otherwise, you have to wait for a certain number of years after your case ends to file a petition. A case “ends” when:

1. There has been a final disposition, and
2. You completed all the sentencing conditions (such as jail, probation, fines, and/or deferred judgment terms), and
3. The court closes your case.

Colorado’s record seal wait times are shown in the table below:

Colorado Conviction	Waiting Period to Petition for a Record Seal/Expungement
Arrest records or charges that do not result in a conviction	Immediately
Single Civil infraction Single Petty offense Single Petty drug offense	1 year after the case ends
Multiple petty offenses and/or petty drug offenses Single class 2 misdemeanor Single class 3 misdemeanor Single drug misdemeanor Single level 4 drug felony of unlawful possession	2 years after the last case ends
Single class 1 misdemeanor Single class 4 felony Single class 5 felony Single class 6 felony Single level 3 drug felony Single level 4 drug felony not for unlawful possession	3 years after the case ends
Multiple misdemeanors, drug misdemeanors, and/or level 4 drug felonies Single level 2 drug felony or any other eligible offense	5 years after the last case ends
Multiple eligible felonies and/or drug felonies	10 years after the last case ends
Most municipal and misdemeanor crimes by victims of human trafficking	Immediately
Underage possession/ consumption of alcohol convictions that occurred prior to July 1, 2014	1 year after the date of the final disposition of all criminal proceedings against you or your release from supervision concerning a criminal conviction, whichever is later (and you have no other convictions of possessing or consuming alcohol)
Underage possession/ consumption of alcohol or marijuana convictions that occurred on July 1, 2014 or later	1 year after conviction (and you have obtained a verified copy of your criminal history that is current as of at least 20 days prior to the date of the filing of the petition to seal)
Underage DUI convictions (UDD) with a BAL of .02 to .05.	Immediately after age 21 (and you have no other UDDs and were not holding a CDL or driving a commercial vehicle)
Juvenile convictions	Up to 5 years, depending on the circumstances. Dismissals and acquittals can be sealed immediately.

Exceptions for Multiple Convictions

If you have too many convictions from separate criminal cases in Colorado, you are not eligible for a record seal. The limit depends on the type of conviction and how many separate cases you have:

• Petty offenses and petty drug offenses: You can file a petition to seal only if you have five or fewer convictions in separate criminal cases.
• Class 2 or class 3 misdemeanors and level 1 or level 2 misdemeanor drug offenses:  You can file a petition to seal only if you have four or fewer convictions in separate criminal cases.
• Class 1 misdemeanors, class 4-, class 5-, and class 6 felonies, and drug felonies:  You can file a petition to seal only if you have three or fewer convictions in separate criminal cases.²

3. Unsealable Convictions

In Colorado, all convictions are potentially sealable from your criminal record unless they are either:

• Class 1 felonies,
• Class 2 felonies,
• Class 3 felonies,
• Level 1 drug felonies,
• Sex crimes,
• DUIs,
• Domestic violence convictions (including domestic violence harassment),
• Class 1 misdemeanor traffic offenses,
• Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offenses,
• Class A traffic infractions,
• Class B traffic infractions, or
• Crimes involving a commercial driver’s license (CDL).

As discussed in the prior section, otherwise sealable convictions become unsealable if you have too many of them from separate cases. Note that you also might be ineligible for a record seal if your charge was dropped only because you took a plea bargain in a separate case.³

We know from experience that determining whether a conviction is eligible for sealing is often more complicated than it first appears. Many clients assume they either definitely qualify or definitely do not, only to learn that the answer depends on factors such as the type of offense, how many convictions they have, whether the cases were separate, and how the charges were resolved.

We carefully review each client’s complete criminal history to identify every available opportunity for record sealing and avoid filing petitions that are likely to be denied.

Exceptions for Pardoned Convictions

If you petition to seal an unsealable conviction that has already been pardoned, the Colorado court should grant it. However, the court will deny the seal if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the public interest in retaining access to your conviction records outweighs:

1. The harm to your privacy, and
2. The adverse consequences to you, and
3. The intent of the full and unconditional pardon.⁴

Although receiving a pardon is a significant milestone, it is not always the final step toward putting a conviction behind you. We have helped clients seek record sealing after a pardon so that the pardon’s practical benefits are more fully realized.

When a court must balance competing interests, we focus on demonstrating the client’s rehabilitation, the purpose of the pardon, and the concrete ways continued public access to the record creates unnecessary hardship.

Exceptions for Unsealable Misdemeanors

If you petition to seal an unsealable misdemeanor conviction, the Colorado court can still seal it if it finds by clear and convincing evidence the following three things:

1. Your need for the sealing is “significant and substantial,” and
2. You are no longer a threat to public safety, and
3. Public disclosure of the record is no longer necessary to inform the public.⁵

From what we have seen, these cases often require more than simply filing the correct paperwork. When asking a judge to exercise this type of discretion, it is important to present a compelling picture of how your life has changed since the conviction.

We help clients gather evidence of rehabilitation, employment, education, community involvement, and other positive developments that demonstrate why sealing the record serves both their interests and the public’s.

4. Can I deny having a criminal record?

Once your Colorado criminal record gets sealed, you can deny ever having had a criminal record – even during a job interview or under oath. In narrow circumstances, however, you may have to fess up even if you have sealed records. For example, people applying to the Colorado Bar to become lawyers must disclose any sealed criminal records.⁶

Undoubtedly, this is one of the biggest benefits of obtaining a record seal. Clients are often relieved to learn that, in most situations, they can legally move forward without their past defining future job interviews, housing applications, or everyday interactions. We also make sure our clients understand the limited exceptions to the rule so they can answer background questions honestly and confidently when disclosure is still lawfully required.

5. Seals vs. Expungements

Sealing makes your criminal record invisible.¹ However, law enforcement and prosecution entities still have access to your sealed records. In contrast, expunging is the physical destruction of criminal records. There is no trace left of them. In Colorado, the only records you can get expunged as opposed to sealed are:

• Juvenile offenses and
• Underage drinking and driving (UDD) convictions.⁷

However, the effects of expungements and seals are the same: They do not appear on your background check, and you can deny ever having a record (in most cases).

Certainly, our clients are less concerned with the legal terminology than with the practical result. Whether a record is sealed or expunged, the question we hear most often is, “Will employers or landlords still be able to see it?”

We take the time to explain which remedy applies in each case and what it means in the real world, so our clients understand how it can affect future background checks, employment opportunities, housing applications, and professional licensing.

6. Denied Petitions

If the court denies your petition to seal your Colorado criminal record, it will mail back a letter outlining the reasons why. You may be able to correct any mistakes on the petition and resubmit it.⁸  Whether a judge will grant your petition to seal records is within the judge’s discretion. However, the judge will usually grant it as long as you meet all the preconditions and follow the procedures.⁹

In our experience, most denials are preventable. The problems we see most often involve filing before the waiting period has expired, overlooking an ineligible conviction, failing to include all required records custodians, or submitting incomplete paperwork. We carefully review each client’s eligibility and petition before filing to minimize the risk of delays or denials and to present the strongest possible case for sealing the record.

7. Automatic Record Seals

You are advised to petition for a Colorado record seal as soon as you are eligible. Though if you wait a few extra years, the state will automatically seal your record without you having to take any action:

• Civil infraction convictions get automatically sealed four years after the case closes.
• Petty offense convictions get automatically sealed seven years after the case closes.
• Misdemeanor convictions get automatically sealed seven years after the case closes.
• Felony convictions get automatically sealed ten years after the case closes.

If you were arrested on or after January 1, 2022, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will automatically seal your arrest record when no criminal charges have been filed within one year of the arrest. The CBI must do this within 60 days of the anniversary of the arrest date.

For arrests after January 1, 2019, but before January 2, 2022, for which no charges were filed, the CBI should have automatically sealed the arrest record unless the applicable statute of limitations had not yet run. For all other arrest records without charges, the CBI will automatically seal them by January 1, 2027, or earlier.¹⁰

From our point of view, it is always worth filing for a record seal as soon as you become eligible rather than waiting for automatic sealing. We have represented many clients who were denied jobs, housing, or professional opportunities simply because their records remained publicly accessible while they waited for the state to act. If you are already eligible, obtaining a court order sooner can help you move forward with your life months—or even years—before your record would otherwise be sealed automatically.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I seal my criminal record if I was convicted?

Many Colorado convictions can be sealed, but eligibility depends on the offense, the outcome of the case, and how much time has passed since the completion of your sentence. Some convictions—such as most DUI convictions, domestic violence convictions, sex offenses, and certain serious felonies—cannot be sealed under Colorado law. The primary statute governing conviction record sealing is C.R.S. 24-72-706, though other statutes apply to specialized situations such as multiple convictions, municipal offenses, and pardoned convictions.

In our experience, one of the biggest misconceptions is that people assume a conviction automatically stays on their record forever. We have helped many clients discover they became eligible years ago without realizing it. We also regularly identify issues—such as outstanding fines, probation dates, or ineligible companion offenses—that should be addressed before filing so the petition has the strongest chance of being granted.

How long do I have to wait before I can seal my Colorado record?

Colorado’s waiting periods vary depending on the offense and generally begin after the later of the final disposition of the case or your release from supervision. Depending on the offense, the waiting period may be as short as one year or as long as several years. Some cases qualify for automatic sealing, while others still require filing a petition with the court.

We spend considerable time calculating eligibility dates because many people unintentionally count from the wrong event. We often find that clients are eligible sooner than they believed—or, just as importantly, help them avoid filing too early, which can result in delays and additional expense.

What happens after my criminal record is sealed?

Once a Colorado court orders your record sealed, the record generally becomes unavailable to the public, including most employers, landlords, and private background check companies. Certain government agencies and law enforcement entities may still access sealed records in limited circumstances authorized by law.

We have seen firsthand how obtaining a record seal opens doors that had previously been closed. Clients frequently tell us they begin receiving job interviews, professional licensing opportunities, apartment approvals, and other opportunities that had been difficult while their criminal record remained publicly accessible.

Does sealing a criminal record erase it?

No. Record sealing does not physically destroy or erase the records. Instead, it removes them from public view and limits who may access them. Unlike expungement—which is available only in limited situations under Colorado law—a sealed record still exists but is generally unavailable to the public.

Many people understandably use the terms “sealed” and “expunged” interchangeably. One of our first jobs is to explain which remedy applies to a client’s case, so they know exactly what result to expect and can make informed decisions before beginning the process.

Can employers still see a sealed criminal record?

In most situations, private employers conducting routine background checks should not see properly sealed Colorado criminal records. However, certain employers, licensing boards, law enforcement agencies, and government entities may still have legal authority to access sealed records for specific purposes.

Because employment is often the primary reason clients seek record sealing, we regularly discuss how different industries handle background checks. We help clients understand what future employers are likely to see, what disclosures may still be required, and how a successful sealing order can improve employment prospects.

Is automatic record sealing the same as filing a petition?

No. Colorado has enacted automatic sealing for many eligible cases, but not every criminal record qualifies, and automatic sealing often occurs only after a significant administrative delay. If your case is eligible for immediate petition-based sealing, filing a motion may result in your record being sealed sooner than if you wait for the automatic process.

We have advised many clients who assumed they simply needed to “wait for the system.” In reality, waiting can sometimes leave an otherwise sealable record publicly available for years. We evaluate whether filing now could help remove the record from public view sooner than relying on automatic processing would.

Can a lawyer improve my chances of getting my record sealed?

Although Colorado law allows individuals to file their own petitions, the process requires determining eligibility, obtaining the correct criminal history records, preparing the required paperwork, identifying every records custodian, and complying with statutory notice requirements. Errors can delay or prevent relief.

Our firm has handled record-sealing matters throughout Colorado and knows where applications commonly run into problems. We focus on identifying eligibility issues before filing, preparing complete petitions, and minimizing delays so clients can move forward with confidence as quickly as the law allows.

Additional Reading

For more information, see our related articles:

• Expunge vs. Seal Criminal Records in Colorado – An explanation of how sealing compares to expunging.
• Colorado Criminal Records – 5 Key Things To Know – Overview of how record sealing works.
• Who can see a sealed record in Colorado? – Discussion of who can see sealed records and when.
• Can you seal a felony record in Colorado? – Explanation of which felonies are sealable and how.
• Collateral Relief in Colorado – Guide to how courts can order collateral relief – including record seals – to help defendants reintegrate into society.

Legal References