CHAPTER 87
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CHAPTER 87
( HB 369 )
AN ACT relating to expungement.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:
Section 1. KRS 431.073 is amended to read as follows:
(1) Any person who has been:
(a) Convicted of a Class D felony violation of KRS 17.175, 186.990, 194A.505, 194B.505, 217.181,
217.207, 217.208, 218A.140, 218A.1415, 218A.1416, 218A.1417, 218A.1418, 218A.1423, 218A.1439,
218A.282, 218A.284, 218A.286, 218A.320, 218A.322, 218A.324, 218A.500, 244.165, 286.11-057,
304.47-025, 324.990, 365.241, 434.155, 434.675, 434.850, 434.872, 511.040, 512.020, 514.030,
514.040, 514.050, 514.060, 514.065, 514.070, 514.080, 514.090, 514.100, 514.110, 514.120, 514.140,
514.150, 514.160, 516.030, 516.060, 516.090, 516.108, 517.120, 518.040, 522.040, 524.100, 525.113,
526.020, 526.030, 528.020, 528.040, 528.050, 530.010, or 530.050;
(b) Convicted of a series of Class D felony violations of one (1) or more statutes enumerated in paragraph
(a) of this subsection arising from a single incident;
(c) Granted a full pardon; or
(d) Convicted of a Class D felony, or an offense prior to January 1, 1975 which was punishable by not
more than five (5) years' incarceration, which was not a violation of KRS 189A.010, 508.032, or
519.055, abuse of public office, a sex offense, or an offense committed against a child, and did not
result in serious bodily injury or death; or of multiple[a series of] felony offenses eligible under this
paragraph;
may file with the court in which he or she was convicted an application to have the judgment vacated. The
application shall be filed as a motion in the original criminal case. The person shall be informed of the right at
the time of adjudication.
(2) (a) A verified application to have the judgment vacated under this section shall be filed no sooner than five
(5) years after the completion of the person's sentence, or five (5) years after the successful completion
of the person's probation or parole, whichever occurs later.
(b) Upon the payment of the filing fee and the filing of the application, the Circuit Court clerk shall serve a
notice of filing upon the office of the Commonwealth's attorney or county attorney that prosecuted the
case and the county attorney of the county where the judgment was entered. The office of the
Commonwealth's attorney or county attorney that prosecuted the case shall file a response within sixty
(60) days after being served with the notice of filing. That time period may be extended for good cause,
but the hearing on the application to vacate the judgment shall occur no later than one hundred twenty
(120) days following the filing of the application. The inability to determine the location of the crime
victim shall constitute good cause for an extension of time. No hearing upon the merits of the
application shall be scheduled until the Commonwealth's response has been filed, or if no response is
received, no later than one hundred twenty (120) days after the filing of the application.
(c) In any case in which the Commonwealth objects that the application is grossly incomplete, the court
shall order the person or agency originating the application to supplement the application.
(3) Upon the filing of the Commonwealth's response to an application, or if no response is received, no later than
one hundred twenty (120) days after the filing of the application, the court shall set a date for a hearing and the
Circuit Court clerk shall notify the office of the Commonwealth's attorney or county attorney that prosecuted
the case. The office of the Commonwealth's attorney or county attorney that prosecuted the case shall notify
the victim of the crime, if there was an identified victim. The Commonwealth's attorney or county attorney
shall be authorized to obtain without payment of any fee information from the Transportation Cabinet
regarding the crime victim's address on file regarding any vehicle operator's license issued to that person.
(4) (a) In an application pursuant to subsection (1)(d) of this section, upon the filing of the Commonwealth's
response objecting to the vacating of a judgment and expungement of a record, the court shall schedule
a hearing within one hundred twenty (120) days of the Commonwealth's response. The prosecutor shall ACTS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2
specify in the objection the reasons for believing a denial of the application is justified. At the hearing at
which the applicant or his or her attorney must be present, the applicant must prove by clear and
convincing evidence that:
1. Vacating the judgment and expunging the record is consistent with the welfare and safety of the
public;
2. The action is supported by his or her behavior since the conviction or convictions, as evidenced
that he or she has been active in rehabilitative activities in prison and is living a law-abiding life
since release;
3. The vacation and expungement is warranted by the interests of justice; and
4. Any other matter deemed appropriate or necessary by the court to make a determination
regarding the petition for expungement is met.
(b) At the hearing, the applicant may testify as to the specific adverse consequences he or she may be
subject to if the application is denied. The court may hear testimony of witnesses and any other matter
the court deems proper and relevant to its determination regarding the application. The Commonwealth
may present proof of any extraordinary circumstances that exist to deny the application. A victim of any
offense listed in the application shall have an opportunity to be heard at any hearing held under this
section.
(c) If the court determines that circumstances warrant vacation and expungement and that the harm
otherwise resulting to the applicant clearly outweighs the public interest in the criminal history record
information being publicly available, then the original conviction or convictions shall be vacated and
the records shall be expunged. The order of expungement shall not preclude a prosecutor's office from
retaining a nonpublic record for law enforcement purposes only.
(5) The court may order the judgment vacated, and if the judgment is vacated the court shall dismiss with
prejudice any charges which are eligible for expungement under subsection (1) of this section or KRS 431.076
or 431.078, and, upon full payment of the fee in subsection (11) of this section, order expunged all records in
the custody of the court and any records in the custody of any other agency or official, including law
enforcement records, if the court finds that:
(a) [The person had not, after June 27, 2019, had a felony conviction vacated and the record expunged
pursuant to this section;
(b) ]The person had not in the five (5) years prior to the filing of the application to have the judgment
vacated been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor;
(b)[(c)] No proceeding concerning a felony or misdemeanor is pending or being instituted against the
person; and
(c)[(d)] For an application pursuant to subsection (1)(d) of this section, the person has been rehabilitated
and poses no significant threat of recidivism.
(6) If the court has received a response from the office of the Commonwealth's attorney or county attorney that
prosecuted the case stating no objection to the application to have the judgment vacated, or if one hundred
twenty (120) days have elapsed since the filing of the application and no response has been received from the
victim or the office of the Commonwealth's attorney or county attorney that prosecuted the case, the court
may, without a hearing, vacate the judgment in the manner established in subsection (5) of this section.
(7) Upon entry of an order vacating and expunging a conviction, the original conviction shall be vacated and,
upon full payment of the fee in subsection (11) of this section, the record shall be expunged. The court and
other agencies shall cause records to be deleted or removed from their computer systems so that the matter
shall not appear on official state-performed background checks. The court and other agencies shall reply to any
inquiry that no record exists on the matter. The person whose record is expunged shall not have to disclose the
fact of the record or any matter relating thereto on an application for employment, credit, or other type of
application. If the person is not prohibited from voting for any other reason, the person's ability to vote shall be
restored and the person may register to vote.
(8) An order vacating a conviction under this section shall not extend or revive an expired statute of limitations,
shall not constitute a finding of legal error regarding the proceedings leading to or resulting in the conviction,
shall not nullify any findings of fact or conclusions of law made by the trial court or any appellate court
regarding the conviction, and shall not constitute a finding of innocence regarding the conviction. CHAPTER 87
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(9) The Administrative Office of the Courts shall establish a form application to be used in filing an application to
have judgment vacated and records expunged.
(10) The filing fee for an application to have judgment vacated and records expunged shall be fifty dollars ($50),
which shall be deposited into a trust and agency account for deputy clerks and shall not be refundable.
(11) (a) Upon the issuance of an order vacating and expunging a conviction pursuant to this section, the
applicant shall be charged an expungement fee of two hundred fifty dollars ($250), which may be
payable by an installment plan in accordance with KRS 534.020.
(b) When the order is issued, the court shall set a date, no sooner than eighteen (18) months after the date of
the order, by which the defendant must comply with the installment payment plan. The applicant shall
be given notice of the total amount due, the payment frequency, and the date by which all payments
must be made. The notice shall state that the expungement cannot be completed until full payment is
received, and that if the applicant has not completed the installment payment plan by the scheduled
date, he or she shall appear on that date to show good cause as to why he or she is unable to satisfy the
obligations. Notwithstanding provisions of KRS 534.020 to the contrary, no applicant shall be ordered
to jail for failure to complete an installment plan ordered pursuant to this section.
(c) The revenues and interest from the expungement fee shall be deposited in the expungement fund
created in KRS 431.0795.
(12) This section shall be retroactive.
Section 2. KRS 610.330 is amended to read as follows:
(1) (a) Any child who has been adjudicated as coming within the purview of KRS Chapter 630, 635, or 645,
but not KRS Chapter 620 or 640, may petition the court for the expungement of offenses from his or her
juvenile court record. He or she shall be informed of such right at the time of adjudication.
(b) The court on its own motion, or on the motion of a probation officer of the court, a representative of the
Department of Juvenile Justice or the cabinet, or any other interested person, may initiate expungement
proceedings concerning the record of any child who has been under the jurisdiction of the court.
(c) Expungement shall not be granted if:
1. There are any proceedings pending or being instituted against the child;
2. The offense is a sex crime, as defined in KRS 17.500; or
3. The offense would classify a person as a violent offender under KRS 439.3401.
(2) A petition may seek the expungement from the juvenile court record of any status offenses, or any public
offenses which would be felonies, misdemeanors, or violations if committed by an adult[:
(a) Misdemeanors, violations, or status offenses;
(b) A single felony; or
(c) A series of felonies arising from a single incident].
(3) The petition shall be filed or the court order entered no sooner than two (2) years after the date of termination
of the court's jurisdiction over the person, or two (2) years after his or her unconditional release from
commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice or the Cabinet for Health and Family Services or a public or
private agency, except that the two (2) year period may be waived if the court finds that such extraordinary
circumstances exist with regard to the petitioner as to make the waiver advisable.
(4) Upon the filing of a petition or entering of a court order, the court shall set a date for a hearing and shall notify
the county attorney and anyone else whom the court or the child, his or her parents, relatives, guardian, or
custodian has reason to believe may have relevant information related to the expungement of the record.
(5) The court may order the adjudication vacated and all records expunged in the petitioner's case in the custody
of the court and any of these records in the custody of any other agency or official, including law enforcement
and public or private elementary and secondary school records, unless at the hearing the county attorney
establishes that the child or offense is ineligible for expungement under subsections (1) to (4) of this section.
(6) Upon the entry of an order to expunge the records, the proceedings in the case shall be deemed never to have
occurred and all index references shall be deleted and the person and court may properly reply that no record ACTS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 4
exists with respect to such person upon any inquiry in the matter. The person whose record is expunged shall
not have to disclose the fact of the record or any matter relating thereto on an application for employment,
credit, or other type of application.
(7) If a court dismisses a petition against a child or finds a child not delinquent in a juvenile proceeding, the court
shall concurrently order the record of the proceeding expunged. The order expunging the proceedings shall not
require any action by the child.
(8) Copies of the order shall be sent to each agency or official named therein.
(9) Inspection of the records included in the order may thereafter be permitted by the court only upon petition by
the person who is the subject of such records, and only to those persons named in such petition.
Signed by Governor March 24, 2023.