Criminal Expungement Client Resources

Under Minnesota law, Criminal Expungement is the sealing of a criminal record, so that the criminal record is not publicly available. Expungement of a criminal record can remove barriers for people seeking to better their lives, such as in seeking employment or housing.  

The VLN Criminal Expungement Program can help with the expungement of many Minnesota criminal records. VLN provides assistance with filling out expungement forms at our Criminal Expungement walk-in clinics and links to expungement resources on our webpage. For individuals who qualify, we can provide phone advice, provide brief support, in some cases clients may be matched with a workshop attorney who will assist with preparation and filing of expungement petitions or with a pro bono attorney for full representation.

VLN has walk in clinics for criminal expungement. To get help through VLN for Criminal Expungement:

  • You must be off probation and/or have no open matter for any criminal offense
  • You must not be looking to expunge traffic offenses
  • You must not owe any fines or restitution to the court.
  • You must be looking to expunge Minnesota records. VLN cannot assist with the expungement of federal or out-of-state records.
  • To get more extensive assistance, a copy of your BCA records is needed. Instructions on how to obtain BCA records are in the Frequently Used Resources tab.   
  • There are some types of criminal cases VLN does not assist with. To see if you qualify please call our intake line.

How to get your records: 

Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) Records: This record is not needed to attend a seminar. If you are referred for further service, you will need to get a copy of your BCA record. You can obtain your BCA records in one of two ways. 

1

Mail a written and notarized request to the BCA that includes:

  • your name and date of birth 
  • any other names you use or have used 
  • a personal check or money order for $8.00 made payable to “BCA” 
  • a self-addressed stamped envelope 
2

 You can go to the BCA office and request a copy of your record. The BCA will take your fingerprints and ask you to pay $8.00.

The BCA is located at 1430 Maryland Ave. E., St. Paul, MN 55106 

Additional Resources 

Prosecution initiated expungement. If approved for this program, there is no need to file a petition.  The AGs office is no longer accepting applications for expungement. However, If your conviction happened in Blue Earth, Hennepin, Ramsey, or Washington you can still apply for that. Links to those applications are still on the Help Seal my records page linked here. There are additional resources on the page as well.
https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Expungement.asp

Minnesota Judicial Branch Website Expungement Page. There are instructions for filing a petition for expungement along with all of the needed forms on the website. The self help centers at some counties can also assist people with forms.
https://www.mncourts.gov/Help-Topics/Criminal-Expungement.aspx