Bench & Bar March/April 2026

2026 ANNUAL CONVENTION OVERVIEW ON PAGE 6

criminal charges against a person, or enters an order dismissing with prej udice all criminal charges in a case against a person and not in exchange for a guilty plea to another charge, the court shall order the record expunged upon the expiration of thirty (30) days, unless the person objects to the expungement […] The order expung ing the records shall not require any action by the person. 3 Additionally, the statute also addresses acquittals, dismissals with prejudice, and failures to indict before July 15, 2020, in a petition-based approach: (1)(b) A person who has been charged with a criminal offense and who has been acquitted of the charges, or against whom charges have been dis missed and not in exchange for a guilty plea to another charge, and whose records have not been expunged pursu ant to paragraph (a) of this subsection, may petition the court in which the disposition of the charges was made to expunge all charges. (c) A person against whom felony charges originally filed in the Dis trict Court have not resulted in an indictment by the grand jury or in an information filed by the Common wealth’s attorney may petition the District Court in which the charges were filed to dismiss and expunge all charges for which an indictment or information has not issued. 4 As shown, the statute requires the auto matic erasure of acquittals, dismissals with prejudice, and failures to indict on or after July 15, 2020. Additionally, the statute ret roactively grants the formerly accused the ability to petition the court for the erasure of the same before July 15, 2020, at no cost. The Administrative Office of the Courts (“AOC”) has provided Kentucky practi tioners and pro se litigants with an AOC form: AOC-497.2. THE PETITION-BASED APPROACH IN KENTUCKY In addition to the right to petition for the erasure of acquittals, dismissals, and failures

to indict before July 15, 2020, Kentucky also authorizes the ability to expunge eligible violations, traffic infraction records, an unlimited number of eligible misdemeanor convictions, and one eligible felony convic tion. The authority to do so is illustrated in KRS § 431.078, KRS § 431.079, and KRS § 431.073. The petition-based approach in Ken tucky can be examined in steps. First, the

petitioner must request an Expungement Eligibility Certification Notice (“Eligibil ity Certification”) from the Kentucky State Police Department, which, as of 2026, costs $40. 5 Second, review the Eligibility Certifi cation alongside the eligibility requirements delineated in the corresponding statute. 6 For example, to expunge a felony convic tion that has not been granted a full pardon, it must be classified as a Class D felony. 7 Third, prepare the petition to file in the

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