Types of Criminal Record Relief

Last verified: April 2026

Six Forms of Record Relief

The American legal system offers multiple pathways for addressing a criminal record. The differences matter enormously: some options erase a record entirely, while others leave it visible with a notation. Some are granted by judges, others by governors or presidents. Each has distinct implications for employment, housing, immigration, and firearms rights.

Expungement: The Gold Standard

Expungement is the most powerful form of relief because it removes or destroys the record from public access. After expungement, the conviction or arrest effectively ceases to exist for most civil purposes. The individual can legally deny the event on employment applications, housing forms, and most licensing applications.

However, as detailed in our expungement overview, the relief is not absolute. Law enforcement retains access, the FBI is not bound by state orders, and immigration authorities can still consider expunged records.

Not all states offer true expungement for cannabis offenses. Some offer only sealing or set-aside, which provide less protection. Understanding your state's specific remedy is critical.

Sealing: Hidden but Not Destroyed

Record sealing hides a criminal record from public view but does not destroy it. The records still exist in court and law enforcement databases — they are simply restricted from public access. For practical purposes, sealing provides similar benefits to expungement: the sealed record should not appear on standard background checks, and the individual may deny its existence on most applications.

The key difference is durability. Sealed records can potentially be unsealed by court order in the future. Some states automatically unseal records if the individual commits a new offense. Expunged records, in contrast, are theoretically destroyed and cannot be reconstituted.

Several states — including Colorado, Virginia, and Utah — use sealing as their primary cannabis record relief mechanism rather than expungement.

Set-Aside: Vacating the Judgment

A set-aside vacates the original judgment and dismisses the charges. The conviction is replaced with a dismissal notation. Unlike expungement, the record remains visible — but it now shows that the conviction was set aside. Arizona's Proposition 207 uses the set-aside mechanism (A.R.S. §36-2862), allowing people with marijuana convictions to petition for the conviction to be set aside and the charges dismissed.

The practical benefit is significant: employers and landlords can see that the original conviction was overturned. But the record itself — the arrest, the charge, the original conviction — remains part of the public record with a notation.

Pardons: Forgiveness, Not Erasure

A pardon is an act of executive clemency issued by a governor (for state offenses) or the president (for federal offenses). It represents formal forgiveness for the crime but does not erase the criminal record. Both the original conviction and the pardon appear on the individual's record.

Pardons have been a significant tool in cannabis reform. Notable examples include:

• Governor Pritzker (Illinois) — pardoned 11,017 individuals with low-level cannabis convictions
• Governor Brown (Oregon) — pardoned 45,000+ individuals
• Governor Moore (Maryland) — pardoned 175,000 individuals
• President Biden — issued categorical pardons for federal simple possession

The limitation of pardons is that they do not automatically clear records from databases. Maryland's 175,000 pardons, for example, still require individual record updates to actually remove conviction entries from background checks. Massachusetts illustrated this problem starkly: Governor Healey's blanket pardon of 22,816 individuals resulted in only 1,876 records actually being updated in state databases.

Commutation and Clemency

Commutation reduces a sentence but does not forgive the crime or erase the record. It is primarily relevant for people currently incarcerated for cannabis offenses — estimated at approximately 40,000 nationwide. A commutation can convert a life sentence to time served, allowing immediate release, but the conviction remains.

Clemency is the umbrella term encompassing pardons, commutations, and reprieves. When a governor announces "clemency" for cannabis offenses, the specifics matter: is it a pardon (forgiveness but no erasure), commutation (sentence reduction), or expungement (record removal)?

Certificates of Rehabilitation

Several states offer an additional mechanism: certificates of rehabilitation (COR) that formally recognize an individual's rehabilitation without expunging or sealing the underlying record. These certificates can help overcome licensing barriers and employment restrictions.

Key states offering certificates of rehabilitation:

• California — Penal Code §§4852.01–4852.21, requires a 7-year waiting period after discharge. A COR also serves as an automatic application for a governor's pardon.
• New York — Correction Law §§700–706, offers both Certificates of Relief from Disabilities (CRD) and Certificates of Good Conduct (CGC)
• Ohio — Rev. Code §2953.25, Certificates of Qualification for Employment (CQE)
• Additional states — Illinois, Maryland, Tennessee, New Jersey, and Arizona also offer certificate programs with varying requirements

Certificates do not replace expungement, but in states where cannabis expungement is unavailable or limited, they can provide meaningful relief from specific collateral consequences — particularly occupational licensing barriers.

The right form of relief depends on your state, your offense level, and your specific needs. Our 50-state tracker identifies which types of relief each state offers for cannabis offenses.