Yes. Some Virginia criminal convictions can be sealed from public view under record-sealing laws that took effect on July 1, 2026. Whether your conviction qualifies depends on the exact offense, offense date, final disposition, later criminal history, sentencing history, and whether the record fits an automatic or petition-based sealing process.
Virginia Code § 19.2-392.12 creates a petition process for certain misdemeanors, Class 5 and Class 6 felonies, specified larceny-related felonies, and some deferred-and-dismissed charges. Separate statutes provide automatic sealing for a narrower group of convictions and for certain former marijuana-possession records.
If you live in Alexandria, Virginia, or elsewhere in Northern Virginia, sealing may affect what appears in ordinary public court searches and routine criminal-history dissemination. Sealing does not erase the record for every purpose, and many convictions remain ineligible.
What Does Removing a Virginia Criminal Conviction Actually Mean? 
People often use expungement, sealing, and removal to describe the same goal, but Virginia law treats these remedies differently. For many convictions, the available remedy is sealing.
Under Virginia Code § 19.2-392.5, sealing generally prohibits public access to covered arrest, charge, conviction, and related records held by the Central Criminal Records Exchange, Virginia courts, law-enforcement agencies, and the Department of Motor Vehicles, subject to statutory exceptions.
The record still exists. Virginia law allows sealed records to be accessed or used for specified purposes, including certain law-enforcement, court, firearm eligibility, government, national-security, and federally regulated employment functions.
Traditional expungement is generally associated with qualifying non-conviction records. If your case ended without a conviction, review NovaLegalGroup, P.C.’s Virginia expungement information:
https://www.novalegalgroup.com/virginia-expungement-lawyers/
Eligibility depends on the exact statute, disposition, offense date, later record, and sentencing history. The age of the case alone does not decide eligibility.
Which Virginia Convictions May Be Eligible for Petition-Based Sealing?
Virginia Code § 19.2-392.12 allows you to petition for sealing if the offense date was on or after January 1, 1986, and the case falls within an eligible category.
Potentially eligible matters include:
- Misdemeanor convictions that are not excluded by the statute
- Class 5 felony convictions
- Class 6 felony convictions
- Violations of Virginia Code § 18.2-95 and other felony larceny offenses punished as provided in § 18.2-95
- Certain deferred-and-dismissed charges within the eligible categories
- Specifically identified ancillary matters related to an eligible charge or conviction
Being in one of these categories does not make sealing automatic. You must also satisfy the criminal-history restrictions, waiting period, restitution requirement when applicable, petition limits, and other statutory findings.
For more information about how criminal records can affect daily life, visit:
https://www.novalegalgroup.com/how-do-criminal-records-for-low-level-offenses-affect-people/
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How Long Is the Waiting Period for Petition-Based Sealing?
For a petition under Virginia Code § 19.2-392.12, you generally must avoid a new reportable criminal conviction for:
- Seven years for a misdemeanor
- Ten years for a felony
The waiting period does not always begin on the original conviction date. Virginia law measures from the latest applicable event. That event can be the deferred dismissal, conviction, release from incarceration, a finding that you violated a suspended sentence, probation, or parole, or release from incarceration after such a violation.
Your broader felony history also matters. Petition-based sealing is unavailable if you have ever been convicted of a Class 1 or Class 2 felony or another felony punishable by life imprisonment. The statute also requires that you have no Class 3 or Class 4 felony conviction within the 20 years before filing and no other felony conviction within the 10 years before filing.
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Are Any Virginia Convictions Automatically Sealed?
Yes. Virginia Code § 19.2-392.6 provides automatic sealing for a limited group of convictions with offense dates on or after January 1, 1986, when the statutory conditions are met.
The covered convictions include:
- Misdemeanor petit larceny under Virginia Code § 18.2-96
- Misdemeanor concealment or shoplifting under Virginia Code § 18.2-103
- Certain trespass offenses under Virginia Code §§ 18.2-119, 18.2-120, and 18.2-134
- Misdemeanor marijuana distribution under Virginia Code § 18.2-248.1
- Disorderly conduct under Virginia Code § 18.2-415
For these convictions, seven years generally must pass after the conviction without a new reportable criminal conviction. Automatic sealing does not apply if you were convicted on the same date of another offense that is not eligible for automatic sealing.
Former marijuana-possession records under former Virginia Code § 18.2-250.1 are addressed separately by § 19.2-392.6:1 and can be sealed without the entry of a court order.
Virginia Code § 19.2-392.12:1 also creates a petition route for certain charges, deferred dismissals, convictions, and ancillary matters connected with categories addressed by the automatic-sealing system.
Which Convictions Cannot Be Sealed Under the Petition Law?
Virginia Code § 19.2-392.12 contains a detailed list of excluded offenses. You should not assume that a conviction qualifies only because it is labeled a misdemeanor, Class 5 felony, or Class 6 felony.
For example, a DUI conviction under Virginia Code § 18.2-266 is excluded from petition-based sealing. The exclusion list also covers many violent offenses, sex offenses, crimes against family or household members, protective-order violations, specific firearm-related offenses, hate crimes, animal-cruelty offenses, and other listed crimes.
The statute number and final disposition are often more useful than a shorthand description. Two people may both describe their cases as assault charges, but different statutes, victims, facts, and dispositions can produce different sealing results.
If you are facing a current criminal charge, the final disposition can affect future record-sealing questions. Learn more about Virginia criminal defense representation:
https://www.novalegalgroup.com/virginia-criminal-defense-lawyers/
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What Must a Court Find Before Granting a Sealing Petition?
Meeting the offense-category and waiting-period rules is only part of the analysis. Under Virginia Code § 19.2-392.12, the circuit court must make the required statutory findings before ordering a petition-based record sealed.
Those findings include:
- You satisfy the applicable felony-history restrictions
- The required seven-year or ten-year period without a new reportable conviction has passed
- If the record shows alcohol or drug use or dependence connected with the offense, you have demonstrated rehabilitation
- Any court-ordered restitution tied to the matter has been paid in full
- You have not exceeded the statutory limit on previously granted petitions
- Continued existence and possible dissemination of the record causes or may cause circumstances that constitute a manifest injustice
The petition is filed in the circuit court for the city or county where the case was disposed of. The Commonwealth is made a party, and the court receives your Virginia and national criminal-history record through the Central Criminal Records Exchange.
A court may enter a sealing order without a hearing when the attorney for the Commonwealth does not object, stipulates that you are eligible, and the required manifest-injustice finding is established.
Virginia generally limits you to two granted petitions under § 19.2-392.12 during your lifetime. Charges or convictions arising from the same transaction or occurrence can be included in one petition when each matter is eligible.
What Happens After a Virginia Criminal Record Is Sealed?
Once a record is sealed, it is generally removed from ordinary public inspection and public online court viewing. It can also be withheld from routine dissemination by the Virginia State Police and other covered agencies.
A sealed record is not destroyed. Virginia Code § 19.2-392.13 allows access and use for specified purposes. Examples include:
- Firearm purchase or possession eligibility checks
- Certain law-enforcement and criminal-justice uses
- Certain government employment and licensing functions
- Jobs governed by federal disclosure requirements
- National-security employment or access requirements
- Certain court, child-custody, sentencing, bail, and protective-order proceedings
- Other uses specifically authorized by Virginia law
Virginia law also restricts many employers, educational institutions, state and local government entities, housing providers, and insurers from requiring you to disclose a sealed arrest, charge, or conviction, subject to statutory exceptions.
Sealing does not restore civil rights or the right to possess, transport, or carry a firearm, ammunition, or a stun weapon.
Why Does the Difference Between Sealing and Expungement Matter?
Consider three examples.
An Alexandria resident has an otherwise eligible misdemeanor conviction from eight years ago, completed the sentence, paid all required restitution, and has no new reportable criminal conviction. That person may have a reason to investigate petition-based sealing or whether an automatic process applies.
Another person was acquitted. That person may need to review Virginia’s rules for non-conviction records rather than conviction sealing.
A third person has an old DUI conviction. Even if more than ten years have passed, the DUI exclusion in Virginia Code § 19.2-392.12 creates a different result.
The final disposition, offense date, statute number, criminal history, sentencing history, and later violations can all affect eligibility.
What Records Should You Gather Before Speaking With an Attorney?
A focused review is easier when you have reliable case information. Gather what you can, including:
- Court name and case number
- Exact statute of conviction
- Offense date
- Conviction or deferred-dismissal date
- Sentencing date
- Release date if incarceration was imposed
- Probation, parole, or suspended-sentence violation records
- Proof that court-ordered restitution was paid
- Records involving later arrests, charges, or convictions
- Documents showing employment, housing, licensing, or other consequences connected with the record
Do not rely only on a private background-check report. Court records and official criminal-history information may contain dates, statutes, and dispositions that change the eligibility analysis.
For more information about the effects of a felony conviction, visit:
https://www.novalegalgroup.com/the-consequences-of-a-felony-conviction-in-virginia/
Speak With a Virginia Criminal Record Sealing Attorney
A criminal record can affect employment, professional licensing, housing, education, and other opportunities long after a sentence is completed. Virginia’s 2026 sealing laws provide a path for some records, but eligibility turns on the exact facts and statutes involved.
NovaLegalGroup, P.C. represents people in Alexandria, Virginia, and nearby areas throughout Northern Virginia. The firm can review your disposition, offense date, criminal history, waiting period, restitution status, and statutory exclusions to help you understand whether a sealing process may apply.
Learn more about the firm’s attorneys:
https://www.novalegalgroup.com/attorneys/
Request a consultation:
https://www.novalegalgroup.com/contact/
Call 703-313-2727.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Every matter depends on its own facts and applicable law. Consult an attorney about your specific situation.