DUI Expungement - How to get it
An arrest, let alone a conviction, for DUI can have a negative impact on your life for years to come. This information will be available for any kind of background check, such as employment, commercial licensing, foreign travel, making your life more difficult. Probably the best thing to do in this case is to seek a DUI expungement. It is probably best to seek the advice and services of an attorney experienced in this area of law, as they will be able to represent you more knowledgeably than you will yourself.
In order to get a DUI expungement, you must first keep your record clean for a number of years, usually 5 at a minimum, depending on the state in which you live. If you have no further arrests, you will be able to petition to have your DUI arrest and/or conviction expunged. This does not mean that the record of your offense is erased; it just means that it will not be able to be viewed without a court order. Ordinary background checks will not turn up your drunk driving records, although these records will be available if you are arrested again for DUI, or any other offense. The expungement will only apply to the specific incident; it will not be a blanket expungement that will hide any other arrests or convictions.
To begin the process of DUI expungement, you or your attorney must first get a copy of your criminal records. This must be requested through the original arresting agency - police or sheriff's department. The date of your arrest should be given to them, as well as the name of the crime you were charged with. Your state's crime information center will receive the request from the original agency and will then send you a copy of your criminal record and the necessary forms for the expungement. You and your lawyer should go over the record carefully to make sure there are no errors in it.
Once the forms have been filled in, they should be returned to the law enforcement officials and your application will be reviewed by the state's attorney or district attorney. Your DUI expungement request will then go before a judge, and your case will be reviewed. If you have not had any further trouble with drunk driving, have gone through alcohol rehabilitation, and perhaps performed community service, you may well be granted an expungement. You should be aware that an expungement is only granted for a first drunk driving offense. You will have to pay fees for various steps of the process, as well as pay your lawyer.
If the DUI expungement is granted, you will be able to honestly put "No" into the box on an application asking if you have ever been convicted of a crime. An expungement is giving you a second chance to really put your life in order and put the past behind you. Even if you were not convicted of drunk driving after your arrest, you should probably seek to have even the arrest expunged from your record, future employers and others will often look as darkly on a drunk driving arrest as on a conviction.
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