Delay Plagues Record Sealing Law
In May 2025, state officials blamed IT issues for delayed implementation of a record sealing provision which lawmakers approved in 2021.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) said a $20 million rebuild of Virginia’s criminal record-keeping computer infrastructure is preventing the law from taking effect immediately.
Nevertheless, Surovell wholeheartedly endorsed the law. “By allowing people to seal these convictions, it will open up all kinds of job opportunities to people that they haven’t been able to take advantage of before and help them support their families and have much more meaningful careers and livelihoods,” he said
Others, such as Rob Poggenklass, the executive director of Justice Forward Virginia, criticize the new law. Hundreds of offenses are no longer eligible under the 2025 version, including assault on law enforcement, he lamented.
“We’re gonna have to come back to this, because there are lots of people who would have been eligible under the 2021 law, and are not going to be eligible under the 2025 amendments to it,” he added.
Minimum Sealing Qualifications
The effects of a criminal record are often debilitating. Furthermore, these debilitating effects linger long after defendants serve their sentences. Once a criminal record goes onto your permanent record, it never drops off, at least in most cases.
Lawmakers have used various ineffective ploys to reduce these consequences. So-called “ban the box” laws are a good example. These laws prohibit questions about criminal backgrounds during screening interviews. But such questions are fair game in subsequent interviews. Furthermore, research indicates that many employers profiled individuals whom they believe might have criminal records.
So, there’s no substitute for good old-fashioned record sealing. Sealing a record is like redacting that portion of a permanent record. The information is still there, but only a select few government agencies can lift the redacting tape.
Most people meet the minimum qualifications for record sealing under Virginia’s new law. These requirements include:
- Charge date (not arrest date or trial date) after January 1, 1986,
- No felony conviction above Class 3,
- No Class 3 or 4 felony convictions in the previous twenty years,
- No felony convictions in the previous ten years,
- Waiting period (seven years for misdemeanors and ten years for felonies) has expired,
- Court-ordered drug rehab successfully concluded, and
- All restitution paid.
Although some offenses are ineligible for sealing, about 90 percent of all misdemeanors and nearly two-thirds of all Class 5 and Class 6 felonies, plus all larceny felonies, are eligible for sealing under the new law.
Obtaining Relief
These qualifications are only the minimum qualifications. Basically, these qualifications get your foot in the door. A Leesburg criminal defense lawyer must open the door by proving that sealing is in the best interests of the defendant and in the best interests of society.
For many people, record sealing is a means of obtaining closure and putting the incident behind them. That reason probably doesn’t satisfy the best interests requirement. Instead, a Leesburg criminal defense lawyer must normally show actual harm.
Housing denials due to a criminal record are probably the best way to show actual harm. Fair housing laws usually require lenders or owners to state the reason for denial. Employment denials are better evidence, but this evidence is difficult to obtain. Most employers don’t give a reason for employment denial.
Additionally, the sealing must be in the best interests of society. There’s a difference between indifference and best interests. Most people probably won’t care about a sealing order, but the law requires a benefit.
Record-related depression is a good example. If Mike is depressed about his criminal record and takes medicine, it’s in society’s best interest for him to stop taking that medication.
Contact a Dedicated Loudoun County Lawyer
There’s a big difference between an arrest and a conviction in criminal law. For a confidential consultation with an experienced criminal defense attorney in Leesburg, contact Simms Showers, LLP, Attorneys at Law. Convenient payment plans are available.
Source:
wtop.com/virginia/2025/05/virginia-allows-criminal-records-to-be-sealed-for-first-time-in-commonwealths-history/
