The process depends on the nature and severity of your felony. There are certain felonies that are not eligible to be expunged. These include first degree felonies, felony DUIs, violent and capital felonies, registerable sex or child abuse offenses, or felony automobile homicide. Although convictions for these charges are not eligible for expungement through the regular court expungement process, there may be other avenues for clearing your record.
Utah criminal law includes an unusual provision that allows a court to reduce the level of a conviction, after the case has closed and after probation or parole have been successfully completed. The court can reduce your conviction by one or two steps.
For example, a first degree felony is not normally eligible to be expunged, but by going through the “402 reduction” process, you can have it reduced to a second degree felony. If it is a nonviolent and meets the other requirements, it would then be eligible for expungement. Different types of convictions may require different procedures.
If your original felony conviction has been reduced to a conviction that is eligible for expungement, the procedural steps are essentially the same as what is required to expunge any other records.
