With the passing of SB22-099, Colorado amended its legislation that determined how citizens could have a record sealed. This new law allows for the implementation of an automated system that reviews criminal cases of public record and determines their eligibility for sealing. In prior years, defendants who petitioned the court could have their low level, non-violent misdemeanors sealed. However, this newest revision to the legislation allows for automatic sealing of records without any action by the defendant.
This new Clean Slate Law will be effective July 1, 2024. Once implemented, the law will automatically seal eligible records after a defined period of time. The new law amends the Colorado Consumer Credit Reporting Act to require consumer reporting agencies to exclude sealed and expunged records from a consumer report, except in limited circumstances where the user of the report demonstrates they must consider the information under state or federal law. Below are some of the qualifying categories that each case must fall within to be considered:
Non-Conviction Records
- Charges Dropped
- Found Not Guilty
- Any arrest records that do not result in a conviction.
Eligible Conviction Records
- Civil Infractions, four years after final disposition of the case
- Petty Offenses or Misdemeanors, seven years after final disposition
- Eligible Felonies, at least ten years after final disposition of all criminal proceedings or the release of the defendant from supervision concerning a criminal conviction, whichever is later.
Violent crimes that are covered by the Colorado Crime Victims’ Rights Act are ineligible. Additionally, all fines and costs must be paid in full. Once sealed, the records will no longer appear on public records. A good resource to learn more about the Colorado Clean Slate Act is found at https://www.cleanslateco.org/resources.