Expunging Your Criminal Record in New Jersey

Legal Help from an Experienced New Jersey Attorney

A criminal record can make life difficult in so many ways. Don’t let one mistake haunt you. If you qualify, your criminal record can be expunged.

To learn more about clearing your criminal record through expungement, contact my Fort Lee, New Jersey, criminal defense firm, the Law Office of Peter C. Polidoro, LLC, for a free initial phone consultation.

Qualifying for Expungement

Convictions for some serious crimes can never be expunged and will always appear on your public record. However, other types of criminal convictions can be expunged after a certain amount of time has passed. Talk to a lawyer about whether your specific criminal conviction can be expunged.

For charges that can be expunged, you can apply for criminal record expungement:

• 10 years after your conviction for an indictable felony
• 5 years after your conviction for a “disorderly person” charge (a misdemeanor type of charge)
• 2 years after your conviction if you violated a municipal ordinance
• 6 months after completing a conditional discharge program in municipal court or a diversion program through pretrial intervention in a criminal court

Drunk driving and traffic violations are not criminal offenses and can never be removed from the public record.

A juvenile record can also be expunged, but it’s a good idea to wait until he or she is 18 before getting a juvenile record expunged. Once you’ve had one expungement, it’s harder to get a judge to grant a second one. So, if your child commits another crime it might be harder to get it removed.

Expungement of a criminal record gives you a second lease on life.

When possible, take advantage of this chance to clear your public record. Contact me, New Jersey expungement lawyer Peter Polidoro, so I can explain the process, how it can help you, and begin the process of expungement of your criminal record.

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