The 3 Steps to “Seal” Your Criminal Records in Colorado
Sealing your Colorado criminal record typically involves three steps:
Obtaining copies of your criminal history,
Filing the applicable court forms, and
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 will improve your odds of getting a job, lease, professional license, and other benefits.
You are strongly advised to hire an experienced attorney to determine if you are eligible for a Colorado record seal and then to complete the paperwork-heavy 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 time between when your case becomes eligible to seal and when the automatic sealing occurs.
Therefore, you should still petition for a record seal as soon as you are eligible so you can reap the benefits of a clean background check right away.
In this article, our Denver criminal defense attorneys will address the following key topics regarding sealing arrest and conviction records in Colorado.
To seal your Colorado criminal records, first 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 Investigations (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. Links to these forms, filing instructions, and filing costs are in the table below:
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. This process may take a few days or weeks.
If the judge issues an order to seal, you must then send copies of this order to all of the 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.1Most criminal records can be sealed in Colorado.
2. Wait Times
If your Colorado criminal case gets dismissed or acquitted, you can petition for a record seal immediately. Otherwise, you have to wait to file a petition a certain number of years after your case ends. A case “ends” when:
there has been a final disposition, and
you completed all the sentencing conditions (such as jail, probation, fines, and/or deferred judgment terms), and
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
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)
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:
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
The only felony convictions that can be sealed in Colorado are class 4 felonies, class 5 felonies, and class 6 felonies, as well as level 2 drug felonies, level 3 drug felonies, and level 4 drug felonies.
3. Unsealable Convictions
In Colorado, all convictions are potentially sealable from your criminal record unless they are either:
Crimes involving a commercial driver’s license (CDL).
As discussed in the prior section, normally 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
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 the:
harm to your privacy, and
dangers of unwarranted, adverse consequences to you, and
intent of the full and unconditional pardon.4
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:
Your need for the sealing is “significant and substantial,” and
You are no longer a threat to public safety, and
Public disclosure of the record is no longer necessary to inform the public.5
Having a criminal record can jeopardize your employment prospects.
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 a lawyer have to disclose any sealed criminal records.6
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 effect 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).
The waiting period to petition for a felony record seal is three years after the case ends, except for level 2 drug felonies with a five-year wait.
6. Denied Petitions
If the court denies your petition to seal your Colorado criminal record, they will mail back a letter outlining the reasons why. You may be able to correct any mistakes on the petition and re-submit 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
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 offenseconvictions get automatically sealed seven years after the case closes.
Misdemeanorconvictions get automatically sealed seven years after the case closes.
Felonyconvictions 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 after the year has passed since 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 has not yet run.
For all other arrest records with no charges, the CBI will automatically seal the records by January 1, 2027 or earlier.10Do not wait for automatic record sealing to take effect – Petition for a record seal as soon as you are eligible.
Collateral Relief in Colorado – Guide to how courts can order collateral relief – including record seals – to help defendants reintegrate into society.
You are strongly advised to hire an experienced attorney to determine if you are eligible for a Colorado record seal and then to complete the paperwork-heavy 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 time between when your case becomes eligible to seal and when the automatic sealing occurs.
Therefore, you should still petition for a record seal as soon as you are eligible so you can reap the benefits of a clean background check right away.
In this article, our Denver criminal defense attorneys will address the following key topics regarding sealing arrest and conviction records in Colorado.
