My Record Was Expunged or Sealed, but It's Still Online. Now What?

Why your record is still out there

When a judge grants expungement or sealing, the order goes to the court and usually to the state agencies that keep criminal history records. Those official records are updated, restricted, or destroyed, depending on your state's law.

What the order does not do is reach the many copies that were made before it existed. A mugshot site that copied your booking photo two years ago still has it. A background check company that bought a bulk court data file last year may still have the old entry. A news story is still in the outlet's archive. Each of these is a separate organization, and most will not know about your order unless you tell them.

That is why expungement is the beginning of the cleanup, not the end. The good news is that the order gives you something very persuasive to send.

Expungement vs sealing

The words mean different things in different states. In general, expungement means the record is destroyed or treated as if it never existed, while sealing means the record still exists but access is restricted. Some states use other terms, like set-aside, nondisclosure, or record restriction. What matters for online cleanup is the same: you have a court order saying the record should no longer be public, or should be treated differently.

The Collateral Consequences Resource Center's Restoration of Rights Project has state-by-state profiles explaining what relief is available and what it does. The Clean Slate Initiative tracks states that clear some records automatically. If your record was cleared automatically, you may need to ask the court for a document confirming it.

Step 1: Get your documents ready

Ask the court clerk for several certified copies of your order. Scan one into a clear PDF. You will be attaching it to many requests. Also keep your case number, arrest date, and arresting agency handy, since many forms ask for them.

If the court portal still shows your case after the order, contact the clerk. Sometimes updates take time. Sometimes they need a nudge.

Step 2: Background check companies

Background check companies are consumer reporting agencies under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The FCRA requires them to follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information they report. A 2024 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau advisory opinion said this includes procedures to prevent reporting information that has been expunged, sealed, or otherwise legally restricted from public access. The CFPB withdrew that opinion in May 2025 as part of a broad rollback of guidance, so it is no longer official CFPB policy. Reporting a sealed record as if it were public is still hard to square with the statute's accuracy duty.

Request your file from the screening companies that matter for the jobs or housing you are pursuing. The CFPB keeps a list of consumer reporting companies with contact details. If a sealed record appears, file a written dispute, attach your order, and ask the company to delete the record and send a corrected report to anyone who received the old one. Under the FCRA, the company generally must reinvestigate and correct or delete the information within 30 days.

Our guides to what background checks can report and disputing a background check error go into detail.

Step 3: Mugshot and arrest sites

Send each mugshot or arrest listing site a short removal request with your order attached. Many sites have a free removal process for sealed or expunged records, even if they charge in other situations.

Some states require it. Georgia, for example, requires commercial mugshot sites to remove photos at no charge within 30 days of a written request when access to the case has been restricted under its record restriction laws. Oregon requires sites that charge for removal to take a photo down within 7 days, with no fee, when you send proof that a conviction was set aside, vacated, or pardoned. Texas bars certain businesses from publishing criminal record information they know is covered by an order of expunction or nondisclosure. See our guide to mugshot removal laws by state for details and links.

If a site demands payment, do not pay. Report it to Google using the form for sites with exploitative removal practices. Our guide to getting a mugshot taken down walks through every step.

Step 4: People-search sites

People-search sites often display court records alongside addresses and relatives. Most have opt-out processes. You can usually opt out of the whole listing, which removes the record as well as your other details. Our guide to removing yourself from people-search sites covers how.

If a site will not remove the entire listing, ask specifically for removal of the sealed record and attach the order.

Step 5: News stories

News outlets are not bound by sealing orders in the same way, because they report on public events at the time they happen. But an expungement order is a strong reason for an editor to consider updating or anonymizing an old story. Send it with a short, polite request for the smallest change that helps. Our guide to old arrest news stories has a template and explains programs like the Boston Globe's Fresh Start.

Step 6: Google

Google does not remove pages just because a record was sealed. It reflects what is on the web. When a source page changes or comes down, though, you can speed up the update using Google's refresh outdated content tool. Paste the exact URL of the changed or removed page.

For pages on sites that demand payment for removal, use Google's exploitative removal practices form. For pages showing your home address or phone number with the record, Google's personal information policies may also help.

Keep a log

Use a simple spreadsheet with columns for the URL, site type, date of request, method, response, and date resolved. This keeps you from repeating work and gives you a record if you later need to show a site ignored a lawful request.

How long it takes

Background check disputes usually resolve within 30 days. Mugshot sites with a legal deadline can come down within days or weeks. Sites without one vary. Google refreshes typically take days to a few weeks. News outlets depend on their policies.

Recheck your name the same way each month for at least three months. Old copies sometimes surface from sites you did not find at first.

After the cleanup

Once the record is gone from the places that matter, give people something current to find. A personal site, an up-to-date LinkedIn profile, and a few consistent profiles help. Our guide to building a search presence that shows who you are now explains how. If you need to answer questions about your past, our guide to explaining an old arrest covers what to say, including when a sealed record lets you decline to discuss it.

Common questions

Sources

1. Restoration of Rights Project (Collateral Consequences Resource Center)
2. Clean Slate in States (The Clean Slate Initiative)
3. 15 U.S. Code section 1681e (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
4. Fair Credit Reporting; Background Screening (Federal Register)
5. Interpretive Rules, Policy Statements, and Advisory Opinions; Withdrawal (Federal Register)
6. Mugshot Websites (Georgia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division)
7. Texas Business and Commerce Code section 109.005 (Texas Public Law)
8. Refresh outdated content (Google Search Help)
9. Remove content about you on exploitative sites that try to charge for removal (Google Search Help)