{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/19.2-392.3.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/19.2-392.3.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/19.2-392.3.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/19.2-392.3.html"}],"law_id":68382,"edition_id":1,"section_id":68382,"structure_id":14617,"section_number":"19.2-392.3","catch_line":"Disclosure of expunged records","history":"1977, c. 675; 1978, c. 713; 2023, cc. 554, 555; 2025, cc. 634 and 671, cl.12.","full_text":"A\n\nIt shall be unlawful for any person having or acquiring access to an expunged court or police record to open or review it or to disclose to another person any information from it without an order from the court which ordered the record expunged.B\n\nUpon a verified petition filed by the attorney for the Commonwealth alleging that the record is needed by a law-enforcement agency for purposes of employment application as an employee of a law-enforcement agency or for a pending criminal investigation and that the investigation will be jeopardized or that life or property will be endangered without immediate access to the record, the court may enter an ex parte order, without notice to the person, permitting such access. An ex parte order may permit a review of the record, but may not permit a copy to be made of it.C\n\nUpon a verified petition requesting access to an expunged court or police record that is filed by the person who was charged with the offense that was ordered to be expunged, with notice to the attorney for the Commonwealth, the court may enter an order allowing that person and their counsel to review and copy the expunged court or police record. However, no agency or entity shall be required to allow the person or their counsel to review or copy the expunged court or police record if such record has been destroyed.D\n\nAny person who willfully violates this section is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. However, unless otherwise prohibited by law, any person who opens, reviews, or discloses information from an expunged court or police record after being provided a copy of such record by the person who was charged with the offense that was ordered to be expunged, or by counsel for such person, shall not be in violation of this section.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":247621,"text":"It shall be unlawful for any person having or acquiring access to an expunged court or police record to open or review it or to disclose to another person any information from it without an order from the court which ordered the record expunged.","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"B"},"1":{"id":247622,"text":"Upon a verified petition filed by the attorney for the Commonwealth alleging that the record is needed by a law-enforcement agency for purposes of employment application as an employee of a law-enforcement agency or for a pending criminal investigation and that the investigation will be jeopardized or that life or property will be endangered without immediate access to the record, the court may enter an ex parte order, without notice to the person, permitting such access. An ex parte order may permit a review of the record, but may not permit a copy to be made of it.","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A","next_prefix":"C"},"2":{"id":247623,"text":"Upon a verified petition requesting access to an expunged court or police record that is filed by the person who was charged with the offense that was ordered to be expunged, with notice to the attorney for the Commonwealth, the court may enter an order allowing that person and their counsel to review and copy the expunged court or police record. However, no agency or entity shall be required to allow the person or their counsel to review or copy the expunged court or police record if such record has been destroyed.","type":"section","prefixes":["C"],"prefix":"C","entire_prefix":"C","prefix_anchor":"C","level":1,"prior_prefix":"B","next_prefix":"D"},"3":{"id":247624,"text":"Any person who willfully violates this section is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. However, unless otherwise prohibited by law, any person who opens, reviews, or discloses information from an expunged court or police record after being provided a copy of such record by the person who was charged with the offense that was ordered to be expunged, or by counsel for such person, shall not be in violation of this section.","type":"section","prefixes":["D"],"prefix":"D","entire_prefix":"D","prefix_anchor":"D","level":1,"prior_prefix":"C"}},"ancestry":[{"id":14617,"edition_id":1,"name":"Expungement of Criminal Records","identifier":"23.1","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12801,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:48:56","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:48:56","permalink":{"id":170495,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":14617,"identifier":"23.1","token":"19.2\/23.1","url":"\/19.2\/23.1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12801,"edition_id":1,"name":"Criminal Procedure","identifier":"19.2","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:53","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:53","permalink":{"id":168169,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12801,"identifier":"19.2","token":"19.2","url":"\/19.2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":60918,"structure_id":14617,"section_number":"19.2-392.1","catch_line":"Statement of policy","url":"\/19.2-392.1\/","token":"19.2\/23.1\/19.2-392.1","metadata":false},{"id":77838,"structure_id":14617,"section_number":"19.2-392.2","catch_line":"(Effective July 1, 2026) Expungement of police and court records","url":"\/19.2-392.2\/","token":"19.2\/23.1\/19.2-392.2","metadata":false},{"id":64671,"structure_id":14617,"section_number":"19.2-392.2:1","catch_line":"Repealed","url":"\/19.2-392.2_1\/","token":"19.2\/23.1\/19.2-392.2_1","metadata":false},{"id":56153,"structure_id":14617,"section_number":"19.2-392.2:2","catch_line":"Repealed","url":"\/19.2-392.2_2\/","token":"19.2\/23.1\/19.2-392.2_2","metadata":false},{"id":68382,"structure_id":14617,"section_number":"19.2-392.3","catch_line":"Disclosure of expunged records","url":"\/19.2-392.3\/","token":"19.2\/23.1\/19.2-392.3","metadata":false},{"id":84742,"structure_id":14617,"section_number":"19.2-392.3:1","catch_line":"Motion for the disclosure of expunged police and court records in a civil case","url":"\/19.2-392.3_1\/","token":"19.2\/23.1\/19.2-392.3_1","metadata":false},{"id":60006,"structure_id":14617,"section_number":"19.2-392.4","catch_line":"Prohibited practices by employers, educational institutions, agencies, etc., of state and local governments","url":"\/19.2-392.4\/","token":"19.2\/23.1\/19.2-392.4","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":56153,"structure_id":14617,"section_number":"19.2-392.2:2","catch_line":"Repealed","url":"\/19.2-392.2_2\/","token":"19.2\/23.1\/19.2-392.2_2","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":84742,"structure_id":14617,"section_number":"19.2-392.3:1","catch_line":"Motion for the disclosure of expunged police and court records in a civil case","url":"\/19.2-392.3_1\/","token":"19.2\/23.1\/19.2-392.3_1","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/19.2-392.3\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 1977. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 675 of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. Unfortunately, the 1977 \u201cActs\u201d aren\u2019t available online. It has been modified 3 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1978, chapter 713; in 2023, chapters 554<\/a> and 555<\/a>; in 2025, chapter 634<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":77838,"section_number":"19.2-392.2","catch_line":"(Effective July 1, 2026) Expungement of police and court records","order_by":null,"url":"\/19.2-392.2\/"},{"id":76628,"section_number":"2.2-3706","catch_line":"(Effective July 1, 2026) Disclosure of law-enforcement and criminal records; limitations","order_by":null,"url":"\/2.2-3706\/"},{"id":78370,"section_number":"2.2-3706.1","catch_line":"(Effective July 1, 2026) Disclosure of law-enforcement records; criminal incident information and certain criminal investigative files; limitations","order_by":null,"url":"\/2.2-3706.1\/"}],"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":170513,"object_type":"law","relational_id":68382,"identifier":"19.2-392.3","token":"19.2\/23.1\/19.2-392.3","url":"\/19.2-392.3\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/19.2-392.3\/","token":"19.2\/23.1\/19.2-392.3","dublin_core":{"Title":"Disclosure of expunged records","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 19.2-392.3","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A.<\/span> It shall be unlawful for any person having or acquiring access to an expunged court<\/span> or police record to open or review it or to disclose to another person any information from it without an order<\/span> from the court<\/span> which ordered the record expunged. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

B.<\/span> Upon a verified petition<\/span> filed by the attorney for the Commonwealth alleging that the record is needed by a law<\/span>-enforcement agency for purposes of employment application as an employee of a law<\/span>-enforcement agency or for a pending criminal investigation and that the investigation will be jeopardized or that life or property will be endangered without immediate access to the record, the court<\/span> may enter an ex parte<\/span> order<\/span>, without notice to the person, permitting such access. An ex parte<\/span> order<\/span> may permit a review of the record, but may not permit a copy to be made of it. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

C.<\/span> Upon a verified petition<\/span> requesting access to an expunged court<\/span> or police record that is filed by the person who was charged with the offense<\/span> that was ordered to be expunged, with notice to the attorney for the Commonwealth, the court<\/span> may enter an order<\/span> allowing that person and their counsel<\/span> to review and copy the expunged court<\/span> or police record. However, no agency or entity shall be required to allow the person or their counsel<\/span> to review or copy the expunged court<\/span> or police record if such record has been destroyed. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

D.<\/span> Any person who willfully violates this section is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor<\/span>. However, unless otherwise prohibited by law<\/span>, any person who opens, reviews, or discloses information from an expunged court<\/span> or police record after being provided a copy of such record by the person who was charged with the offense<\/span> that was ordered to be expunged, or by counsel<\/span> for such person, shall not be in violation of this section. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nDISCLOSURE OF EXPUNGED RECORDS (\u00a7 19.2-392.3)\n\nA. It shall be unlawful for any person having or acquiring access to an expunged\ncourt or police record to open or review it or to disclose to another person any\ninformation from it without an order from the court which ordered the record\nexpunged.\n\nB. Upon a verified petition filed by the attorney for the Commonwealth alleging\nthat the record is needed by a law-enforcement agency for purposes of employment\napplication as an employee of a law-enforcement agency or for a pending criminal\ninvestigation and that the investigation will be jeopardized or that life or\nproperty will be endangered without immediate access to the record, the court\nmay enter an ex parte order, without notice to the person, permitting such\naccess. An ex parte order may permit a review of the record, but may not permit\na copy to be made of it.\n\nC. Upon a verified petition requesting access to an expunged court or police\nrecord that is filed by the person who was charged with the offense that was\nordered to be expunged, with notice to the attorney for the Commonwealth, the\ncourt may enter an order allowing that person and their counsel to review and\ncopy the expunged court or police record. However, no agency or entity shall be\nrequired to allow the person or their counsel to review or copy the expunged\ncourt or police record if such record has been destroyed.\n\nD. Any person who willfully violates this section is guilty of a Class 1\nmisdemeanor. However, unless otherwise prohibited by law, any person who opens,\nreviews, or discloses information from an expunged court or police record after\nbeing provided a copy of such record by the person who was charged with the\noffense that was ordered to be expunged, or by counsel for such person, shall\nnot be in violation of this section.\n\nHISTORY: 1977, c. 675; 1978, c. 713; 2023, cc. 554, 555; 2025, cc. 634 and 671,\ncl.12.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}