North Dakota courts close eligible records after cases end without conviction

Courts close the court record 61 days after entering an order of nonconviction. An order of nonconviction means all charges in the case were dismissed or the defendant was found not guilty. The section does not apply if a dismissal followed a plea deal that included a conviction on another offense, the case involved a finding that the person was not fit to proceed, a not-guilty verdict was based on lack of criminal responsibility, or the case was appealed. The 61-day period applies to orders entered on or after August 1, 2025.

A defendant may petition the court to close the court record; if the defendant meets the section’s requirements, the court must close it within 10 days. This petition route covers a case disposed of before August 1, 2025, with an order of nonconviction. The exclusions for certain plea deals, fitness rulings, lack of criminal responsibility, and appealed cases apply. The court may not charge a filing fee for a petition under this section. The 10-day deadline starts when the petition is filed.

An individual may petition to seal a criminal record after meeting one of the listed conditions. The conditions are a misdemeanor conviction with at least three years without a new conviction before filing, a felony conviction with at least five years without a new conviction before filing, or an unconditional pardon from the governor. The chapter generally excludes certain violent or intimidating felonies while the person is ineligible to possess a firearm, and offenses requiring registration; the nonconviction-record section is an exception. The three-year and five-year periods are measured before the petition is filed.