A. Records relating to the arrest, criminal charge, conviction, or civil offense of a person for a misdemeanor violation of former § 18.2-248.1 or a violation of former § 18.2-250.1, including any violation charged under either section and the charge was deferred and dismissed, shall be ordered to be automatically expunged in accordance with the provisions of this section.
B. No later than July 1, 2025, the Department of State Police shall determine which offenses in the Central Criminal Records Exchange meet the criteria for automatic expungement set forth in subsection A. The Department of State Police shall provide an electronic list of all offenses that meet the criteria for automatic expungement to the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court and to any circuit court clerk who maintains a case management system that interfaces with the Department of State Police under subsection B of § 17.1-502.
C. Upon receipt of the electronic list from the Department of State Police provided under subsection B, the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court shall provide an electronic list of all offenses that meet the criteria for automatic expungement set forth in subsection A to the clerk of each circuit court in the jurisdiction where the case was finalized, if such circuit court clerk participates in the case management system maintained by the Executive Secretary.
D. Upon receipt of the electronic list provided under subsection B or C, the clerk of each circuit court shall prepare an order and the chief judge of that circuit court shall enter such order directing that the offenses that meet the criteria for automatic expungement set forth in subsection A be automatically expunged under the process set forth in subsections E, F, and G. Such order shall contain the names of the persons charged with or convicted of such offenses.
E. The clerk of each circuit court shall provide an electronic copy of any order entered under subsection D to the Department of State Police. Upon receipt of such order, the Department of State Police (i) shall not disseminate any criminal history record information contained in the Central Criminal Records Exchange, including any records relating to an arrest, charge, or conviction, that was ordered to be expunged, except for purposes set forth in this section and pursuant to rules and regulations adopted pursuant to § 9.1-128 and procedures adopted pursuant to § 9.1-134 and (ii) shall electronically notify those agencies and individuals known to maintain or to have obtained such a record that such record has been ordered to be expunged and may only be disseminated for purposes set forth in this section and pursuant to rules and regulations adopted pursuant to § 9.1-128 and procedures adopted pursuant to § 9.1-134. Any records maintained electronically that are transformed or transferred by whatever means to an offline system or to a confidential and secure area inaccessible from normal use within the system in which the record is maintained shall be considered expunged, provided that such records are accessible only to the manager of the records or their designee.
F. Records relating to an arrest, charge, or conviction that was ordered to be expunged pursuant to this section shall not be open for public inspection or otherwise disclosed, provided that such records may be disseminated and used for the following purposes: (i) to make the determination as provided in § 18.2-308.2:2 of eligibility to possess or purchase a firearm; (ii) for fingerprint comparison utilizing the fingerprints maintained in the Automated Fingerprint Information System; (iii) to the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission for its research purposes; (iv) to any full-time or part-time employee of the State Police or a police department or sheriff's office that is a part of or administered by the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof for the purpose of screening any person for full-time employment or part-time employment with, or to be a volunteer with, the State Police or a police department or sheriff's office that is a part of or administered by the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof; (v) to the State Health Commissioner or his designee for the purpose of screening any person who applies to be a volunteer with or an employee of an emergency medical services agency as provided in § 32.1-111.5; (vi) to any full-time or part-time employee of the Department of Forensic Science for the purpose of screening any person for full-time or part-time employment with the Department of Forensic Science; (vii) to the chief law-enforcement officer of a locality, or his designee who shall be an individual employed as a public safety official of the locality, that has adopted an ordinance in accordance with §§ 15.2-1503.1 and 19.2-389 for the purpose of screening any person who applies to be a volunteer with or an employee of an emergency medical services agency as provided in § 32.1-111.5; (viii) to any full-time or part-time employee of the Department of Motor Vehicles, any employer as defined in § 46.2-341.4, or any medical examiner as defined in 49 C.F.R. § 390.5 for the purpose of complying with the regulations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; (ix) to any employer or prospective employer or its designee where federal law requires the employer to inquire about prior criminal charges or convictions; (x) to any employer or prospective employer or its designee where the position that a person is applying for, or where access to the premises in or upon which any part of the duties of such position is performed or is to be performed, is subject to any requirement imposed in the interest of the national security of the United States under any security program in effect pursuant to or administered under any contract with, or statute or regulation of, the United States or any Executive Order of the President; (xi) to any person authorized to engage in the collection of court costs, fines, or restitution under subsection C of § 19.2-349 for purposes of collecting such court costs, fines, or restitution; (xii) to administer and utilize the DNA Analysis and Data Bank set forth in Article 1.1 (§ 19.2-310.2 et seq.) of Chapter 18; (xiii) to publish decisions of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, or any circuit court; (xiv) to any full-time or part-time employee of a court, the Office of the Executive Secretary, the Division of Legislative Services, or the Chairs of the House Committee for Courts of Justice and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary for the purpose of screening any person for full-time or part-time employment as a clerk, magistrate, or judge with a court or the Office of the Executive Secretary; (xv) to any employer or prospective employer or its designee where this Code or a local ordinance requires the employer to inquire about prior criminal charges or convictions; (xvi) to any employer or prospective employer or its designee that is allowed access to such expunged records in accordance with the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to § 9.1-128 and procedures adopted pursuant to § 9.1-134; (xvii) to any business screening service for purposes of complying with § 19.2-392.16; (xviii) to any attorney for the Commonwealth and any person accused of a violation of law, or counsel for the accused, in order to comply with any constitutional and statutory duties to provide exculpatory, mitigating, and impeachment evidence to an accused; (xix) to any party in a criminal or civil proceeding for use as authorized by law in such proceeding; (xx) to any party for use in a protective order hearing as authorized by law; (xxi) to the Department of Social Services or any local department of social services for purposes of performing any statutory duties as required under Title 63.2; (xxii) to any party in a proceeding relating to the care and custody of a child for use as authorized by law in such proceeding; (xxiii) to the attorney for the Commonwealth and the court for purposes of determining eligibility for expungement pursuant to the provisions of § 19.2-392.12; (xxiv) to determine a person's eligibility to be empaneled as a juror; and (xxv) to the person arrested, charged, or convicted of the offense that was expunged.
G. The Department of Motor Vehicles shall not expunge any conviction or any charge that was deferred and dismissed after a finding of facts sufficient to justify a finding of guilt (i) in violation of federal regulatory record retention requirements or (ii) in violation of federal program requirements if the Department of Motor Vehicles is required to suspend a person's driving privileges as a result of a conviction or deferral and dismissal ordered to be expunged. Upon receipt of an order directing that an offense be expunged, the Department of Motor Vehicles shall expunge all records if the federal regulatory record retention period has run and all federal program requirements associated with a suspension have been satisfied. However, if the Department of Motor Vehicles cannot expunge an offense pursuant to this subsection at the time it is ordered, the Department of Motor Vehicles shall (a) notify the Department of State Police of the reason the record cannot be expunged and cite the authority prohibiting expungement at the time it is ordered; (b) notify the Department of State Police of the date, if known at the time when the expungement is ordered, on which such record can be expunged; (c) expunge such record on that date; and (d) notify the Department of State Police when such record has been expunged within the Department of Motor Vehicles' records.
H. All electronic lists created in accordance with this section are not subject to further dissemination unless explicitly provided for by this section. Any expungement order issued pursuant to this section shall be sealed and may only be disseminated for the purposes set forth in this section and pursuant to rules and regulations adopted pursuant to § 9.1-128 and procedures adopted pursuant to § 9.1-134. Any willful and intentional unlawful dissemination is punishable as an unlawful dissemination of criminal history record information in violation of § 9.1-136.
2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 550, 551.