Expungements

Two bills signed into law during the 2023 legislative session require automatic expungement (sealing) of certain criminal history records. 

The Clean Slate Act 

The Clean Slate Act went into effect Jan. 1, 2025. It requires automatic expungement (sealing) of certain historic and future records from a person's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) criminal history that in the past would require the person to petition the court for an order expunging the record. Other criminal history records still require a petition and court order.   

The Clean Slate Act defines hundreds of offenses and/or dispositions (case outcomes) that could be expunged. Since 2023, the BCA in collaboration with the Minnesota Judicial Branch has been working to identify all of those offenses and dispositions among more than 16 million criminal history records presently in the Criminal History System (CHS) so we could expunge (seal) affected records. As new offenses are transmitted to the CHS, the system evaluates eligibility for expungement (sealing).  

Clean Slate Act records expungements*

Total potentially eligible records	Records expunged (sealed) to-date	Records being reviewed by the Minnesota Judicial Branch	Percent of total records expunged or in final Minnesota Judicial Branch review
2,026,769	1,888,375	107,841	98.493%

*Data as of July 14, 2026. 

Records related to incidents that became eligible after Jan. 1, 2025, follow the same review and expungement (sealing) process as historical records. 

How does the expungement process work? 

In its simplest terms, the work to automatically expunge (seal) Clean Slate records goes like this: 

1. COMPLETE: The BCA determines criteria to identify affected records in its Criminal History System (CHS) and writes computer programming to expunge the records. 
2. COMPLETE: The BCA and the Minnesota Judicial Branch test records in CHS and the court record system (MNCIS) to ensure the correct records are flagged to be expunged. 
3. ONGOING: The BCA provides records identified for expungement to the Minnesota Judicial Branch, which has 60 days to review and notify the BCA of any objections. 
4. ONGOING: The BCA then automatically expunges any records to which the courts do not object. 

The BCA began automatically expunging records in CHS in June 2025. 
  

Why are some of the records still visible on the BCA criminal history website? 

The Clean Slate Act affects nearly 100 years of historical criminal history records held by the BCA – from when records were kept on paper, to the 1990’s with the state’s first computerized records system, to CHS. The same is true of records held by the courts. Each new system came with improved rules for how data should be entered. This combination of data types and requirements resulted in approximately 5,000 records requiring manual review before they can be considered for expungement. 

Records that remain visible in CHS are either ineligible for expungement or require individual review to determine eligibility. Work on records requiring individual review is expected to be completed before the end of 2026. 

When will Clean Slate Act records be expunged? 

Clean Slate Act expungements of historical records are more than 98% complete. 

Until this work is complete, a notice has been placed on all records in CHS indicating that criminal history records may contain information that qualifies for automatic expungement under the Clean Slate Act. Because the Clean Slate Act affects not just past records but future records as well, additional records that may be eligible continue to accrue on an ongoing basis. 

Most records that remain visible to the public after we have completed our work will have been determined by the BCA or the courts to be ineligible for expungement under the Clean Slate Act.  

Additional information about records affected by the Clean Slate Act is available on the Criminal History System FAQ page. 

The Adult-Use Cannabis Act 

The Adult-Use Cannabis Act eliminates certain cannabis-related offenses and requires automatic expungement of certain prior cannabis-related records from the BCA's Criminal History System. 

Cannabis-related records that qualified for automatic expungement were expunged from the BCA's Criminal History System in May 2024. The BCA will review records in the system again in 2026 to identify and expunge any additional records that were still in the court process when the 2024 expungements occurred. 

Cannabis Expungement Board 

Eligible felony-level cannabis-related convictions will be reviewed by the Cannabis Expungement Board to determine whether those records meet criteria identified in the statute for expungement. 

The Cannabis Expungement Board is an independent entity separate from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Information on efforts to stand up this new board, its timeline, and a point of contact for inquiries about board activities, are available on the Cannabis Expungement Board website.  

National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact 

Minnesota is part of the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact, which requires the records remain visible in other states unless a petition is filed and the court orders the record at the BCA be sealed from view in other states. 

Notifications 

The BCA does not have contact information for people with records in the Criminal History System and as a result cannot notify individuals about changes to their criminal history records. A notice is posted on all records in the BCA Criminal History System notifying those who view the records about the possibility of future changes under the Adult-Use Cannabis Act and the Clean Slate Act. 

Additional information about records held by the BCA is available on the Criminal History System FAQ page. 

Requesting expunged records held by the BCA 

People can request records held by the BCA about themselves at any time, including before or after the records are expunged. 

The BCA does not delete expunged criminal history records – they are simply hidden from public view. They are always available to the subject of the data.  

The BCA does not hold records for low-level offenses that don’t result in an arrest. Because we don’t receive or hold those records, they will not show up on records requested from the BCA. 

To obtain a copy of your Minnesota criminal history record, submit a data request. 

Records held by the Minnesota Judicial Branch 

Contact the district court in the county where your case was filed for information about records held by the Minnesota Judicial Branch. 

Records held by local agencies 

Contact local authorities for records held by local law enforcement and prosecution entities.