If an old arrest or conviction keeps costing you jobs or housing, clean slate laws may help. They make the state seal eligible records automatically, so you don’t have to file a petition.
This guide sits within the wider topic of criminal justice reform.
| Key fact | Value |
|---|---|
| States with laws meeting the Clean Slate Initiative’s criteria (July 9, 2026 update) | 14 states plus Washington D.C. |
| First state to pass a clean slate law | Pennsylvania, 2018 |
| People eligible for full or partial record clearance across 12 states, by 2024 | 15 million |
| Earnings increase in the first year after petition-based clearance | Over 22% |
| Automatically cleared respondents who said they had benefited or likely would | 38% |
These figures come from the Clean Slate Initiative’s states page and its research brief on automatic record clearance. They can change, so check the sources before you rely on them.
What clean slate laws do
Clean slate laws seal eligible records automatically for people who have completed their sentences and stayed crime-free. The burden of clearing a record moves from the individual to the state, which removes the need to work through a complex and costly petition.
The Clean Slate Initiative, a national advocacy group, sets minimum criteria for what it counts as a clean slate law, as described on its states page. A qualifying law must include:
- automation of record sealing;
- automated sealing as soon as a record becomes eligible;
- arrest records;
- misdemeanor records.
The group also strongly recommends that laws make at least one felony record eligible. What counts as eligible varies from state to state, so your own result depends on where the record was created.
Records are common. A March 2023 Clean Slate Initiative press release cited an estimate that roughly one in three people in the United States have some kind of record, or between 70 and 100 million people.
Automatic sealing versus petitions
Most states already let people seal records, but the petition route is often expensive and complicated. It can mean taking time off work and hiring an attorney. The same March 2023 release says fewer than 10% of people eligible to have a record sealed receive relief after a state’s waiting period.
A June 2021 Deseret News report points the same way. Two University of Michigan law professors found that just 6.5% of Michigan residents who qualify clear their records within five years of becoming eligible.
The same report describes what the petition route can look like. Teisha Wright in Utah needed about a year to get a 2015 reckless driving conviction expunged, even with a legal aid lawyer’s help.
The Clean Slate Initiative’s research brief draws the contrast this way:
- In a petition system, you navigate legal procedures, pay fees and often need legal help.
- Under a clean slate law, the state automates the process instead.
- Automation means relief can reach people who do not know they qualify.
Which states have passed clean slate laws?
As of the Clean Slate Initiative’s states page, which carries a July 9, 2026 update, 14 states and Washington D.C. have passed laws meeting its criteria. The page also says active campaigns are underway in many more states. Its timeline runs like this:
- 2018: Pennsylvania, the country’s first.
- 2019: Utah and New Jersey.
- 2020: Michigan and Connecticut.
- 2021: Delaware and Virginia.
- 2022: California, Oklahoma, Colorado and Washington D.C.
- 2023: Minnesota and New York.
- 2025: Illinois, the 13th state.
- 2026: Missouri, the 14th state.
Passing a law and putting it to work are separate steps. A Clean Slate Initiative research brief says Pennsylvania, Utah and Michigan began implementing their laws in 2019, 2020 and 2023, respectively. The Deseret News put the start of Pennsylvania’s law at June 2019.
What the early results show
The initiative’s research brief says that by 2024, 15 million people had become eligible for full or partial record clearance across the 12 states with laws at that time. Over 2 million of them were in Pennsylvania, Utah and Michigan.
Pennsylvania has the longest track record. The March 2023 release cites Community Legal Services of Philadelphia as saying over 1.2 million Pennsylvanians had benefited. It adds that the state court database reported over 43 million cases sealed.
The same research brief reports a survey of 800 people with records in Pennsylvania, Utah and Michigan. The Clean Slate Initiative developed it with Dr. Nyron Crawford of Temple University, and YouGov administered it. Respondents who knew their records had been cleared automatically reported improvements, especially in employment, family relationships and mental health.
Among respondents who had a record sealed, expunged or set aside, 46% had it cleared automatically. Of those, 38% agreed they had already benefited or would likely benefit. Because an advocacy group designed the survey, treat it as one source of evidence rather than a final verdict.
Earlier research cited in the brief found that earnings rise by over 22% in the first year when records are cleared through a petition. Separately, the March 2023 release says University of Michigan research found that sealing records increases employment status and earnings. It also associated clearance with significantly reduced reoffense rates.
The awareness gap
A law only helps if people know about it. In a related awareness brief, 43% of respondents thought they might be eligible after reading a short description, yet only 24% of that group had heard of their state’s law before the survey.
Perceived eligibility differed by state:
- Pennsylvania: 44% thought they may be eligible, 29% did not and 27% didn’t know.
- Utah: 47% thought they might be eligible, 26% did not and 27% didn’t know.
- Michigan: 39% thought they might be eligible, 38% did not and 24% didn’t know.
Awareness also varied by group. Among likely eligible respondents who were married or in a partnership, 33% had heard of Clean Slate, compared with 13% of never-married respondents. None of the respondents without a high school diploma had heard of it.
The brief warns that the benefits of these laws may go unrealized without sufficient public awareness. If you think an old record might qualify, start by checking the eligibility rules in your own state, because they differ.
Limits and open questions
Not every record is covered. As the Deseret News reported in June 2021, Pennsylvania’s law seals nonconviction records automatically after charges are dropped, and most misdemeanor convictions after 10 years.
The same report says opposition has not been fierce, but some people have raised questions. One is how someone with an expunged record should answer a job application question about past convictions. Another is how law enforcement background checks for gun purchases would be affected.
A Hartford Courant editorial argued for keeping portions of records for later analysis, because arrest and conviction data also document police behavior. Proposals have still mostly drawn bipartisan support, according to the Deseret News. Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said the laws are not about giving somebody a free pass, but about someone who has been held accountable and has paid their debt.
Records also matter when you rent, and the rules for landlords are covered in a guide to fair chance housing laws. For wider context on why so many people carry records, see this explainer on what is mass incarceration. This guide is general education, not legal advice, and sealing rules differ by state.
Frequently asked questions
What are clean slate laws?
Show answer
They are state laws that automatically seal eligible records for people who have completed their sentences and remained crime-free, according to the Clean Slate Initiative’s research brief. The state does the clearing instead of the individual.
Do I have to file anything?
Show answer
Under an automated law, no petition is needed for eligible records. The state identifies them and seals them. Eligibility still varies from state to state, so check your state’s rules.
How many states have passed clean slate laws?
Show answer
As of the Clean Slate Initiative’s states page, updated July 9, 2026, 14 states and Washington D.C. have passed laws that meet its criteria. The group says active campaigns exist in many more states.
Does record sealing help with work?
Show answer
Research cited in the Clean Slate Initiative’s March 2023 release found that sealing records increases employment status and earnings in Michigan. Survey respondents with automatically cleared records also reported improvements in employment. Results vary, and the survey was designed by an advocacy group.
