Can a DUI History Be Removed or Erased from My Record?

The moment you hear sirens behind you after leaving a bar with a few too many drinks in your system will change your life forever. You will most certainly face heavy fines as well as possibly losing your job and your license. And this is only the beginning. Both your financial and personal future can be affected negatively forever.

Everyone deserves a second chance, right? Well, that is not often the case when it comes to a DUI conviction. Simply being convicted creates both a criminal record as well as a black mark on your driving record. Get convicted a second time, and you will be facing possible jail time and an extended suspension of your license. A third violation… well, let’s just say you should never let it get to that point.

How Does a DUI Affect Your Employment?

While it may be against the law to rule someone out for a previous conviction, it certainly will not put you at the front of the line for any job opening. If you currently have a job that requires some type of mandatory driving or a valid license, you very well may lose your job. Furthermore, there are jobs where no one with a felony conviction is eligible for hire, such as establishments with liquor licenses. Regardless of your education, you may find yourself working for minimum wage very quickly.

Can a DUI Be Removed?

Under certain circumstances, a DUI can be expunged from a criminal record. While it technically is still part of your record, the case is sealed and it will no longer be seen on background checks done by employers or creditors. However, keep in mind that this record is still visible to law enforcement authorities.

How to Get a DUI, DWI Expunged

It is important to understand that having a DUI or DWI arrest and conviction removed from your record is not something you can complete on your own. Individuals who wish to complete this process will need the advice and legal guidance of an experienced DUI/DWI attorney in the state in which the arrest and conviction took place. Your DUI attorney will be tasked with petitioning the court to have the arrest and conviction removed and will help to ensure the process is followed and paperwork is filed.

The first step in this process is ensuring that it is possible to have the conviction sealed from your record. Some questions you can ask yourself include:

• Do I have any additional criminal offenses on my criminal record?
• Am I a repeat offender of DUI or DWI?
• Was I recently arrested for DUI or DWI?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, chances are you will not be eligible to have your record expunged. Trying to push the process through, with this information in mind, could result in the individual wasting their time and money for no positive end result. Consulting with a reputable DUI attorney will give you a better picture of what the possible outcomes of your petition could be. If the chances of expungement are slim, they will likely recommend not pursuing the court petition.

How a DUI Arrest and Conviction can be Removed from Your Record

When you leave the bar or local hangout with just one too many drinks in your system, you generally have a feeling of despair when you see the red and blue lights and hear the police car siren ringing behind you. As a result of a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) charge and conviction, offenders could face heavy fines, the possibility of jail time, losing their license, and many other, far reaching, consequences. The offender’s personal and financial future hangs in the balance.

Removing a DUI or DWI Conviction from Your Criminal Record

Having any type of offense on your criminal record can affect different aspects of your life, including your ability to keep your current employment and/or seek other employment. For this reason, many individuals work to have the DUI or DWI arrest and conviction removed from their record. The good news is, under certain circumstances, the charge can be expunged from the individual’s criminal record and, although it will still technically be a part of their record, it will be sealed from background checks.

How a DUI or DWI Conviction can Affect Your Employment

Even though it is against the law to exclude someone from the employment pool for a prior conviction, having one on your record will not make you the ideal candidate for employment. It is also important to note that, if you current position involves any sort of driving on company time and holding a valid license, it is very likely that you will be terminated for either violating the company rules or not being able to complete your duties if your license has been suspended or revoked.

Typical Consequences for a DUI Conviction

The main reason why individuals want to have their conviction removed from their record is because of the long term effects it will have on their financial and personal lives. The immediate consequences of being arrested, charged, and convicted of DUI or DWI cannot be avoided very serious and can often have a profound effect on an individual’s life. Keeping in mind that every state has different penalties and severity of consequences for a DUI or DWI conviction, there are some possible penalties that most states use in these types of cases. Some of these punishments include:

• License Suspension/Revocation
• Monetary Fines
• Alcohol Education Classes
• Alcohol/Drug Treatment and/or Assessment
• Use of an Ignition Interlock Device (IID)
• Vehicle Confiscation

In addition to facing some combination of these penalties, it is important to also keep in mind that the severity of each of these punishments often increases for repeat offenders. It may be possible to remove or erase a first offense DUI record, that an online arrest review with us will determine. Second or third time offenders of DUI, DWI will often contend with longer license suspension, higher fines, longer jail house stays, and higher possibilities of losing their vehicle or needing to use an Ignition Interlock Device.

As mentioned earlier, these penalties will vary from one state to the next. The state in which the DUI or DWI arrest occurred will likely be the state in which the case is tried. This means a states’s own their DUI, DWI laws will be in effect as well as that state’s specific driving under the influence penalties. Here is a short preview of some of the penalties individuals may face in different states for first, second and third time offenses (please note, this information does not include possible monetary fines):

Alabama:

• First Offense
  • 90 Day License Suspension
  • Mandatory Alcohol Education
  • Mandatory Alcohol Treatment/Assessment
  • No Ignition Interlock Device Requirement
• Second Offense
  • 1 Year License Suspension
  • Mandatory Alcohol Education
  • Mandatory Alcohol Treatment/Assessment
  • No Ignition Interlock Device Requirement
• Third Offense
  • 3 Year License Suspension
  • Mandatory Alcohol Education
  • Mandatory Alcohol Treatment/Assessment
  • No Ignition Interlock Device Requirement

California:

• First Offense
  • 4 Month License Suspension
  • Mandatory Alcohol Education if Under 21
  • Mandatory Alcohol Treatment/Assessment
  • Possible Ignition Interlock Device Requirement
• Second Offense
  • 2 Year License Suspension
  • Mandatory Alcohol Education if Under 21
  • Mandatory Alcohol Treatment/Assessment
  • Possible Ignition Interlock Device Requirement
• Third Offense
  • 90 Day License Suspension
  • Mandatory Alcohol Education
  • Mandatory Alcohol Treatment/Assessment
  • Possible Vehicle Confiscation
  • Possible Ignition Interlock Device Requirement
  • Possible Ignition Interlock Device Requirement

District of Columbia:

• First Offense
  • 90 Day License Suspension
  • Possible Ignition Interlock Device Requirement
• Second Offense
  • 1 Year License Suspension
  • Possible Ignition Interlock Device Requirement
• Third Offense
  • 2 Years License Suspension
  • Possible Ignition Interlock Device Requirement

Idaho:

• First Offense
  • 90 Day License Suspension
  • Possible Ignition Interlock Device Requirement
• Second Offense
  • 1 Year License Suspension
  • Possible Ignition Interlock Device Requirement
• Third Offense
  • 1 Year License Suspension
  • Possible Ignition Interlock Device Requirement

Kansas:

• First Offense
  • 30 Day License Suspension
  • Either Mandatory Alcohol Education or Mandatory Alcohol Treatment/Assessment (Not Both)
  • No Ignition Interlock Device Requirement
• Second Offense
  • 1 Year License Suspension
  • Either Mandatory Alcohol Education or Mandatory Alcohol Treatment/Assessment (Not Both)
  • Possible Ignition Interlock Device Requirement
• Third Offense
  • 1 Year License Suspension
  • Either Mandatory Alcohol Education or Mandatory Alcohol Treatment/Assessment (Not Both)
  • Possible Ignition Interlock Device Requirement

Minnesota:

• First Offense
  • 90 Day License Suspension
  • Possible Ignition Interlock Device Requirement
• Second Offense
  • 180 Day License Suspension
  • Possible Ignition Interlock Device Requirement
• Third Offense
  • 1 Year License Suspension
  • Mandatory Alcohol Treatment/Assessment
  • Possible Vehicle Confiscation
  • Possible Ignition Interlock Device Requirement

New York:

• First Offense
  • 90 Day License Suspension
  • Mandatory Alcohol Education
  • Mandatory Alcohol Treatment/Assessment
  • Possible Ignition Interlock Device Requirement
• Second Offense
  • 6 Month License Suspension
  • Mandatory Alcohol Education
  • Mandatory Alcohol Treatment/Assessment
  • Possible Vehicle Confiscation
  • Possible Ignition Interlock Device Requirement
• Third Offense
  • 6 Month License Suspension
  • Mandatory Alcohol Education
  • Mandatory Alcohol Treatment/Assessment
  • Possible Vehicle Confiscation
  • Possible Ignition Interlock Device Requirement