A misdemeanor conviction stays on your record permanently in most places unless you take active steps to have it sealed or expunged. There is no federal expiration date that erases the conviction after a set number of years. So the honest answer to how long a misdemeanor stays on your record is: indefinitely, until you or an automatic sealing law does something about it. What does have time limits is how long the conviction shows up on background checks, how long certain consequences follow you, and when you become eligible to petition a court for relief.
How Long a Misdemeanor Shows Up on Background Checks
Your criminal record and what a background check company can report about it are two different things. The record itself, kept by courts and law enforcement, does not expire. Reporting rules, on the other hand, come from consumer protection law.
Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, consumer reporting agencies can report criminal convictions indefinitely. The seven-year cap that applies to most negative information, like civil judgments and collections, specifically excludes conviction records.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports A misdemeanor conviction from 20 years ago can legally surface on a background report under federal law.
Several states are stricter. Some limit reporting of misdemeanor convictions to seven years, and some restrict what employers can ask about or consider at all. The same misdemeanor might appear on a background check in one state but not another, depending on where the check is run and which state’s consumer protection laws apply.
Many states and cities have also adopted “ban the box” policies that prevent employers from asking about criminal history on the initial application. These laws delay the question until later in hiring, after you have been evaluated on qualifications. Ban-the-box rules do not erase the record or prevent its eventual disclosure. They change the timing.
Automatic Sealing Under Clean Slate Laws
The biggest recent change in how long a misdemeanor stays visible is the spread of Clean Slate legislation. These laws automatically seal eligible conviction records once you finish your sentence and stay crime-free for a specified period. More than a dozen states and Washington, D.C. have passed some form of Clean Slate law, with additional states considering similar legislation and a stated goal of reaching all 50 states by 2029.
Rules vary, but most Clean Slate laws require a conviction-free period of roughly three years for misdemeanors before automatic sealing takes effect. The clock generally starts on your sentencing date or your release from incarceration, whichever is later, and you also have to complete any probation or community supervision. Offenses involving violence or sexual conduct are usually excluded from automatic sealing even in states that have these laws.
“Automatic” comes with a caveat. Implementation can be slow. Courts and state agencies need time to build the systems that identify and seal eligible records, and in states that have recently passed Clean Slate laws, eligible records may not actually be sealed for a year or more after the law takes effect. If you think you qualify but your record still appears, checking with your state court system or a legal aid organization is worth the effort.
Petitioning to Seal or Expunge a Misdemeanor
If your state has no automatic sealing law, or your conviction is not eligible for one, you can often petition a court to seal or expunge the misdemeanor yourself. Sealing hides the record from most public searches. Expungement, in states that offer it, goes further and can result in destruction of the record, though even expunged records sometimes remain accessible to law enforcement and certain government agencies.
Eligibility and Waiting Periods
Every state sets its own rules, but common requirements include completing your full sentence (probation and fines included), having no pending criminal charges, and waiting a specified period after your sentence ends. Waiting periods for misdemeanor expungement range from none at all to several years. You typically must stay conviction-free during that time.
Not every misdemeanor qualifies. Offenses involving domestic violence, sexual conduct, or crimes against children are frequently excluded. Some states let you expunge lower-level misdemeanors but only seal more serious ones. Repeat offenders generally face stricter eligibility or longer waiting periods.
Filing, Fees, and What Changes Afterward
You start by filing a petition in the court where you were convicted. The petition needs details about the offense, evidence that you completed your sentence, and an explanation of why relief is warranted. Some courts schedule a hearing where a judge weighs the nature of the offense, how much time has passed, and your conduct since. Others handle straightforward petitions without a hearing.
Court filing fees typically run from nothing to around $600, depending on the jurisdiction and the offense. Some states waive fees for people who cannot afford them, and many legal aid organizations offer free or low-cost help with record-clearing petitions.
Once a record is sealed or expunged, it will not appear on most standard background checks. You can generally answer “no” when asked on job or housing applications whether you have been convicted of a crime, though the exact disclosure rules vary by state. Law enforcement, some government employers, and professional licensing boards in fields like healthcare and law can often still see sealed or expunged convictions. Expungement narrows who can find the record. It does not always erase the conviction entirely.
Consequences That Outlast the Record
Even after time passes or a record is cleared, specific consequences can continue on their own timelines.
Employment and Professional Licensing
Employers in finance, healthcare, education, and government routinely run background checks, and a misdemeanor can raise concerns even when it has no connection to the work. The EEOC has issued guidance discouraging blanket policies that automatically disqualify anyone with a criminal record, calling instead for an individualized assessment that weighs the offense, how much time has passed, and how it relates to the specific job.2U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII Employers still have discretion, and enforcement varies.
Professional licensing boards tend to be more demanding. Many require disclosure of all convictions, including misdemeanors that have been expunged or set aside, and treat omission as falsifying an application. The board then evaluates whether the conviction is substantially related to the duties of the profession.
Military enlistment is another place where misdemeanors linger. Even an expunged misdemeanor must be disclosed when applying to enlist, and a “moral waiver” is typically required before processing can continue.3GovInfo. 32 CFR 571.3 – Waivable Enlistment Criteria Including Civil Offenses
Firearms and Domestic Violence Misdemeanors
Most misdemeanors do not affect your right to own a firearm. The major exception is a misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence. Under federal law, anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is prohibited from possessing or purchasing firearms or ammunition. This is a lifetime ban, not a temporary restriction, and it applies regardless of how minor the underlying incident seems.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
The federal prohibition covers convictions in any court, including state, tribal, and military courts. It applies whether or not the statute you were convicted under specifically mentions “domestic violence,” as long as the offense involved the use of physical force against a spouse, former spouse, coparent, or someone you lived with in an intimate relationship.
Immigration and International Travel
For noncitizens, a misdemeanor can carry consequences far more severe than anything a U.S.-born citizen faces. Immigration law uses the concept of “crimes involving moral turpitude,” which has no precise statutory definition but generally covers fraud, dishonesty, or intentional harm. A single misdemeanor conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude can make a noncitizen deportable or block them from obtaining lawful permanent residency or citizenship.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12, Part F, Chapter 5 – Conditional Bars for Acts in Statutory Period
A narrow “petty offense” exception exists: if the offense is the only crime involving moral turpitude you have ever committed, the sentence imposed was six months or less, and the maximum possible sentence did not exceed one year, it may not trigger immigration consequences. The exception evaporates the moment there is a second qualifying offense.
For naturalization, applicants must show “good moral character” during the five years before filing. A misdemeanor conviction during that window can block your application, and immigration authorities can also consider older convictions even if they fall outside the five-year period.
International travel is affected too. Canada treats even minor criminal convictions as grounds for inadmissibility. A U.S. misdemeanor that would equate to a criminal offense in Canada can get you turned away at the border. To overcome this, you may need to show enough time has passed since your sentence ended to qualify as “deemed rehabilitated,” or apply for individual rehabilitation, which requires at least five years since you completed your sentence and can take over a year to process.6Government of Canada. Overcome Criminal Convictions
Housing Applications
Landlords commonly run background checks on prospective tenants. A growing number of cities and states have adopted fair chance housing laws that limit when and how a landlord can consider criminal history. These laws typically require landlords to evaluate general eligibility first and make a conditional offer before reviewing any conviction records. If a landlord wants to deny housing based on a conviction, they generally must explain how the specific offense relates to a legitimate concern about safety or property, rather than apply a blanket “no criminal history” policy.
Some fair chance housing ordinances also cap how far back a landlord can look, restricting review to convictions within the past three years. Others prohibit consideration of sealed, expunged, or vacated convictions entirely.
Juvenile Misdemeanors Follow Different Rules
If you were convicted as a juvenile, the retention rules are usually more forgiving. Most states allow juvenile records to be sealed or expunged more easily than adult records, and many automatically seal them once the person reaches a certain age, often 18 or 21. In most states, sealed juvenile records will not appear on standard employment or housing background checks.