Salt Lake City

Justice Court

333 S 200 E, Salt Lake City UT 84111

Expungements

Expungements

Utah’s “Clean Slate” law was implemented on February 10th 2022 and the Utah Courts began the process of automatically expunging qualifying misdemeanor records.  “Clean Slate” eligible cases include Class A misdemeanor drug possession offenses, qualifying class B and C misdemeanor offenses, minor regulatory offenses, and infractions.  Learn more here.  

Individuals with more serious criminal offenses that are eligible for expungement will still need to go through the traditional petition-based process.  A new online, community resource for individuals who do not qualify for “Clean Slate” can be found within the Salt Lake County’s Expungement Tool Kit.

1. You must first obtain a certificate of eligibility from the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification (BCI), before filing a petition to expunge records. Your expungement eligibility will be based upon your total criminal history, not just what has been reported to the Bureau of Criminal Identification. BCI will conduct a thorough background check, including incidents in all states and previous expungements. BCI will notify you by mail of your approval or denial. BCI is located at 4315 South 2700 West, Taylorsville, Utah 84129, phone number (801)965-4445. To get started, you may download the Expungement Application Form from BCI’s Department of Public Safety website. There will be a charge at BCI for the certificate and background check. 

2. Once you have received the certificate of eligibility from BCI, bring the certificate to the Salt Lake City Justice Court within 180 days of the date it was issued and file it along with your petition.  The following fee may be associated with the expungement process:

  • The fee for filing a petition for expungement is $135
  • Certified Copy fee for Additional Expungement Order $6.00

You must select the packet that is applicable to the disposition of your case, click on the packet links below.

3.  Please fill out the forms in their entirety and submit them to the court. ONLY SIGN THE PETITION. The Order is for the Judge to sign; please do not sign it. 

4.  Pursuant to New Utah Rule of Criminal Procedure 42, the Court has the responsibility of serving the prosecutor with a copy of your petition.  The Prosecutor will review your petition and provide a response to you and the court.  A response should be received within 35 days.

5.  Once the court has received a response from the Prosecutor, the Judicial Assistant will submit your completed expungement packet to the Judge assigned to your case for final review and order. Once the order of expungement has been signed by the Judge, you will be notified by phone or email indicating that your certified copy of the Order is available for pick-up. It is your responsibility to pick up your documents promptly. The Court will inform BCI of the Expungement Order, but you will want to have a copy for your own records just in case any issues arise.

Legal Resources

Utah State Bar list of Legal Clinics

Modest Means Lawyer Referral Program

Utah.FreeLegalAnswers.org

Finding Legal Help

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ADA Accommodation

ADA Notice:  If you are a party to a case, a witness or prospective juror and you need special accommodations (including communication aids and services) during an upcoming proceeding, please call the Salt Lake City Justice Court at (801)535-6300, or fax the court at (801)535-6302 at least three business days before the proceeding.