Expungements

Petition for Expungement 

Please be advised that the Clerk of Courts Office is the filing office for the Criminal Division of the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas and will accept any motion or petition that you wish to file. While we will assist you in any way that we can, we are not attorneys and cannot give you legal advice. 

An expungement may be obtained for charges that were Dismissed, Nolle Prossed, Withdrawn, Not Guilty, Probation Without Verdict, or ARD. 

For a case that has a conviction, (plea or verdict), you must first apply for and be granted a Governor's Pardon. Please refer to the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons website for more information.

There are some exceptions. Please refer to Act 134 of 2008 for more information. 

A non-refundable filing fee in the amount of $185.20 must be paid at the time of filing. 

Unless you are filing a Petition for Partial Expungement, all fines and costs must be paid in full prior to filing your petition. (As an example, Petition for Partial Expungement would be used if a plea was entered at one or more offenses, but there were other offenses on the case that were Nolle Prossed as part of the plea agreement.)

You MUST attach a copy of your criminal history to the petition. The criminal history must be obtained through the Pennsylvania State Police Central Repository within 60 days before filing the petition. Please note that this cannot be obtained on-line or at any barracks. You will need to fill out the Request for Individual Access and Review form and mail it to the address listed on the form. You will need to enclose a copy of your Photo ID and a certified check or money order in the amount of $20.00, made payable to Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 

For any case that was disposed of at the Magisterial District Court, use the Petition for Expungement Pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 490 forms. 

For any case that was disposed of at the Court of Common Pleas, use the Petition for Expungement Pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P.790 forms. 

Please bring the original petition plus three copies. All copies will be time stamped with one being returned to you for your records. The original and two copies will be kept in the office. We will then meet with the District Attorney for review and possible consent to your petition. 

If the District Attorney consents, he will sign the second page of the Expungement Order. The petition can then go through Motions Court as a Routine Motion after the 48 hour waiting period. 

If the District Attorney does not consent, he is allowed 30 days to review the petition for summary cases and 60 days to review for Misdemeanor and Felony cases. 

During the review period, if a response is filed by the Commonwealth, of which you will be served a copy, the petition can go through Motions Court as a Routine Motion after the 48 hour waiting period. 

If the review period has lapsed with no response or consent, the petition must go through Motions Court as a Priority Motion after the 48 hour waiting period. If presented as a Priority Motion, you MUST appear at the time and date set for Motions Court. 

It is your responsibility to track the time for any petition that you file.