How Long Does Expungement Take in Minnesota?

Step 1: The Waiting Period (Before You Can File)

For petition-based expungement of a conviction, you generally have to wait a set period after discharge of your sentence before you're eligible, scaling with the offense level:

• Diversions / stays of adjudication: roughly 1 year;
• Petty misdemeanors and misdemeanors: roughly 2 years;
• Qualifying gross misdemeanors: roughly 3 years;
• Eligible felonies: roughly 4–5 years.

You also generally must stay free of new offenses during this period. This waiting period is usually the longest part of the whole process.

Step 2: The Court Process (After You File)

Once you're eligible and file a petition, the court process commonly runs several months. The general sequence:

• Prepare and file the petition, with the required notice to the agencies involved (often a multi-week setup);
• Statutory notice period — agencies and prosecutors get time to respond (commonly around 60 days before a hearing);
• Hearing (if one is held) where the court weighs the petition;
• Order and implementation — if granted, it takes additional time for the record to actually be sealed across the relevant systems.

Start to finish after filing, four to six months is a common range, though it varies by county, caseload, and whether the petition is contested.

The Automatic (Clean Slate) Timeline Is Different

If your record qualifies for automatic sealing, there's no petition and no waiting in line at court — but it happens on the BCA's rolling review schedule rather than on a date you control. Records became eligible starting in 2025 and continue to become eligible over time. The trade-off: it's free and effortless, but you don't set the timing, and you should confirm whether your record was actually sealed.

What Can Make It Take Longer

• A contested petition — if a prosecutor or agency objects, it can add time;
• Multiple cases or counties — each may need its own petition;
• Incomplete filings — errors or missing notice can reset parts of the process;
• Court backlogs — timelines vary by county.

How to Move It Along

The two things most within your control: file as soon as you're eligible (the waiting period is the long part, so don't add to it by delaying), and file a complete, well-supported petition the first time. A petition that clearly addresses the relevant factors and includes proper notice avoids the delays that come from having to fix or refile.