Removing a mugshot from the internet almost always takes work on three fronts: the official arrest record behind the photo, the commercial websites that scraped and republished it, and the search engines that keep surfacing it. The booking photo does not disappear on its own after an arrest, and it does not disappear just because charges were dropped or you were acquitted. You have to move it.
The order matters. A court order clearing or sealing your record is what gives every later request its weight, so that is where to start.
Clear the Underlying Arrest Record
Booking photos become part of the arrest record, and in most states arrest records are public. Police departments, sheriff’s offices, and county jails routinely publish booking information within hours. Getting rid of the government-side copy means addressing the record itself through expungement or sealing.
Expungement
Expungement treats the arrest as though it never happened. Once a court grants the order, the record is destroyed or permanently sealed, and in most situations you can legally deny the arrest occurred. Eligibility turns on your jurisdiction, the offense, the outcome, and how much time has passed. Many states allow expungement of misdemeanor convictions after a waiting period of several years with no new charges. Felony expungement is harder to get but is expanding in a number of states, especially for nonviolent offenses.
Record Sealing
Sealing is a step below expungement. The record still exists, but it becomes invisible to the public, employers running background checks, and landlords. Law enforcement and certain government agencies can still see it. Sealing is often available for arrests that never led to a conviction, and eligibility tends to be less restrictive than for expungement. For most people, a sealed mugshot solves the visibility problem even though the record technically survives.
What It Costs and How Long It Takes
Either path usually involves filing a petition with the court that handled your case, submitting documentation, and often attending a hearing. Court filing fees generally run from nothing up to around $400 depending on jurisdiction and offense. Attorney fees add substantially, commonly from $400 to $4,000 depending on complexity. From filing to a final order, expect anywhere from a few weeks to several months; some jurisdictions have significant backlogs.
When the order arrives, get certified copies and keep them. You will need them for every removal request that comes next.
Check Whether Your State Clears Records Automatically
Twenty states have at least one automatic record-clearing provision on the books, sometimes called Clean Slate laws.1National Conference of State Legislatures. Automatic Clearing of Records These laws generally target nonviolent offenses and require a crime-free waiting period, typically a few years for misdemeanors and seven or more years for eligible felonies. Violent crimes and sex offenses are universally excluded.
“Automatic” does not always mean prompt. Several states with Clean Slate laws are still building the systems needed to process records at scale, and timelines have slipped. If you live in one of these states, confirm the program is actually operational before assuming your record has been cleared. You may need to petition manually in the meantime.
Get the Photo Off the Commercial Websites
Even after your official record is cleared, copies of the mugshot can live on commercial sites indefinitely. These sites scrape public booking data and host the images on their own servers, so an expungement order does not automatically reach them. You have to contact each site.
Most mugshot sites have a removal or opt-out process, usually buried in their terms of service. When you submit a request, attach a copy of your expungement order or court documentation showing the case was dismissed. Some sites respond within days. Others take weeks, and a few will ignore you. If a site demands a fee to take the photo down, check your state’s law first. More than 16 states have made it illegal for websites to charge removal fees, though enforcement is uneven and new sites keep appearing.
Reputation management companies will handle removal requests across multiple sites for you. Fees typically run from $250 to over $1,500. Before hiring anyone, ask which sites they will actually target, what their success rate is, and whether they guarantee results. Some services do nothing more than submit the same request you could file yourself.
Push the Image Out of Search Results
Getting a mugshot off a website is only half the job. Search engines cache old versions of pages, so the image can keep appearing in results for weeks after the source is gone. Google and Bing each provide tools, and the right one depends on whether the source page is still live.
Google offers a direct removal path for mugshots hosted on sites that charge for takedown. You must be the subject of the content, the site cannot be a business review platform, and the site must require payment for removal.2Google. Remove Content About You on Exploitative Sites That Try to Charge for Removal This policy was built for the mugshot-website model and is one of the more useful tools available.
If the source website has already removed the photo but it still appears in results, use Google’s outdated content tool. Submit the URL, and Google will verify the content is gone from the source and update its index.3Google. Refresh Outdated Content – Google Search Help
You can also request removal of personal information from Google Search results more broadly by submitting the specific URLs through a removal request form. Google reviews each request individually and may decline if it considers the content newsworthy.4Google. Remove My Private Info From Google Search
Bing
Bing’s approach is similar but narrower. If the mugshot is still live on the source website, Bing cannot remove it from results. Once the source page returns a 404 or 410 error, submit the URL through Bing’s Content Removal Tool to speed up de-indexing.5Bing Webmaster Tools. Content Removal – Bing Webmaster Tools For content you consider harmful or sensitive that is still live on a website, Microsoft provides a separate reporting form at microsoft.com/en-us/concern/bing.
If You Can’t Get Expungement
Some records will not qualify for expungement or sealing. A certificate of rehabilitation is worth considering in that situation. It does not hide the record. It formally declares you rehabilitated and is available in a number of states, sometimes with shorter waiting periods than expungement requires.6National Conference of State Legislatures. Certificates of Rehabilitation and Limited Relief In some states, it also functions as an automatic application for a governor’s pardon.
A certificate will not pull your mugshot off the internet. It can, however, change how employers and licensing agencies weigh your history, which is often the underlying reason people want the photo gone in the first place.
How Long the Whole Process Takes
From petition to a genuinely quiet search result, plan on six months to a year. Expungement can take several months on its own. Website removals add weeks. Search engine caches take more time to catch up even after the source is gone. The single most useful thing you can do is start the legal process now, because every step that follows depends on holding that court order.