VirginiaPolice and court records; expungement of records, delayed effective date.
What it does
Expungement of police and court records. Permits the expungement of police and court records relating to an initial charge when a person is arrested, charged, summonsed, or indicted for the commission of an infraction, a crime, or a civil offense and such person is not ultimately convicted, provided that no stipulation of facts sufficient to find guilt was entered or the court did not determine the facts sufficient to find guilt but deferred adjudication or disposition to a later date. The bill also permits that a petition may request expungement of the police and court records for multiple charges arising out of separate transactions or occurrences.
More detail
The bill also provides that if a person was the subject of a delinquency or traffic proceeding and was not ultimately adjudicated delinquent or convicted, provided that no stipulation of facts sufficient to find guilt was entered or the court did not determine facts sufficient to find guilt but deferred adjudication or disposition to a later date, such matter is eligible for expungement. Lastly, the bill (i) allows certain deferred dispositions to be eligible for expungement; (ii) requires the attorney for the Commonwealth, if he files an objection to the petition for expungement, to include the factual basis for such objection; (iii) provides that the unavailability of certain information shall not be a basis for refusing expungement; (iv) requires the court, if it finds potential manifest injustice to the petitioner, to order expungement; (v) provides that the existence of a prior conviction alone shall not be a sufficient basis to deny an expungement; (vi) allows any person whose petition for relief is the subject of an appeal to proceed under a pseudonym pursuant to relevant law; and (vii) allows specifically identified emergency or preliminary protective orders to be expunged. The bill has a delayed effective date of December 1, 2026.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed Senate
- Passed House
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Apr 13Governor's recommendation received by SenateLatest
- Mar 14Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026To Governor
- Mar 14Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026Minor
- Mar 13Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB230)
- Mar 12Signed by PresidentMajor
- Mar 12Signed by SpeakerMajor
- Mar 12Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB230ER)Major
- Mar 12EnrolledMinor
- Mar 6House substitute agreed to by Senate (26-Y 14-N 0-A)Major
- Vote recorded Concur House Substitute R. Result: pass.Upper
- Mar 4Fiscal Impact Review From JLARC (3/4/2026 8:17 pm)
- Vote recorded H VOTE:. Result: pass.Lower
- Mar 4Passed House with substitute (84-Y 15-N 0-A)Passed House
- Mar 4Engrossed by House - committee substituteMajor
- Mar 4committee substitute agreed toMajor
- Mar 4Read third timeMinor
- Mar 3Read second timeMinor
- Mar 2Committee substitute printed 26108869D-H1Major
- Vote recorded Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute. Result: pass.Lower
- Mar 2Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (20-Y 2-N)Minor
- Feb 27Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (9-Y 1-N)Major
- Vote recorded Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute. Result: pass.Lower
- Feb 27House subcommittee offered
- Feb 24Assigned HCJ sub: CriminalMinor
- Feb 24Referred to Committee for Courts of JusticeMinor
- Feb 24Read first timeMinor
- Feb 24Placed on Calendar
- Feb 17Read third time and passed Senate (27-Y 12-N 0-A)Passed Senate
- Vote recorded Passage R. Result: pass.Upper
- Feb 16Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Voice Vote)Major
- Feb 16Finance and Appropriations Substitute agreed to
- Feb 16Courts of Justice Substitute rejected
- Feb 16Read second timeMinor
- Feb 16Committee substitute printed 26107505D-S2Major
- Feb 13Passed by for the day
- Vote recorded Constitutional reading dispensed R. Result: pass.Upper
- Feb 13Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (35-Y 0-N 0-A)
- Feb 13Rules suspended
- Feb 12Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (15-Y 0-N)Minor
- Vote recorded Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute. Result: pass.Upper
- Feb 12Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB230)
- Feb 6Committee substitute printed 26106700D-S1Major
- Feb 4Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (11-Y 4-N)Minor
- Vote recorded Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute. Result: pass.Upper
- Feb 4Senate committee offered
- Jan 28Senate committee offered
- Jan 11Referred to Committee for Courts of JusticeMinor
- Jan 11Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104575DIntroduced