Summary: In Colorado, you may be able to clear your criminal record through sealing or expungement, depending on your case type and outcome. While some offenses like DUIs and serious felonies can’t be cleared, many dismissed cases, acquittals, and certain convictions are eligible. The process is complex and involves multiple agencies, so working with a local attorney familiar with El Paso County courts greatly improves your chances of success. Clearing your record can open doors to better jobs, housing, and peace of mind.
Putting the Past Behind You
That moment when you realize you might finally clear your criminal record and move past old mistakes can be life-changing. A background check shouldn’t keep you from landing the job you deserve, securing housing, or moving forward in life. Yet for many people, the shadow of a record lingers, limiting opportunities and creating frustration. Fortunately, Colorado law provides pathways to remove or seal criminal history so that your past doesn’t permanently define your future.
The Hidden Costs of Failing to Clear Your Criminal Record
Carrying a criminal record often feels like paying an invisible tax on your future. Even when you’re qualified for a position, the background check may stop you from advancing in your career. Housing applications can be denied, and lenders may hesitate to approve financing.
These challenges add up over time.
Being able to clear your criminal record—through sealing or expungement—represents more than just a legal formality. It can remove barriers standing between you and the career, housing, and relationships you deserve. For many Colorado Springs residents, the relief is not just professional but deeply personal: the chance to stop defining oneself by one’s past and start defining oneself by one’s future.
Learn More: How a Criminal Record Affects Employment in Southern Colorado
Sealing vs. Expungement: Two Ways to Clear Your Criminal Record
Although people often use the terms interchangeably, sealing and expungement are distinct legal remedies, and it’s essential to understand the difference:
Sealing Records
- When your Colorado criminal record is sealed, it still exists but is hidden from public access.
- Employers, landlords, and most background check services can no longer see it.
- While sealed from public view, your records can still be seen by certain government offices and law enforcement officials, in situations such as future prosecutions or specific security clearances.
- Sealing is the more common form of relief available for adult criminal records in Colorado.
Expungement
- Expungement goes further by legally destroying the record, as if the arrest, charge, or conviction never happened.
- In Colorado, this remedy is primarily limited to juvenile delinquency records under C.R.S. § 19-1-306, and for certain offenses like underage alcohol or marijuana possession.
- Expungement may occur automatically in some juvenile cases after a specified waiting period; however, in other cases, a petition must be filed.
In short, if you are an adult in Colorado, you are generally seeking to seal your record, not expunge it. Both remedies, however, are designed to help you clear your criminal record and move forward with confidence.
Determining Eligibility
Not everyone’s criminal record qualifies for sealing or expungement; however, recent legislation has expanded the opportunities.
- Conviction records: Some can be sealed after waiting periods ranging from one to ten years, depending on the severity of the offense.
- Non-convictions: Dismissals, acquittals, or charges that never resulted in a conviction are often eligible for immediate consideration.
- Exceptions: Serious felonies, sexual offenses, and certain violent crimes remain ineligible under Colorado law.
A University of Michigan Law study found that individuals who successfully seal or expunge their records experienced a 22% increase in employment and a 33% rise in wages within a year. Yet despite these clear benefits, many eligible individuals never attempt relief—often because they assume the process is impossible or too complicated.
Common Obstacles
Navigating the sealing or expungement process in El Paso County can be complicated. Multiple agencies, including courts, the District Attorney’s office, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, may be involved. Each step requires precision, from filing petitions to gathering the right documents.
Even minor errors (such as listing the wrong case number or failing to attach proof of dismissal) can delay or derail your petition. Local procedures in Colorado Springs also differ from those in other counties, which is why many residents seek guidance from attorneys familiar with the Fourth Judicial District. Having legal help from the start could be the key factor in achieving a positive outcome when you’re working to clear your criminal record.
Criminal Records That Cannot Be Cleared
Colorado has expanded opportunities to clear your criminal record, but specific categories of cases will remain on your record permanently.
- Class 1 and 2 felonies: These are the most serious crimes in Colorado’s legal system and are considered too grave for removal.
- Sexual offenses: Crimes involving sexual assault or exploitation generally remain public due to ongoing safety and policy concerns.
- Extraordinary risk crimes: These are offenses the legislature has determined pose greater danger to society.
- Serious traffic crimes: DUIs and related offenses are usually ineligible. Lawmakers have kept these public because impaired driving is treated as an ongoing public safety issue. Unlike a one-time nonviolent mistake, DUI convictions suggest continuing risk, so sealing them would undermine deterrence and transparency.
Because DUIs cannot typically be hidden later, the only real chance to clear your criminal record of a DUI is to fight it at the defense stage. With so much at stake, hiring an experienced DUI defense attorney is imperative. The strategy you choose at the beginning of a DUI case may determine whether that conviction stays on your record permanently.
Learn More: When to Consider DUI Plea Bargains in Colorado Springs and When to Fight
By contrast, minor traffic infractions generally don’t appear on criminal background checks at all. That distinction highlights how Colorado lawmakers strike a balance between giving people a second chance and protecting community safety.
Steps to Sealing Your Criminal Record in Colorado Springs
Successfully pursuing expungement or sealing typically involves:
- Case evaluation: Determining whether your charges qualify.
- Gathering documentation: Collecting court records, proof of case resolution, and supporting evidence of rehabilitation where appropriate.
- Filing petitions: Submitting forms to the appropriate court and paying filing fees.
- Hearing process: Responding to objections from the District Attorney or other agencies.
Petitions may take 3–6 months from start to finish. Court filing fees generally range from $65 to $224 per case, excluding the cost of criminal history reports. The Fourth Judicial District, which encompasses El Paso and Teller Counties, handles hundreds of petitions each year, and approval rates vary depending on the strength of the preparation and the nature of the case. Working with an attorney who is familiar with the system may increase the likelihood that your petition will be granted.
The Financial and Time Investment
While filing fees and reports can cost a few hundred dollars, the return on that investment is significant. When compared to the lifetime earnings lost to missed promotions, housing denials, and limited credit access, the cost of pursuing relief is minimal. Many clients describe it as the best investment they’ve ever made in themselves.
It’s also worth remembering that the process requires patience. Even after paperwork is filed correctly, agencies must coordinate, and courts must review. Typical petitions take several months, but the outcome—restored dignity, greater opportunities, and financial growth—lasts a lifetime. For most people, the chance to finally move forward without the mistakes of the past haunting their future is worth every bit of time and money involved.
You Might Like: From Arrest to Trial: The Criminal Case Timeline in Colorado Springs
Life After Clearing Your Record
Once approved, the impact is immediate and meaningful:
- You can legally answer “no” to most questions about criminal convictions on job applications.
- Background checks used by employers, landlords, and schools will no longer reveal the sealed record.
- Many residents report greater peace of mind, along with practical improvements in employment and housing.
In Colorado Springs, the difference is especially noticeable. Residents working in defense, aerospace, and technology industries—sectors that drive the local economy—often face rigorous background checks. The same is true near the city’s military installations, where jobs with clearance requirements are common. For these professionals, taking the step to clear your criminal record can open career doors that were once completely closed.
Why Local Knowledge Matters
Having an attorney who understands El Paso County procedures provides an advantage. Judges within the Fourth Judicial District each bring their own perspectives, and former prosecutors-turned-criminal-defense attorneys, like those at Newby Lindley Slater, know which petitions often face objections. Criminal attorneys in Colorado Springs with insider experience can anticipate these issues, tailor filings to local expectations, and address concerns before they derail your petition.
Different judges weigh petitions differently: some may emphasize rehabilitation, while others focus on the passage of time since the offense. Knowing these tendencies is not about “gaming the system,” but about presenting your case in the most credible and effective way possible when you’re working to clear your criminal record.
Taking the Next Step
Your record doesn’t have to define your future. When you have the right help, navigating the system, avoiding costly mistakes, and finally clearing your criminal record is far less overwhelming.
At Newby Lindley Slater, we leverage years of local courtroom experience—what we call “The Former Prosecutor Advantage”—to help clients overcome the barriers created by old mistakes.
Schedule your free, confidential consultation today. Take the first step toward a future where your past no longer stands in your way.
FAQs About Clearing Your Criminal Record in Colorado
How long does it take to clear your criminal record in Colorado?
Most petitions take between three and six months from filing to the issuance of a final court order. However, the timeline depends on the type of case, the court’s caseload, and whether the District Attorney raises objections.
Can you clear your criminal record if you were never convicted?
Yes. If your case ended in dismissal, acquittal, or was never charged after arrest, you may be eligible to clear your criminal record immediately. These are often the fastest and most straightforward cases.
Are DUI convictions eligible to be sealed or expunged?
Generally no. Colorado lawmakers view impaired driving as a serious public safety issue, so DUI convictions are not eligible to be sealed or expunged. (This is why working with a strong DUI defense attorney at the outset is critical—the outcome will stay with you permanently.)
Do I need a lawyer to clear my criminal record?
The process to clear your criminal record is complex. So while yes, you can technically file a petition on your own, even minor mistakes can cause delays or result in denials. An attorney familiar with El Paso County’s courts will ensure the paperwork is handled correctly.
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James Newby is a criminal defense attorney in Colorado Springs and the managing attorney of the criminal justice law firm Newby Lindley Slater. James got into law because of a deep-rooted passion for helping good people that may have made a poor choice that could have lasting consequences.