Colorado courts charge no fee to seal a case that resulted in a dismissal or acquittal. The fee to seal a conviction varies by court, though it is typically $65. Sealing an arrest record that resulted in no charges costs $224.
In addition, you will end up spending up to $20 on retrieving your criminal record (the first step of getting a seal) and about $5 on postage when you mail out the “order to seal” (the final step of getting a seal).
Note there is no court fee for expunging juvenile records or underage DUIs.
There is also no court fee if you wait for the state to seal your records automatically, but this can take several extra years. It is worth it to pay for a seal as soon as you are eligible.
Can I get a fee waiver?
Possibly! Fill out court form JDF 205 and file it with the court. If they find that you are indigent, any filing fees should be waived or reduced.
How do I seal my records?
Getting a Colorado record seal is a five-step process:
- Obtain a copy of your criminal record from the police agency that arrested or cited you.
- Obtain a copy of your criminal history from the Colorado Bureau of Investigations (CBI).
- Fill out the appropriate petition to seal form (listed in the table below) and file it with the court that your case was in.
- Wait for the court to accept or deny the petition. In rare cases, the court will require a hearing before deciding whether to order a seal.
- If the court grants you an order to seal, mail a copy of the order to all the state agencies that have your record on file (such as the CBI and police department).
| Colorado Record to be Sealed or Expunged | Form and Filing Cost |
| Arrest records with no charges | JDF 417 – $224 |
| Dismissals or acquittals | JDF 477 – Free |
| One conviction | JDF 612 – Depends on the court (usually $65) |
| Multiple convictions | JDF 641 – Depends on the court (usually $65) |
| Underage DUI convictions (UDD) with a BAL of .02 to .05. | JDF 305 – Free |
| Juvenile records | JDF 302 – Free |
How is sealing different from expunging?
Expunging records is physically destroying the record as if they never existed. Sealing is simply making the record invisible to most databases, but it still exists.
Ultimately, sealing and expunging accomplish the same purpose: A clean background check.
Colorado law permits eligible people to seal – but not expunge – their criminal records. The only records that can be expunged are juvenile records and underage drinking and driving.1
When can I seal my record?
The waiting period to seal Colorado criminal records depends on the case:
| Colorado Conviction | Record Seal/Expungement Waiting Period |
| Right away |
| 1 year after the case ends | |
| 2 years after the last case ends |
| 3 years after the case ends |
| 5 years after the last case ends |
| 10 years after the last case ends |
| Immediately |
| Right away after age 21 |
| Up to 5 years depending on the case (dismissals and acquittals can be expunged right away) |
Meanwhile, the following convictions can never be sealed and must remain on your record forever:
- Sex crimes
- DUIs
- Class 1 felonies, class 2 felonies, and class 3 felonies
- Level 1 drug felonies
- Domestic violence convictions (including domestic violence harassment)
- Class 1 misdemeanor traffic offenses and class 2 misdemeanor traffic offenses
- Class A traffic infractions and class B traffic infractions
- Crimes involving a commercial driver’s license
Courts can grant a petitioner’s request to seal a normally unsealable misdemeanor conviction in extenuating cases.2
Expunging and sealing both result in clean background checks.
When is my record sealed automatically?
If you do not seal your records yourself, the state will automatically seal them for free. The more serious the case, the longer the waiting period:
- Arrests with no charges: 1 year and 60 days after the arrest
- Non-convictions: Immediately upon the dismissal or acquittal
- Civil infractions: 4 years after the case closes.
- Petty offense convictions: 7 years after the case closes.
- Misdemeanor convictions: 7 years after the case closes.
- Felony convictions: 10 years after the case closes.3
Why should I hire an attorney to seal my record?
It is very easy to make mistakes on the record-sealing petition that will set back the entire process to square one. Plus, state agencies are much more likely to comply quickly with an “order to seal” if they see it is mailed from an attorney.
Hiring an experienced Colorado criminal defense attorney maximizes the odds of getting your record sealed on the first try and as soon as possible.
Legal References
- CRS 24-72-701–708. CRS 19-1-306. CRS 42-4-1715; CRS 42-2-121. C.B. v. People, (Colo. App. 2005) 122 P.3d 1065. People v. Wright, (1979) 43 Colo. App. 30, 598 P.2d 157. Also see our article, Colorado Criminal Records – 5 key things to know.
- See note 1.
- Senate Bill 22-099. See note 1.
