In most states you can expunge more than one record, but the exact number depends on where you were convicted and what the offenses were. Some states cap you at a single expungement for life. Others let you clear one felony plus a handful of misdemeanors. A few set no numerical limit and evaluate each offense on its own. So the honest answer to how many times you can expunge your record is: as many times as your state’s statute allows for the specific offenses on your sheet, once each one clears its waiting period.
The Three Ways States Cap the Count
No federal law governs state expungements. Each state writes its own rules, and they fall into roughly three camps.
The strictest states impose a lifetime cap of one. Once you successfully expunge a single conviction, you cannot petition again, no matter how many other eligible offenses remain on your record. If three old misdemeanors technically qualify, you pick one.
The more common model sets different caps for different offense levels. A typical version allows one felony expungement and two or three misdemeanor expungements. You could clear a past felony and later clear a couple of misdemeanors, but you hit the ceiling after that.
The most permissive states set no hard numerical limit. Each offense is judged on its own merits, and if it qualifies, you can petition regardless of how many others you have already cleared. Practical limits still exist because each petition costs money and takes time, but the statute itself does not count.
Arrests and Dismissals Are Counted Separately
The caps states impose almost always apply to convictions. Arrests that never led to charges, dismissed cases, and acquittals typically fall under separate, more generous rules. Many states let you clear non-conviction records without counting them against your conviction limit, and some do not cap them at all.
That distinction can change your whole plan. If you were arrested twice without being convicted and later convicted of a misdemeanor, you may be able to clear all three even in a state with a strict one-conviction cap. The arrests and the conviction sit on different ledgers.
Offense Type Often Matters More Than the Count
Even in states with generous numerical limits, certain offenses are permanently off the table. Violent felonies, sex offenses, and crimes against children are almost universally barred from expungement. A handful of states also exclude DUI convictions, domestic violence offenses, or crimes involving public corruption.
The practical effect is that offense type can matter more than how many expungements you have used. Someone with five old shoplifting convictions in a permissive state may be able to clear every one. Someone with a single sexual assault conviction in the same state likely cannot clear it at all.
Non-violent misdemeanors and lower-level felonies like drug possession, petty theft, and trespassing are the offenses most commonly eligible. If your record mixes eligible and ineligible offenses, you can typically clear the qualifying ones while the rest stay put.
Waiting Periods and How New Charges Reset the Clock
Nearly every state requires a waiting period before you can file. The clock usually starts when you finish your entire sentence, including probation, parole, and any court-ordered programs. Waits commonly run from one to ten years depending on the offense level, with felonies requiring longer than misdemeanors.
A new conviction during the waiting period typically resets the clock for everything. If you finished a misdemeanor sentence in 2020 and your state requires a five-year wait, you would normally be eligible in 2025. Pick up a new conviction in 2023, and the waiting period restarts from the completion date of the newer sentence. The original offense gets pushed back too.
Pending charges can also freeze the process. Most states require that you have no open cases when you file. An unresolved arrest can block an otherwise eligible expungement until the new case closes.
Clean Slate Laws Sidestep the Counting Question
A growing number of states have passed Clean Slate laws, which automatically seal or expunge qualifying records once the waiting period expires. As of early 2026, roughly a dozen states and the District of Columbia have enacted some version, with more considering similar bills.
Under these laws, people with eligible records do not file a petition, hire a lawyer, or appear in court. The state’s own systems identify qualifying records and clear them. Automatic clearing typically covers non-violent offenses where the person has stayed crime-free for the required period.
For the records they cover, Clean Slate laws effectively remove the “how many times” ceiling. Each qualifying record gets processed on its own without counting against a numerical limit you need to track. Traditional petition-based caps still apply to offenses that do not qualify for automatic processing, and serious offenses remain excluded either way.
Federal Records Are a Separate Story
Federal expungement is almost nonexistent. The federal court system has no general expungement statute. You cannot petition a federal court to clear a federal conviction for fraud, weapons charges, immigration offenses, or the vast majority of other federal crimes.
The one narrow exception involves simple drug possession. Under federal law, a person charged with possessing a controlled substance who has no prior drug convictions may be placed on probation for up to one year without a formal conviction being entered. If they complete probation successfully and were under twenty-one at the time of the offense, they can apply to have the record expunged. The requirements are strict: no prior drug convictions at all, state or federal; under twenty-one at the time; and the case must have run through this special probation process. By design it is a one-time opportunity, since the statute bars anyone who has previously received this disposition from qualifying again.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3607 – Special Probation and Expungement Procedures for Drug Possessors
If you have both state and federal records, a state expungement only clears the state record. The federal record needs its own resolution, and for most offenses that resolution simply does not exist.
Expungement, Sealing, and Set-Aside May Be Counted Differently
These terms get used interchangeably in casual conversation, but they mean different things in most states. Expungement generally means the record is destroyed or treated as if it never existed. Sealing means the record still exists but is hidden from public view. A sealed record can sometimes be accessed by law enforcement or by court order; an expunged record, in theory, cannot.
The distinction matters for the count. Some states track them separately. You might be limited to one expungement but allowed multiple sealings, or the reverse. When you check your own eligibility, pay close attention to whether your state’s statute uses “expunge,” “seal,” “set aside,” or “vacate.” Each term may carry different limits and different eligibility rules.
Multiple Records Mean Multiple Filings
If your state lets you clear several records, each one is typically a separate petition with its own filing fee. Filing fees range from nothing to around $500 per petition depending on the state and offense type. Some states waive fees for financial hardship, and Clean Slate processes eliminate the fee entirely for records that qualify automatically.
When you have four eligible misdemeanors in a state that permits multiple expungements, you are looking at four filings and four fees. Attorney help, if you use it, also scales per case. A rejected petition can sometimes count against your allotted number of attempts in states that cap tries, so filing something that does not actually qualify can cost you more than the fee itself.
Confirming Your State’s Limit
Start with your state court system’s website. Most have a self-help section that names the eligible offenses, spells out the numerical limits, and provides the petition forms. Search for “expungement,” “record sealing,” or “record clearing” with your state name.
Your state’s legal aid organization is another reliable source, particularly if cost is a concern. These groups keep current guides on eligibility and can usually tell you quickly whether your specific offenses qualify and how many petitions your state allows. Many offer free consultations on expungement questions, and some communities run clinics where volunteer attorneys help with filings at no charge.