Charged but not convicted? More Virginia records can be erased

An arrest or charge can show up in a background check years later, even if you were never convicted. That can cost you a job or an apartment. Starting December 1, 2026, Virginia will make more nonconviction cases eligible for expungement. In general, you must not have been ultimately convicted, and either no stipulation of facts enough to find guilt was entered or the court deferred the case without finding enough facts to find you guilty. A charge dismissed after a plea or such a stipulation can also qualify when all parties agree under Virginia’s deferred-disposition law.

To use this petition process, you file in the circuit court for the city or county where the case was resolved. Filing remains free. One petition can now cover charges from separate incidents. If a prosecutor files an objection, they must state its basis. A judge can’t refuse solely because your arrest date or the arresting agency is unavailable, though your petition must explain why. A prior conviction by itself also isn’t enough to deny you. If you have no prior criminal record and the arrest was for a misdemeanor or the charge was a civil offense, you’re entitled to expungement unless the prosecutor shows good cause.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell carried the bill. A House Courts of Justice subcommittee rewrote it before the House and Senate passed it with votes from members of both parties. Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed it on May 14, 2026. Legislative analysts expected the cost to the state to be negligible.