DUI ARD expungement in Pennsylvania

What a DUI ARD expungement does

An ARD expungement removes the DUI arrest and charge from the public court docket and from the State Police criminal history that employers, landlords and licensing boards check. After the order is entered, the case no longer appears on the UJS Portal, and you generally don’t have to disclose it.

What it doesn’t erase

• PennDOT’s record. PennDOT keeps a record of a DUI ARD acceptance under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1534 and removes it only after the period set by that statute, about 12 years. Your driving record is separate from your criminal record.
• Internal prosecutor and State Police records. These are kept so a second ARD isn’t granted and, in some circumstances, to grade a later offense (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122(c)).
• Your license suspension history. If your license was suspended as part of ARD, that history stays with PennDOT.

If your DUI ended in a conviction instead

A DUI conviction can’t be expunged unless you’re 70 or older and have been arrest-free for 10 years, or you receive a pardon. A first-offense DUI conviction is an ungraded misdemeanor, though, and can usually be sealed through limited access after seven years without a new conviction, either automatically under Clean Slate or by petition. See Can a DUI be expunged in Pennsylvania?

How we handle a DUI ARD expungement

We confirm on the docket that the program is complete and the costs are paid. We file the motion to dismiss with a petition and a proposed order covering both the Common Pleas and magisterial district dockets, and we include the FBI on the service list along with the State Police. Wherever possible, we ask the District Attorney and Adult Probation to sign concurrences first, so the judge can sign without waiting out the 30-day objection period.

Common questions