Vacate a misdemeanor conviction

What does it mean to “vacate” convictions?

Vacate is the legal term for “clearing” a conviction from your criminal record. Even though vacating a record cancels the judgement against you, it does not make the court record private. If you get a criminal record vacated, you can tell anyone who asked that you were not convicted of that offense. 

Can I get an order to vacate for a misdemeanor conviction?

Yes, if you meet the requirements. Washington's New Hope Act makes it easier to vacate some criminal convictions that happened in Washington state. (The law is at RCW 9.96.060.) You can vacate many types of misdemeanor convictions. You can also have multiple misdemeanors vacated all at once, or at different times. There are some types of misdemeanors that you can’t vacate. 

The law was updated in 2024. Now you don't have to wait 3 years after you pay off your Legal Financial Obligations (or "LFOs") to vacate your convictions. You can also ask the court to cancel or reduce some LFOs if you can’t afford to pay.

For other types of criminal records, there might be other forms or instructions that you will need. 

Why would I want to vacate a conviction?

It will: 

• Give you some protection in background checks.
• Stop the State Patrol from releasing the record to the public.
• Officially “cancel” the conviction. GR 15(b)(8).
• You can tell anyone, including someone who might hire you, that you were not convicted of that offense.

Will I need to go to a hearing?

Maybe not. The prosecutor might agree to a vacate order if you meet all legal requirements. Local practices vary. Ask the county prosecutor’s office in the county where your conviction occurred if they’ll agree to a vacate order. If they agree to the order, you probably won’t have to go to a hearing.

You’ll most likely have to go to the court many times even if you don’t have a hearing. Prepare for multiple visits to the courthouse over a period of many weeks.

If I vacate my record, will it be totally cleared?

If you’re granted an order that vacates a conviction or record, Washington State Patrol (WSP) will remove the vacated conviction from your public criminal history record. This gives you some protection in some background checks. 

There may still be a mention of your conviction or record in certain places even if you have the record vacated. But once you have a court order that vacates a conviction, you can show that to prove that the record was vacated any time it does show up. 

Will this remove all public information about the conviction?

No. It will not remove it from court records and computerized court indexes to court records, such as: 

• JIS.
• SCOMIS.
• The Washington Courts public website

If it was a domestic violence case, these records and indexes will still show the case type.

Even if you have your record vacated, it can still show up in these ways:

• Information about the court records from the case that led to the conviction are still public and accessible on Washington Courts public website.
• Prosecutors can still raise evidence of the vacated conviction during a later criminal prosecution or sexually violent predator commitment proceeding.
• FBI records and private background check service records may still have info about a vacated conviction.
• Employers, landlords, and others doing background checks might still find out about your conviction from sources including court indexes, law enforcement databases, and/or records collected by private data brokers.

Can I have my conviction expunged?

No. In some states, expungement of a conviction means they delete it from your records entirely. There is no Washington law allowing for the deletion or destruction of an adult conviction record. 

Can I get my non-conviction data deleted?

Yes. You can ask Washington State Patrol (WSP) to delete non-conviction data. It is hard for information to qualify as non-conviction data under the rules. This could make it hard for you to get the information deleted. RCW 10.97.030(2) and 10.97.060 describe which kinds of information can be deleted from your record.

I got a Vacate Order. What if agencies are still reporting that information anyway? 

Under state law, law enforcement agencies must report accurate and complete criminal history info. No agency may report criminal history info concerning a conviction without checking with WSP to find out the most current and complete info available. RCW 10.97.040.

You may be able to sue an agency that violates this requirement. This might make sense if, for example, you lost a job opportunity because of their mistake. RCW 10.97.110. You may be able to get attorney's fees. 

The court file stays open to the public. A background check may still show your conviction if the person doing the background check looks at the court file. If that happens, you can show them the court order that vacated your conviction. That order is supposed to clear your record related to that information. Employers should accept the vacate order as proof that the record was cleared even if the court file information is still public. 

Employees at an agency that keeps reporting your vacated conviction may be criminally liable. RCW 10.97.120.