Sealing Your Criminal Record

On August 9, 2024, changes to Maine law regarding sealing the record of certain criminal convictions went into effect. As of this date, individuals may file a request with the court to seal the record of their conviction if they meet the requirements set forth in the statute. Sealing is not automatic.

Criminal convictions eligible for sealing

Criminal convictions that can be sealed under this process are:

• A current or former Class E crime (except for certain sexual assaults);
• A conviction for certain marijuana-related crimes described below (if the crime was committed prior to January 30, 2017):
• Aggravated trafficking, furnishing or cultivation of scheduled drugs under Title 17-A, former section 1105 when
•  the person was convicted of cultivating scheduled drugs,
• the scheduled drug was marijuana, and
• the crime committed was a Class D crime.
• Aggravated cultivating of marijuana under Title 17-A, section 1105-D, subsection 1, paragraph A, subparagraph (4);
• Aggravated cultivating of marijuana under Title 17-A, section 1105-D, subsection 1, paragraph B-1, subparagraph (4);
• Aggravated cultivating of marijuana under Title 17-A, section 1105-D, subsection 1, paragraph D, subparagraph (4); and
• Unlawful possession of a scheduled drug under Title 17-A, former section 1107 when
• that drug was marijuana, and
• the underlying crime was a Class D crime.

Additional requirements

If a conviction is eligible for sealing, the following additional requirements must be met:

• It has been at least 4 years since you fully completed the sentence imposed, including any imprisonment, probation, administrative release, fine payments, license suspension, restitution and/or community service.
• You have no other adult criminal convictions in Maine and have not had a case dismissed because of a deferred disposition since completing your sentence for this offense.
• You have no other criminal convictions in another state or jurisdiction since completing your sentence for this offense.
• You have no pending criminal charges in Maine or in another state or federal court.

Process to request that a conviction be sealed

The Judicial Branch provides a court form, Motion to Seal Criminal History (CR-218), on the Forms page of the website. A paper version of this form can also be obtained from any District Court clerk’s office. Complete the form and return to the clerk’s office for the court in which the conviction occurred. 

You may hire an attorney to help file the Motion to Seal, or you may file the Motion yourself (pro se). The State will be represented by the prosecutor’s office that handled the original case.

The court will schedule a hearing.  At the hearing the court will review the statutory requirements and will grant the motion and order the conviction sealed if you have shown that each requirement has been met by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not).

If the motion is granted and an order sealing conviction is issued, the court will send notice of the sealing to the State Bureau of Identification (the agency maintaining criminal history records for the State of Maine).  The State Bureau of Identification will then seal the conviction and mail a notice to you that this has been done. 

See 15 M.R.S. § 2264 (Post-Judgment Motion to Seal Criminal History Record; Motion and hearing; process).

What is "sealing"?

If your Maine criminal conviction is sealed under this process, it means that you may respond to inquiries from persons other than criminal justice agencies, the court, and other entities described in 15 M.R.S. § 2265 as if the conviction had not occurred. The record is not completely erased (Maine does not have “expungement”), but the record will not be disclosed to third parties, including employers, lenders, landlords, school admissions officers, and others.