                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

EXPUNGEMENT OF COURT RECORDS (§ 16.1-306)

A. Notwithstanding the provisions of &#xA7; 16.1-69.55, the clerk of the
juvenile and domestic relations district court shall, on January 2 of each year
or on a date designated by the court, destroy its files, papers and records,
including electronic records, connected with any proceeding concerning a
juvenile in such court, if such juvenile has attained the age of 19 years and
five years have elapsed since the date of the last hearing in any case of the
juvenile which is subject to this section. However, if the juvenile was found
guilty of an offense for which the clerk is required by &#xA7; 46.2-383 to
furnish an abstract to the Department of Motor Vehicles, the records shall be
destroyed when the juvenile has attained the age of 29. If the juvenile was
found guilty of a delinquent act which would be a felony if committed by an
adult, the records shall be retained.

B. However, in all files in which the court records concerning a juvenile
contain a finding of guilty of any offense ancillary to (i) a delinquent act
that would be a felony if committed by an adult or (ii) any offense for which
the clerk is required by &#xA7; 46.2-383 to furnish an abstract to the
Department of Motor Vehicles, the records of any such ancillary offense shall
also be retained for the time specified for the felony or the offense reported
to the Department of Motor Vehicles as specified in subsection A, and all such
records shall be available for inspection as provided in &#xA7; 16.1-305.

C. A person who has been the subject of a delinquency or traffic proceeding and
(i) has been found innocent thereof or (ii) such proceeding was otherwise
dismissed, may file a motion requesting the destruction of all records
pertaining to such charge. Notice of such motion shall be given to the attorney
for the Commonwealth. Unless good cause is shown why such records should not be
destroyed, the court shall grant the motion, and shall send copies of the order
to all officers or agencies that are repositories of such records, and all such
officers and agencies shall comply with the order.

D. Each person shall be notified of his rights under subsections A and C of this
section at the time of his dispositional hearing.

E. Upon destruction of the records of a proceeding as provided in subsections A,
B, and C, the violation of law shall be treated as if it never occurred. All
index references shall be deleted and the court and law-enforcement officers and
agencies shall reply and the person may reply to any inquiry that no record
exists with respect to such person.

F. All docket sheets shall be destroyed in the sixth year after the last hearing
date recorded on the docket sheet.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 16.1-193; 1956, c. 555; 1977, c. 559; 1979, cc. 736, 737;
1989, c. 183; 1990, c. 258; 1993, cc. 468, 589, 926; 1994, cc. 859, 949; 1996,
c. 463; 2008, c. 519; 2014, c. 271.