For the most part, federal charges cannot be expunged once they result in a valid conviction. Federal law has no general expungement statute, and federal courts have repeatedly said they lack the authority to erase a conviction from your record simply because it’s causing hardship. The narrow exceptions cover first-time simple drug possession, certain arrest records that never led to a conviction, and inaccurate entries in FBI files. Everything else stays.
Why Federal Courts Won’t Erase a Conviction
Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. They can act only where Congress or the Constitution gives them authority, and Congress has never passed a broad federal expungement law. That absence is the whole story.
In Doe v. United States, the Second Circuit vacated a district court order that had expunged a healthcare fraud conviction for a woman who couldn’t find work as a home health aide because of her record. The appellate court held that once the criminal case ends, the district court has no continuing power to erase the record of a valid conviction.1Justia. Doe v. United States, No. 15-1967 (2d Cir. 2016) Most other federal appellate circuits have reached the same conclusion, ruling that district courts lack jurisdiction to grant “equitable expungement” no matter how sympathetic the applicant.2Supreme Court of the United States. Petition for Writ of Certiorari in Valueland Auto Sales, Inc. v. United States
A few circuits have left open the possibility of expungement in extreme or exceptional cases, but relief there is vanishingly rare. This is where the federal system parts ways with most state systems, which have moved toward broader record-clearing over the past decade.
The One Real Federal Expungement: First Offender Drug Possession
The closest thing to true expungement in federal law is 18 U.S.C. § 3607, and it applies only to first-time simple possession of a controlled substance. If you’re found guilty of possession and have no prior drug convictions, the court can place you on probation for up to one year without entering a judgment of conviction. Complete probation without violations, and the court dismisses the case. No conviction ever appears.3U.S. Government Publishing Office. 18 USC 3607 – Special Probation and Expungement Procedures for Drug Possessors
If you were under 21 at the time of the offense and received this pre-judgment probation disposition, the statute goes a step further. On application, the court must issue an expungement order directing the removal of all references to the arrest and the criminal proceedings from official records.3U.S. Government Publishing Office. 18 USC 3607 – Special Probation and Expungement Procedures for Drug Possessors
Two things to know about how this works in practice. You only get one shot: if you’ve already received this disposition, you can’t qualify again. And the Department of Justice keeps a nonpublic record of the disposition solely to check eligibility if you’re ever considered for it in the future. That internal record can’t be used against you for anything else, and the disposition is not treated as a conviction for any legal disqualification.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3607 – Special Probation and Expungement Procedures for Drug Possessors
The statute sets no deadline for applying for the expungement order, so someone who received this disposition years ago and never applied may still be able to seek it.
A Presidential Pardon Doesn’t Erase the Conviction
People often assume a pardon wipes the record. It doesn’t. The Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel has stated that a pardon “does not erase the conviction as a historical fact” and “does not by its own force expunge judicial or administrative records of the conviction or underlying offense.”5Department of Justice. Whether a Presidential Pardon Expunges Judicial Records The offense and the pardon both remain on your record. What a pardon does is formally forgive the offense and can restore civil rights lost as a result of the conviction.
Pardon applications go through the Office of the Pardon Attorney at the Department of Justice. Under DOJ regulations, you generally can’t apply until at least five years after release from confinement, or five years from the date of conviction if no prison term was imposed, and you shouldn’t apply while still on probation, parole, or supervised release.6U.S. Government Publishing Office. 28 CFR 1.2 – Eligibility for Filing Petition for Pardon A commutation is a separate form of clemency that shortens a sentence but does even less for your record; it carries no implication of forgiveness and doesn’t change your conviction status.7Department of Justice. Commutation Information and Instructions
If You Were Arrested but Not Convicted
Non-conviction records sit in a different category. If your case was dropped, dismissed, or ended in acquittal, there’s a stronger argument for clearing the record, but the federal system still doesn’t make it easy.
The FBI maintains arrest records tied to fingerprints in its Criminal Justice Information Services database. Federal arrest data is removed only when the agency that submitted it asks for removal, or when the FBI receives a federal court order specifically directing expungement.8FBI. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions You cannot get the FBI to delete an entry on your say-so.
What you can do is request your own FBI Identity History Summary and challenge anything inaccurate. The summary costs $18; challenging errors is free. You can send a challenge to the FBI directly or to the agency that submitted the information. The FBI forwards challenges to the submitting agency for verification and updates the record based on what that agency confirms. Typical turnaround is about 45 days.8FBI. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions
The formal correction procedure is set out in 28 CFR § 16.34. Challenges go either to the contributing agency or to the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The FBI won’t change a record on your word alone; the contributing agency has to verify or correct the entry.9eCFR. 28 CFR 16.34
Sealing Isn’t a General Alternative
Federal courts occasionally seal criminal records, which restricts public access without deleting the record. Law enforcement and certain agencies can still see sealed material through a court order. Sealing has been granted in narrow situations such as factual innocence, records that resulted from identity theft, and some non-conviction records. It is not a standard remedy for valid convictions, and most circuits treat requests to seal conviction records the same way they treat expungement requests: outside the court’s jurisdiction absent specific statutory authority.
A Note for Old Youth Corrections Act Sentences
The Federal Youth Corrections Act once allowed a set-aside of a conviction when a youth offender received an unconditional discharge before the maximum sentence expired, with the court issuing a certificate confirming it.10Library of Congress. Federal Youth Corrections Act, 18 USC 5021-5024 Congress repealed the entire act in 1984,11U.S. Government Publishing Office. 18 USC Chapter 402 – Repealed so this is not a path for anyone sentenced after that. If you were sentenced under the act and unconditionally discharged, the set-aside should still stand on your record, and courts have addressed disputes about whether it was properly applied even decades later.12Justia. United States of America v. John Doe
Living With a Federal Record
Because most people with federal convictions won’t qualify for any form of expungement, the practical question becomes how to manage the record. Federal law doesn’t bar employers from considering criminal history, but Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance says an employer shouldn’t refuse to hire based solely on an arrest that didn’t lead to conviction, and blanket policies rejecting anyone with any conviction can violate Title VII when they disproportionately affect a protected group. Employers are expected to weigh the nature of the offense, the time elapsed, and the nature of the job.13EEOC. Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions
Many states and localities have added “ban the box” or fair-chance hiring rules that delay when an employer can ask about criminal history. Coverage of federal convictions varies by how each law is written. On housing, the Fair Housing Act generally prohibits blanket criminal-record exclusions that create a disparate impact on protected classes, though federal law does allow housing providers to deny applicants with convictions for manufacturing or distributing controlled substances.
Pending Legislation
The Clean Slate Act of 2025 (H.R. 3114) was introduced in the 119th Congress and referred to the House Judiciary Committee in April 2025.14Congress.gov. H.R.3114 – 119th Congress (2025-2026): Clean Slate Act of 2025 The bill would create automatic sealing for certain non-violent federal records. It has not advanced past committee, and earlier versions in prior sessions did not pass. If enacted, it would be the first broad federal record-relief statute. Until then, the options above are the only ones available.