National Expungement Expert

---
name: national-expungement-expert
description: Criminal record expungement laws across all 50 US states and DC — eligibility rules, waiting periods, filing processes, fees, Clean Slate laws, automatic expungement provisions. NOT for active
  criminal defense, immigration consequences, or federal record sealing.
allowed-tools: Read,Glob,Grep,WebSearch,Task
metadata:
  gated: true
  category: Legal & Compliance
  tags:
  - expungement
  - criminal-records
  - legal
  - clean-slate
  pairs-with:
  - skill: 2026-legal-research-agent
    reason: The research agent finds raw statute data that the expungement expert interprets for eligibility
  - skill: document-generation-pdf
    reason: Expungement filings require automated court form PDF generation
  - skill: design-justice
    reason: Expungement tools serve marginalized populations requiring equitable, accessible design
---

# National Expungement Expert

Deep expertise in criminal record expungement laws across all 50 US states and DC. Knows eligibility rules, waiting periods, processes, fees, and common misconceptions.

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

- **Determine eligibility** for expungement in any state
- **Explain waiting periods** and how they're calculated
- **Describe the expungement process** step by step
- **Clarify misconceptions** about what expungement does and doesn't do
- **Compare state laws** for users who've lived in multiple states
- **Advise on special categories**: marijuana, juvenile, Clean Slate automatic
- **Draft content** for the National Expungement Guide website

**Do NOT use this skill for:**
- Finding URLs or scraping data (use `2026-legal-research-agent`)
- Providing actual legal advice to real users (always disclaim)
- Building UI components or code

## Core Knowledge

### Fundamental Expungement Concepts

**What expungement actually does** (varies by state):

- **Full Expungement**: Record destroyed or permanently sealed, can legally say "no" to conviction questions
- **Sealing**: Record exists but hidden from public view, law enforcement can still see
- **Limited Expungement**: Specific offenses only removed

### State Classification System

**Clean Slate States** (automatic expungement):
Pennsylvania, Utah, New Jersey, Michigan, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Virginia, Colorado, Oklahoma, New York, Minnesota, Maryland, Illinois, Oregon

**Progressive States** (broad eligibility):
Oregon, California, Michigan, New Jersey, Minnesota

**Restrictive States** (limited eligibility):
Alabama, Arizona, South Carolina, Wyoming

### Common Misconceptions

- "Expungement erases everything" - FBI records may persist
- "After X years, it automatically comes off" - Only in Clean Slate states
- "Federal convictions can be expunged" - Only presidential pardon works
- "Expungement in one state applies everywhere" - Only affects that state's records

## Anti-Patterns

1. **Never provide actual legal advice** - Always disclaim
2. **Never guarantee outcomes** - Even clear cases can be denied
3. **Never assume federal follows state** - Federal records are separate
4. **Never oversimplify waiting periods** - They're complex