Louisiana Expungement Laws

Expungement is the process of legally removing criminal and arrest records so that they no longer appear in any public computer or physical databases. Criminal records, however, can still be accessed by law enforcement agencies. Louisiana expungement allows certain individuals to do just that under certain conditions, mainly depending on the type of crime committed and the outcome of the court proceedings. An adult may be eligible to file Louisiana expungement forms if any of the following requirements are true:

If a person has been arrested, though the time limited for a court to institute prosecution becomes expired;

A prosecution has taken place, though it has resulted in dismissal;

When a person pleads guilty and the defendant has completed the conditions that he or she was sentenced to.

Louisiana expungement is not permitted for the following reasons:

An offense is committed that leads to a sentence of incarceration;

Certain felony offenses that Louisiana code defines as crimes of violence;

Only one misdemeanor offense can be utilized under a five year period.

It is important for any individual wanting to perform a Louisiana expungement to contact his or her lawyer to discuss options. Filing Louisiana expungement forms must be done properly to ensure that it is approved. In most cases, the expungement will cost about $150 to file at a court, though there is no fee requirement if the individual receives a certification letter from the District Attorney's Office. This can only be done if the petitioner has no felony convictions and no pending felony charges with one of the following requirements:

The petitioner was acquitted;

The applicant was arrested but never persecuted in the proper time limit.

If a Louisiana expungement is granted, any microfilm, computer card, tape, photo, or computer storage of the arrest record is expunged with any arrest photograph, fingerprint or other arrest information being destroyed as well. If these documents are not destroyed, they are sent directly to the Louisiana expungement petitioner

NEXT: North Dakota Expungement Laws