Clear an Ohio criminal record

Find the route to review

Check timing and cost

Special offense rules can change these periods. Felony expungement is generally ten years after the date sealing first becomes available. Do not apply this table to the marijuana-specific route.

Ohio Supreme Court record-relief reference, revised June 2026

Final discharge is not necessarily the conviction date. Check completion of incarceration, supervision and sentence obligations, including fines. Court costs differ from fines and do not automatically disqualify you. Ask counsel to confirm your discharge date and any restitution issue.

Ask the clerk which indigency form to use, how it must be signed, and how many copies are needed. File in each appropriate court, rather than assuming one court can clear every case.

Fee authority: 2953.321(G) · 2953.32(D)(3). Some general-help pages omit the possible local fee; confirm with the clerk.

Work through an application

You can apply yourself; a lawyer is not required for every case. Use this sequence to build a complete packet. Start with the court that handled the case, even if you now live in another county.

1. Find the case and obtain the documents

   Open that court clerk’s official record search and search your name, including former names. Confirm the result is yours. Open the charge information and docket—the dated list of filings and court decisions. Look at the final charge and outcome, because an initial charge may have been amended.

   Save the docket and request copies of the complaint/citation or indictment, judgment or disposition entry, and sentencing/discharge entries. For a marijuana-specific application, identify the exact possession subsection and evidence of the amount/form; the final judgment may establish the subsection, while the charging document may supply missing detail.

   When you cannot find the paperwork, say:

   I am preparing a record-sealing or expungement application. Please help me find case [number, or name and approximate year]. I need the docket, the original and any amended charges, the final disposition, and the sentence-completion and payment information. What is the copy fee, and can I receive these electronically?

   Finished when: you can identify the court, case number, final offense/subsection, outcome and date, and any other charges from the same incident. A missing online result does not prove the record was cleared.

   How to locate and read the record

2. Decide what you are asking the court to do

   Write down both the legal route and the requested action: marijuana-specific expungement under 2953.321; general conviction sealing or expungement under 2953.32; or nonconviction relief under 2953.33. “Expungement” in a website heading does not necessarily identify the right route.

   For the general conviction route, identify final discharge and calculate the waiting period using the table above. For the marijuana-specific route, establish the covered offense and a qualifying conviction, guilty plea or dismissal before March 20, 2026. An old arrest date alone is not the date test stated in that statute.

   Do not guess: a city-ordinance number, unidentified drug amount, related unresolved charge, or missing final disposition needs clarification before choosing the marijuana-specific route.

   2953.321(B)–(C) · Compare the routes

3. Confirm the packet and filing instructions before paying

   Download the application from the court’s own forms page. Check its title, cited statute, signature page and attachments. The Franklin and Hamilton general applications reviewed here cite 2953.32/2953.33; they do not expressly provide a 2953.321 checkbox.

   For the new marijuana route, ask the clerk or self-help center:

   I want to request marijuana/hashish expungement under R.C. 2953.321 in case [number]. Does your court have a specific form, or instructions for using its general application with an attachment? Which documents, fee or indigency form, signature requirements and service steps are required?

   If the clerk cannot resolve the form issue, use the self-help center or legal aid to prepare the proper application. Do not sign a certification that is inaccurate, cross out requirements on your own, or assume a form for one court is accepted in another.

   Finished when: you have the accepted application, attachment list, correct fee/waiver route, permitted filing method and prosecutor-service instructions.

4. Complete the application and attach evidence

   Use the field guide below. Make one clear list per court, and match each case number to the relief requested. Follow the packet’s signature/notary instructions; leave clerk-only and attorney-only fields for the appropriate person. Keep an extra complete copy.

   For a marijuana-specific request, the application must identify the applicant, offense, qualifying disposition date and court; supply evidence of the covered offense and date; and expressly request expungement under 2953.321. Label attachments so the judge can find the supporting entry. Use the actual record rather than guessing from memory.

   If the fee is unaffordable: complete the court’s poverty affidavit or indigency/fee-waiver form with truthful household income, expenses and resources. Submit it with the application; the judge decides the request. It is not a reason to abandon the application or skip the fee without a waiver request.

   Public defender application and indigency instructions

5. File, arrange service and obtain a receipt

   Submit to the correct clerk through a method that court accepts. Filing is the delivery and acceptance of the application into the court record. Service is delivery of the required copy to the prosecutor; it is a separate procedural step. Confirm who performs it. Franklin Municipal’s reviewed paper form has a deputy-clerk service certificate; Morrow’s court instructions require service and reject documents that do not meet it. Neither establishes the procedure in every court.

   Ask for a file-stamped copy, the application’s new case/reference number if one is assigned, fee receipt or waiver status, and how to receive the hearing notice. If you mail it, retain copies and confirm receipt; mailing something is not proof the clerk accepted it. If papers are returned, record the exact deficiency and correct it.

   Finished when: the clerk has accepted the filing, the fee or waiver request is accounted for, and required service is complete or arranged. Calendar the hearing when notice arrives.

   Franklin paper application and service certificate · Morrow service instructions

6. Respond to the investigation and attend the hearing

   The court may have probation investigate your record. Provide requested information accurately, including other names, residences, other cases and sentence completion. An application is not granted just because the prosecutor does not object.

   Prepare a short explanation: identify the case and requested relief, explain why the route applies, then describe concrete ways the record affects you. For a general conviction, also explain rehabilitation with truthful examples such as work, education, treatment or community involvement. Bring your filed packet, supporting records, relevant letters or evidence, and the hearing notice.

   A preparation outline, not a required speech: “I am requesting [relief] in [case]. The supporting entries show [eligibility facts]. This record is affecting [specific opportunity or barrier]. Since the case, [relevant truthful changes]. I ask the court to grant the application.”

   The judge checks the applicable requirements and considers any objection. Answer questions directly. If the prosecutor raises an unexpected eligibility issue, request time to respond or obtain legal help. Do not miss the hearing; request a continuance through the court if necessary. Remote attendance requires permission.

   General findings and investigation · Marijuana-specific hearing findings · Hearing preparation

7. Get the signed order and check implementation

   A hearing or verbal approval is not the final document you need. Obtain the signed, journalized order. Confirm it names the correct cases and says sealed or expunged, matching what was granted. Keep a secure copy before records become inaccessible.

   Ask the clerk which agencies received notice and when to check completion. The court notifies record holders under the applicable statute; the applicant should follow up rather than assume every database changed immediately. Mark a follow-up date based on the clerk’s estimate.

   If the court’s public listing or an agency record remains visible after the expected period, contact that record holder with the case/order information through its appropriate correction process. For an outdated employment background report, dispute it with the screening company and retain the report and order. Ask legal aid for help if it persists. A search-engine result alone is not a complete check of agency records.

   If denied, get the written reason. A missing document, wrong route, premature filing and substantive ineligibility require different responses. Promptly ask counsel whether to correct/refile or appeal; do not assume refiling pauses an appeal deadline.

   Effects and record-holder duties · After the hearing

What goes in the form?

These explanations help you complete the court’s packet. They are not a substitute court form. Keep Social Security numbers and sensitive supporting records in the court’s prescribed confidential process.

Reviewed packets: Franklin Municipal · Hamilton Municipal · Hamilton Common Pleas · Delaware Common Pleas

A marijuana application, worked through

Fictional facts: A person has a 2019 Ohio state-law conviction for minor-misdemeanor marijuana possession under 2925.11(C)(3)(a). The paperwork identifies the offense and conviction date. This example assumes no unresolved charge or ordinance ambiguity requiring further review.

1. Get the docket, charging paper and judgment from the original court. Mark the entries showing the exact subsection and 2019 conviction.
2. Identify 2953.321 as the route to request. It is not a request to automatically delete every cannabis-related case.
3. Confirm that court’s accepted form or attachment procedure. Supply the applicant and case information, supporting copies and an express request for expungement under that section.
4. Pay the route’s $50 fee unless indigent; submit the court’s indigency paperwork if needed. Obtain proof of filing and confirm required service.
5. Attend the hearing. Explain the covered offense, pre-March 20, 2026 disposition and actual reasons for wanting the record removed. The judge applies the statutory balancing test.
6. If granted, obtain the order and follow up on agency implementation. Relief comes from the court order, not from completing this guide.

Illustrative request paragraph, to adapt within the court-approved packet:

I request expungement under R.C. 2953.321 of the official records in case [number] in [court]. The attached [identify documents] show that I was convicted on [date] of [exact qualifying offense and subsection], before March 20, 2026. I request the relief provided by R.C. 2953.321(F). My reasons for requesting relief are [truthful, specific reasons].

Use a different factual description for a qualifying guilty plea or dismissal. This paragraph alone is not a complete application.

Example and paragraph are editorial aids based on 2953.321(B)–(G), not an approved court form.

Actual court packets and local differences

These are starting examples, not a claim that the forms fit every Ohio court or the marijuana-specific route. Links and instructions were reviewed October 18, 2026.

Build a case file on paper

Print one copy per case. Keep it with your records; this worksheet is not filed as a court application.

A helper can sit with the applicant, locate the docket, organize copies, write down answers, arrange transport and track each unfinished step. An unclear legal requirement should become a specific question for the court’s self-help staff or counsel, not a reason to hand the person a list of links and stop helping.