Maryland law permits a person with a juvenile record to seek to have that record expunged under certain circumstances.
What is Expungement?
Expungement is the removal of a court or police record from public inspection. The record is either destroyed, moved to a separate secure area from which those without a legitimate reason for seeing the record are denied access, or, if the record can only be obtained through a different court or police record, expungement of that record or the part that gives access.
Who is Eligible?
You may be eligible to have your juvenile record expunged – removed from public inspection – if:
- A child in need of supervision (CINS) petition or a juvenile delinquency petition was filed concerning you, or
- You received a juvenile citation.
Not every person with a juvenile record will be eligible for expungement. There are specific grounds for expungement.
Filing Fees
There is NO FEE for filing a petition for expungement of a juvenile record (effective 5.17.18).
For More Information
You can learn about Juvenile Record Expungement at the People's Law Library:
- Learn about the law and process at the Juvenile Record Expungement FAQs.
- See whether you meet the grounds for juvenile record expungement at the Juvenile Record Expungement Grounds Checklist.
- Review the procedure for juvenile record expungement at the Juvenile Record Expungement Steps.