In Oklahoma, it can be very difficult to obtain the employment and lifestyle you want, if you have a criminal record that is haunting you. When you obtain an expungement of your criminal record, it can greatly ease the burden of working towards a better life. At Cannon & Associates in Edmond, we work with clients across the state of Oklahoma to determine if you are eligible for an expungement and if you are, fight to expunge your criminal record as quickly as possible.
Free Resources from OKC Expungement Attorneys:
Do you want your Oklahoma criminal record expunged for a clean start? Our team of Your Fierce Advocates® at Cannon & Associates is led by Army Veteran, John Cannon and we’re privileged to be Oklahoma City criminal record expungement attorneys. Our Oklahoma expungement attorneys can help you explore options for a fresh start to Your Better Future. Please find FREE RESOURCES on our YouTube page, our website, and our FAQ Expungement in Oklahoma page, until we meet to answer your specific Oklahoma expungement questions. You may also CALL NOW at (405) 972-8604, 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week for a free Oklahoma expungement planning session to understand your options for if or when you qualify for an expungement in Oklahoma!
OKC Expungement Lawyers
Your Fierce Advocatesô are dedicated to doing the legal research you need to determine your eligibility for an expungement and fighting to clear your record, if you are eligible for expungement in Oklahoma. Our Edmond Expungement firm has helped many clients clear their record. Following our legal team’s research of your eligibility for expungement, we will draft the necessary Petition for Expungement, file it, and set a hearing to seek to have the Court enter an Order expunging your criminal case record.
Why Should I seek an Expungement in Oklahoma?
The most common reason people in Oklahoma seek an expungement is to clear their criminal past and remove the stigma of a criminal record. However, the specific purpose for individuals seeking an in Oklahoma varies widely and may include one or multiple of the following:
- College Applications
- Professional Licensing, such as nursing license, medical license, or law license
- Federal programs or travel to foreign countries
- Clean background check for job applications
- Housing or mortgage applications
Not only does a successful expungement action in Oklahoma remove your criminal history from public view, you can deny the events ever took place following an expungement. Oklahoma expungement law, Oklahoma Statutes Title 22 Section 19(F) states the following concerning your rights following an expungement:
Employers, educational institutions, state and local government agencies, officials, and employees shall not, in any application or interview or otherwise, require an applicant to disclose any information contained in sealed records. An applicant need not, in answer to any question concerning arrest and criminal records, provide information that has been sealed, including any reference to or information concerning such sealed information and may state that no such action has ever occurred. Such an application may not be denied solely because of the refusal of the applicant to disclose arrest and criminal records information that has been sealed.
22 O.S. 19(F) (Emphasis added)
For more information about expungements in Oklahoma, review the information on the following pages of our website:
- How to Seal your Criminal Record in Oklahoma
- FAQ: Criminal Expungement
- Get My Record Expunged in Oklahoma
- 15 Ways to be Eligible for Criminal Expungement
Edmond Expungement Attorneys
Cannon & Associates is dedicated to being Your Fierce Advocatesô if you are needing an expungement in Oklahoma. The majority of our expungement cases are handled in Oklahoma City/Oklahoma County, Canadian County, Cleveland County, Logan County, and Edmond.
Cannon & Associates has an outstanding record of successfully seeking expungement of our clients’ criminal records. Fill out the form on this page now for a free confidential legal review of your eligibility for expungement or you may reach our Director of Client Care at [email protected] or by calling or texting (405) 657-2323.
Determining Eligibility for an Expungement in Oklahoma
Before addressing eligibility for an expungement in Oklahoma, it is important to clarify what exactly can be done by a criminal expungement. Oklahoma laws provide the expungement tool to seal or remove from public access your criminal record, criminal convictions, arrest records, protective orders, and more. This is an important right, if you are eligible for an expungement, as OSCN.net and other background search tools are available to landlords, employers, schools, and the general public.
In order to be eligible for an expungement in Oklahoma, your circumstance must meet the criteria of either a Section 991 expungement or Section 18 expungement.
When am I eligible for a Section 991 expungement?
Section 991 expungement eligibility rests on the way in which your criminal case was resolved. You are eligible for a Section 991 expungement in Oklahoma, if your case was dismissed following successful completion of a deferred sentence and all the conditions of your probation without a probation violation. The case will remain on your record, until expunged following a dismissal.
Section 991 expungement will result in your case being removed from the public record, i.e. the records will be sealed and the case dismissed, if it was not already dismissed. A successful 991 expungement will be ordered by the Court and served on the clerk. It can also be used to seal or expunge your arrest record.
A Section 991 expungement will result in the case being dismissed (if it has not already been dismissed) AND remove the case from public record.
Section 18 Expungement
In order to receive an expungement under Oklahoma Statutes Title 22 Section 18, your criminal record must fall within one of the fifteen (15) categories of expungement eligibility in the statute. When a person’s Oklahoma criminal record is eligible for a Section 18 expungement, you will receive a full record expungement. Expungements in Oklahoma under Section 18 are more complicated than Section 991 expungements; however, the benefits are greater.
The Fifteen (15) ways to be eligible for a Section 18 expungement in Oklahoma are the following:
- Oklahoma Full Record Expungements Criteria: Acquittal
If you were charged with a crime and you were acquitted, then you are eligible to seek a full record expungement under Section 18.
- Oklahoma Full Record Expungement Criteria: Win on Appeal
If you were convicted at trial, but win your case on appeal and the case is dismissed, you are eligible for a full record expungement under Section 18. You should seek to expunge your appeal as well as the trial court case.
- Oklahoma Full Record Expungement Criteria: New DNA Evidence
If you were convicted and later had your factual innocence established by the use of new DNA evidence, you are eligible to seek a full record expungement under Section 18, whether you plead guilty or were convicted.
- Oklahoma Full Record Expungement Criteria: Clemency
If the Governor of Oklahoma has issued you a full pardon or clemency, you are eligible to seek a full record expungement under Section 18.
- Oklahoma Full Record Expungement Criteria: No Filed Charges
After an arrest, if you are not prosecuted or the prosecutor declines to file charges, you are eligible to seek a full record expungement under Section 18.
- Oklahoma Full Record Expungement Criteria: Minor at the Time of Offense
You are eligible to seek a full record expungement under Section 18, if you were a minor (under 18 years of age) at the time a criminal offense and were subsequently pardoned.
- Oklahoma Full Record Expungement Criteria: Case Dismissed
You are eligible to seek a full record expungement under Section 18, if your criminal charges were dismissed, so long as you have not been convicted of a new crime and you are not being prosecuted currently. This category does not apply to dismissals following a deferred sentence; those are the next two categories.
- Oklahoma Full Record Expungement Criteria: Misdemeanor Deferred Sentence
You are eligible to seek a full record expungement under Section 18, if you were charged with a misdemeanor and it was dismissed after successfully completing a deferred sentence, provided the following requirements have been met:
- You have never been convicted of a felony;
- You have no pending criminal charges, and
- One (1) years has passed since the case was dismissed.
This category of expungement eligibility can be confusing as you must wait a period of time after your case is dismissed in order to be eligible to seek a Section 18 expungement.
- Oklahoma Full Record Expungement Criteria: Felony Deferred Sentence
You are eligible to seek a full record expungement under Section 18, if you were charged with a nonviolent felony and it was dismissed after successfully completing a deferred sentence, provided the following requirements have been met:
- You have never been convicted of a felony;
- You have no pending criminal charges, and
- Five (5) years has passed since the case was dismissed, note this is four years longer than a misdemeanor.
This category of expungement eligibility is the same as the previous category; however, it requires five years of waiting and applies to felonies.
- Oklahoma Full Record Expungement Criteria: Fine less than $500
You are eligible to seek a full record expungement under Section 18, if you were convicted of a misdemeanor and receive a fine of less than $500, so long as the fine is paid and you have no other criminal charges pending against you.
- Oklahoma Full Record Expungement Criteria: Five-Year-Old Misdemeanor Conviction
You are eligible to seek a full record expungement under Section 18, if you were convicted of a misdemeanor and five years has passed since the completion of your sentence, if you have no pending criminal charges or separate convictions.
- Oklahoma Full Record Expungement Criteria: Five-Year-Old Felony
You are eligible to seek a full record expungement under Section 18 of a non-violent felony conviction, if you have no pending criminal charges or new convictions, if the following requirements are met:
- You have not been convicted of another felony;
- In the last seven (7) years, you have not been convicted of a misdemeanor;
- Five (5) years has passed since the completion of your felony sentence.
- Oklahoma Full Record Expungement Criteria: Two Felonies
You are eligible to seek a full record expungement under Section 18 of two felonies after ten (10) years, if neither offense is listed in Section 13.1 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes, and none of the offenses require Sex Offenders Registration, if the following requirements are met:
- You have no pending criminal charges; and
- Ten (10) years has passed since the completion of the felony sentences.
- Oklahoma Full Record Expungement Criteria: Identity Theft
You are eligible to seek a full record expungement under Section 18, if crimes were committed by another person under your information.
- Oklahoma Full Record Expungement Criteria: Reclassification
You are eligible to seek a full record expungement under Section 18, if you were convicted of a nonviolent felony that has been reclassified as a misdemeanor and you do not have any new convictions or pending criminal charges.
Free Resources from OKC Expungement Attorneys:
Do you want your Oklahoma criminal record expunged for a clean start? Our team of Your Fierce Advocates® at Cannon & Associates is led by Army Veteran, John Cannon and we’re privileged to be Oklahoma City criminal record expungement attorneys. Our Oklahoma expungement attorneys can help you explore options for a fresh start to Your Better Future. Please find FREE RESOURCES on our YouTube page, our website, and our FAQ Expungement in Oklahoma page, until we meet to answer your specific Oklahoma expungement questions. You may also CALL NOW at (405) 972-8604, 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week for a free Oklahoma expungement planning session to understand your options for if or when you qualify for an expungement in Oklahoma!
OKC Expungement Lawyers
Next Step Towards Expungement in Oklahoma
You need Your Fierce Advocatesô, if you or a loved one are eligible and interested in seeking an expungement. Cannon & Associates has an outstanding record of successfully seeking expungement of our clients’ criminal records. Fill out the form on this page now to discuss an expungement or you may reach our Director of Client Care at [email protected] or by calling or texting (405) 657-2323.