As a matter of fact, having the label of being a felon can create a huge amount of disadvantage as well as barriers for anyone, especially when you want to apply for a job or simply rent a house. As mentioned above, there are still some second chances for some cases of convicted felons, which can free you from paying the rest of your valuable life for your mistake in the past. By doing this, felons are able to seal their record of felony or expunge their felony as well.
First of all, we will make it clearer about the definition of a misdemeanor or the felony expungement. Since the laws vary in different states, there may be some of them prevent the employers from seeing your record that is sealed and it works similarly for the housing rental checks. Thanks to this effective sealing solution, any felons can claim you do not have any felony record or the criminal one although the record still exists. On the other hand, when a misdemeanor is already expunged, your criminal background will no longer exist anymore so no one can know that you were convicted in the past.
After defining generally the information of the misdemeanor or the felony expungement, we will go into detail on how to get your record expunged.
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How To Get a Felony Expunged
First, in order to have your felony record expunged or sealed, the first and foremost condition is that you are the first time offender which means you are not a repeated one. This chance will become easier if your crime is not related to violent or sex. It is a big bonus if you have completed your prison sentence, fines or something related to the act of paying your debt to the society.
Moreover, you can also continue your further study or work to improve yourself better. Judges absolutely decide whether your criminal record is expunged or not based on your behavior, not on the feeling about they have. And here are some basic step you can follow in order to make this solution more possible.
- First of all, again, the laws are not the same in different states. Therefore, you should be aware of whether your record of felony can be expunged or not in your state.
- After that, you will have to make a legal and accurate statement to have the court expunge or seal your felony record, which is called a petition. Then the court will notify you the information about the hearing after filing your paperwork.
- Finally, the judge will decide the expungement or seal of your record based on a lot of legal conditions, including the act of your attorney who will give the reasons for your expungement.
How Much Does It Cost To Get Your Misdemeanor/Felony Record Expunged
The last but not least information we would like to convey here is going to be about the cost of the expungement. Depending on what kind of crime you are convicted, there is a different cost.
- First is for the minor misdemeanors. For this case, you will have to be charged about $500 to $750. Because this crime is minor, your record could be expunged without any hearing.
- Next is the serious ones. The cost for such crime is fairly higher, which ranges from $500 to $1000. Both of the costs in these kinds can take up to 6 months.
- Finally is the felonies. This kind is rather complicated. There is usually a hearing and the cost can take up to a year for some complex cases. As a result, the cost for this one may vary from $1000 to $5000.
Above is some general information that you should know so as to give yourself a second chance to get out of unwanted obstacles. Clearing your criminal record will for certain make a remarkable difference in your life. And remember the fact that when one door closes, another will open so let’s take the chance as long as it is possible.