In December of 2017, North Carolina Session Law 2017-195 (previously Senate Bill 445) went into effect after being signed by Governor Roy Cooper. This new state law opened up the opportunity for many people to get an expungement in North Carolina.
Most people do not know that if you are charged with a criminal offense and the charge is later dismissed by the state or court or you are found not guilty, the fact that you were charged with that offense will still show up on your criminal record. Under the 2017 law, you can now expunge that charge even if you had previously received another expungement.
S.L. 2017-195 also reduced the length of time eligible individuals need to wait after conviction before they are eligible for expungement. The wait period for eligible, nonviolent misdemeanors is now five years (down from 15 years); for eligible nonviolent felonies, the waiting period is now 10 years (down from 15 years).
The 2017 law had its drawbacks, however. If you were later convicted of another offense, it also gave prosecutors the right to get a copy of your prior expungement from the Administrative Office of the Courts and use it towards the calculation of your criminal history.
