State Law Summary

The Kentucky Second Chance Expungement Gap

Disclaimer

The following is a summary of the law prepared by law students under the supervision of a professor based on consulting multiple sources. It is only up to date as of the dates shown below and in many cases we had to make judgment calls. Therefore we encourage you to also consult the sources below, as well as the Restoration of Rights Project that include summaries of the law for all 50 states and US territories.

Summary of the Law

CONVICTIONS:

  1. Misdemeanors:
    1. Expungement is mandatory for a misdemeanor (or traffic or violation) conviction, or series of misdemeanors arising from a single incident, upon petition after a 5-year waiting-period starting from completion of sentence, if clean (no conviction during waiting-period, no pending charges). (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 431.078).
    2. Expungement is discretionary for a series of misdemeanors not arising from a single incident, upon petition after a 5-year waiting-period starting from completion of sentence, if clean (no conviction during waiting period, no pending charges). (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 431.078).
  2. Felonies:
    1. Expungement available for pardoned felonies after 7-year waiting period from completion of sentence.Ky. Const. § 77;( Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 431.073 (1)(c) )
    2. Expungement available for listed Class D felony convictions upon completion of sentence and after a 5-year waiting-period starting from date of completion of sentence and clean (no convictions, no pending charges). (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 431.073)
  3. Not eligible:
    1. Violations of Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 189A.010 (DUI), 508.032 (domestic assault), or 519.055 (impersonating a peace officer), abuse of public office, a sex offense, an offense committed against a child, or an offense that resulted in serious bodily injury or death.  § 431.073(1)(D). For misdemeanors, no sex offenses or offenses against a child. (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 431.078)
  4. Lifetime or other Limits
    1. Once per lifetime for felonies, Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 431.073(4)(a), Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 431.073(4)(a)but effective June 26, 2019, this limitation restarted, so that a person who had a felony conviction expunged prior to that date is eligible for one more. For misdemeanors, no apparent limit.
  5. Treatment of Multiple Convictions from the Same Incident:
    1. Permissible. (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 431.073 (1) )
  6. Other Unmodeled Criteria or details:
    1. Juvenile eligibility, human trafficking eligibility, “voided & sealed” records for 1st felony possession of controlled substances, not expungement; we assumed all misdemeanors were eligible even though the court has discertion to deny petitions beyond the first misdemeanor expungement.
  7. LFO payment required for sentence completion:
    1. Restitution must be paid for completion of sentence.

NON-CONVICTIONS:

  1. Automatic expungement for misdemeanor and felony arrests/charges disposed of after July 15, 2020 where charges dismissed with prejudice or acquitted upon disposition with no waiting-period. (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 431.076(1)(a) )
  2. Expungement for misdemeanor arrests/charges where charges dismissed with prejudice or acquitted, before July 15, 2020, after 60-day waiting-period from disposition. (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 431.076 )
  3. Expungement for felony arrests/charges where no indictment was filed, before July 15, 2020, after 60-day waiting-period from disposition. (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 431.076(1)(b) )
  4. Expungement for felony arrests/charges where charges dismissed without prejudice after 3-year waiting-period starting from date of disposition. (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 431.076(2)(c) )
  5. Expungement for misdemeanor arrests/charges where charges dismissed without prejudice after 1-year waiting-period starting from date of disposition. ( Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 431.076(2)(c) )

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