Juvenile Expungements

An expungement is the removal, sealing and/or destruction of police and court records. On January 2nd of each year, or a date designated by the court, the Clerk of Court expunges all eligible juvenile court records. (Police and criminal history records are expunged through the Virginia State Police.) A juvenile, however, can file a Motion for Expungement of their record when a court found them innocent or otherwise dismissed their petition or summons in delinquency and traffic proceedings.  The Motion can be found on the Court Forms page of the Court's Website.

When considering whether to request an expungement, this guide prepared by the National Juvenile Defender Center provides information about what obstacles may lay ahead for children involved in the court system and how to prepare.

Adult Expungements

Most petitions for expungement of adult police and court records should be filed with the circuit court in the same county where the criminal matter was litigated.  For more information, visit the Fairfax County Circuit Court website to learn about the expungement process.  Adults should petition the Juvenile and Domestic District Court, however, when a person arrested for an offense that was considered in this Court, used the petitioner's identification without their consent or authorization or where the petitioner is arrested or charged and is not the person named in the summons or warrant.