Can You Get a Felony Removed from Your Record in Ohio?

Yes — and more felonies qualify now than at any point in Ohio history. Senate Bill 288, which took effect in April 2023, was the biggest overhaul of Ohio’s expungement laws in decades. It threw out the old “eligible offender” framework that limited most people to sealing one felony and replaced it with an offense-specific system that focuses on what you were convicted of, not how many total convictions you have.

Under the current version of ORC § 2953.32, there is no limit on the number of fourth- and fifth-degree felony convictions that can be sealed — as long as they’re non-violent and not sex offenses. That’s a massive change from the old law, where people with multiple convictions were often shut out entirely.

But the law still has hard limits. First- and second-degree felonies cannot be sealed. Violent offenses and sex offenses with registration requirements are excluded. And the waiting periods, while shorter than they used to be, still apply. Whether you qualify comes down to exactly what you were convicted of, what degree the felony was, and how long ago you completed your sentence.

If you’ve been living with a felony on your record that’s costing you jobs, housing, or professional licensing — it’s worth finding out whether the law has caught up to where you are. Because for a lot of people, it has.

What Changed Under SB 288

Before April 2023, Ohio’s record sealing system was built around the concept of an “eligible offender.” You had to fit into a narrow box: no more than one felony, or one felony plus one misdemeanor, or two misdemeanors. If you had two felonies and a misdemeanor — even if all three were minor, non-violent offenses from years ago — you were ineligible. The system punished people for having complicated histories rather than evaluating each conviction on its own merits.

SB 288 changed the approach fundamentally. The new system asks two questions: Is the offense itself eligible for sealing? And has the person waited the required amount of time?

Here’s what the current law looks like:

Fourth- and fifth-degree felonies (non-violent, non-sexual): Eligible for sealing one year after final discharge. No limit on the number of convictions. This is the biggest change — people with multiple low-level felony convictions who were completely locked out before can now pursue sealing for all of them.

Third-degree felonies: Eligible for sealing three years after final discharge, but with a cap. You can seal up to two F3 convictions, and you can’t have more total felony convictions than those two F3s plus two misdemeanors. The old “eligible offender” concept still partially applies here.

“Final discharge” means what it sounds like — the date you completed everything. Not your conviction date. Not your release date. The date you finished your sentence, completed probation or parole, and paid all fines and restitution (court costs don’t count). The clock starts from there.

Sealing vs. expungement: SB 288 created a distinction Ohio didn’t have before. Sealing hides the record from public view. Expungement — actual destruction of the record — becomes available ten years after a felony is sealed. For misdemeanors, expungement is available one year after sealing. This two-step process is new, and it matters because expungement is permanent in a way that sealing isn’t.

What Still Cannot Be Sealed

The exclusions under ORC § 2953.32(A)(1) are firm. No amount of rehabilitation, time, or good behavior changes these:

• First- and second-degree felonies. This includes offenses like murder and voluntary manslaughter, rape, aggravated robbery, and other high-level offenses. They can never be sealed.
• Three or more third-degree felonies. If you have three F3 convictions, none of them are eligible regardless of the offense type.
• Felony offenses of violence as defined in ORC § 2901.01(A)(9). This includes felonious assault, felony domestic violence, kidnapping, aggravated burglary, and others — when they’re charged as first- or second-degree felonies or first-degree misdemeanors with a minor victim.
• Sex offenses requiring registration under Ohio’s Adam Walsh Act. Any conviction that keeps you on the sex offender registry under ORC § 2950 is excluded for as long as the registration requirement is active. After registration expires (for Tier 1 after 15 years), some convictions may become eligible — but this is one of the most complex areas of the law and requires careful analysis.
• Certain offenses with mandatory prison terms. If the judge was required by statute to impose a prison term for your offense, sealing is excluded.

There are subtleties in these exclusions that trip people up. An offense that sounds like it should be excluded might actually be eligible depending on the specific subsection and degree. And an offense that sounds eligible might have a hidden exclusion. Running your own eligibility analysis based on a list you found online is risky — the interplay between the offense categories and the exclusion list requires someone who actually works with these statutes.

How the Process Actually Works

The process is more involved than most people expect. Here’s what it looks like from start to finish:

1. Get your record. You need a certified copy of your criminal history from BCI (Bureau of Criminal Investigation). This is what you’ll file with your application, and it’s what the court uses to verify your eligibility. You can request it through the Ohio Attorney General’s WebCheck system. It costs around $25-35 and takes a few weeks.
2. Confirm eligibility. This is where most self-filed petitions go wrong. You need to identify the exact statute, degree, and subsection of every conviction, calculate your waiting period from the date of final discharge (not the conviction date), check every conviction against the exclusion list in § 2953.32(A)(1) and § 2953.36, and determine how many of each type you have. If you have multiple convictions, the order in which you pursue sealing can matter.
3. File the application. You file with the court that handled your original case. If convicted in another state or federal court, you file in a court of common pleas. There’s a filing fee — typically $50, though courts can waive it if you qualify under their indigency standards.
4. Prosecutor review. The court notifies the prosecutor, who has 60 days to review and decide whether to object. If there’s a victim on file who requested notification, the victim is notified too. If no one objects, the process moves faster. If the prosecutor objects, you’ll get a hearing.
5. The hearing. The judge considers factors under ORC § 2953.32(D): your rehabilitation, the interests of justice, the victim’s input if any, and whether legitimate government interests require keeping the records. This is a discretionary decision — even if you’re technically eligible, the judge can deny it. How you present your case matters. Evidence of steady employment, community involvement, completed treatment, and years without new offenses all strengthen the petition.
6. The order. If granted, the court orders all agencies to seal the records — courts, law enforcement, BCI, and others. The records are moved to a restricted location that’s inaccessible through normal searches.
7. Timeline: Start to finish, the process typically takes 2-4 months for uncontested cases. Contested cases — where the prosecutor objects — can take longer, sometimes 6 months or more.

What “Sealed” Actually Means in Your Daily Life

When your record is sealed, it’s removed from public databases. It won’t appear on most background checks. For employment applications, rental applications, and most professional licensing inquiries, you can legally answer “no” when asked about criminal convictions.

That’s a life-changing difference for someone who’s been carrying a felony for years and watching it block every opportunity they pursue.

But sealed doesn’t mean invisible to everyone. There are exceptions:

• Law enforcement can still see sealed records during investigations. If you’re arrested again, your sealed history is available to prosecutors and the court.
• Federal agencies — including USCIS, the FBI, and federal licensing bodies — are not bound by Ohio’s sealing orders. A sealed Ohio conviction is still visible at the federal level. If immigration status is a concern, this is a critical limitation.
• Some licensing boards retain limited access in specific circumstances, though SB 288 narrowed these exceptions significantly.
• The record still exists — it’s just hidden. True destruction (expungement) becomes available ten years after sealing for felonies. At that point, the record is supposed to be permanently irretrievable.

For the vast majority of everyday situations — applying for a job, signing a lease, pursuing a professional license, answering the question on a college application — a sealed record means the felony no longer holds you back.

Why Felony Expungement Is Worth Doing Now

Ohio’s expungement law is more favorable right now than it’s ever been. SB 288 opened the door for hundreds of thousands of people who were locked out under the old system. But laws change. The political winds shift. What’s available today may not be available five years from now.

If you’re eligible, there’s no strategic reason to wait. Every month your record stays unsealed is another month it shows up on background checks, another month a potential employer sees it, another month it affects your housing application or your licensing renewal.

The truth is, Ohio’s expungement laws exist for a reason. The legislature recognized that people who’ve served their time and stayed out of trouble deserve the chance to move forward. But the system doesn’t hand you that chance — you have to go get it.

How The Botnick Law Firm Approaches Record Sealing

We understand that mistakes happen. We also know that the consequences of those mistakes can follow people far longer than anyone intended. If you’ve served your time, completed your sentence, and stayed clean, the law says you may be entitled to move on.

Bobby Botnick spent seven years as a Cuyahoga County prosecutor. He knows the criminal justice system from the inside — how records are maintained, what prosecutors look for when they review sealing applications, and what judges weigh when deciding whether to grant the petition.

We handle the eligibility analysis, the BCI records, the application filing, and the hearing if one is needed. If the prosecutor objects, we come prepared with evidence of your rehabilitation and a presentation that addresses every factor the court is required to consider.

If you’re ready to find out whether your record qualifies, reach out for a free consultation.

References

1. Ohio Revised Code § 2953.32 — Sealing of Record of Conviction, as amended by SB 288 (eff. April 4, 2023).
2. Ohio Revised Code § 2953.36 — Offenses Excluded from Sealing.
3. Ohio Revised Code § 2953.31 — Definitions (Eligible Offender, Expungement).
4. Ohio Revised Code § 2901.01(A)(9) — Definition of Offense of Violence.
5. Ohio Senate Bill 288 (134th General Assembly).
6. Ohio Supreme Court — Adult Rights Restoration & Record Sealing (bench card).
7. Court News Ohio — New Laws Unlock Possibilities for Fresh Start (SB 288 overview).
8. Ohio Attorney General — BCI Background Checks.