New York's Clean Slate Act Says Your Record Should Be Sealed — So Why Is It Still Showing?

New York passed the Clean Slate Act to give people with old criminal convictions a genuine opportunity to move forward with their lives.

Under New York Criminal Procedure Law § 160.57, many misdemeanor convictions become eligible for automatic sealing after three years, while many felony convictions become eligible after eight years, provided the other requirements of the statute are satisfied.

So what happens when your conviction appears to qualify for Clean Slate — but it is still showing up on your criminal record?

You may not have to simply wait.

The Clean Slate Act Is Law — But Automatic Sealing Is Still Being Implemented

New York's Clean Slate Act became effective on November 16, 2024.

The law gave the New York State Unified Court System up to three years — until November 16, 2027 — to establish the systems necessary to identify and automatically seal older eligible convictions.

That means there is currently an unusual situation:

You may have a conviction that appears eligible for automatic sealing under the Clean Slate Act, but the conviction may still appear on your record because the State has not processed the sealing yet.

For someone whose conviction is interfering with employment, housing, professional opportunities or simply the ability to finally put an old mistake behind them, waiting until the automatic process reaches the case may not be an acceptable answer.

Fortunately, Clean Slate is not necessarily the only option.

CPL § 160.59 May Allow You to Ask a Judge to Seal the Conviction Now

Long before the Clean Slate Act was passed, New York enacted another sealing statute: Criminal Procedure Law § 160.59.

Unlike Clean Slate, CPL § 160.59 is not automatic.

You make an application to the court and ask a judge to seal your conviction.

Generally, CPL § 160.59 may be available where:

• At least ten years have passed since the relevant conviction or release from incarceration;
• The person has no more than two eligible criminal convictions;
• No more than one of those convictions is a felony;
• There is no pending criminal case;
• There has not been a subsequent criminal conviction; and
• The conviction is not one of the offences specifically excluded from sealing under the statute.

Not every person eligible for Clean Slate will qualify under CPL § 160.59. The two statutes have different requirements.

But for someone with an old misdemeanor or other eligible conviction that is more than ten years old, CPL § 160.59 can potentially provide a way to seek relief today rather than simply waiting for the State's automatic Clean Slate system to catch up.

What Does a CPL § 160.59 Application Involve?

A sealing application is more than simply sending the court a letter asking it to hide an old case.

The application generally includes the Certificate of Disposition, a sworn application explaining why sealing is appropriate, and supporting evidence demonstrating rehabilitation and the circumstances that justify relief.

That evidence can include:

• Employment history;
• Education;
• Community involvement;
• Family responsibilities;
• Letters of recommendation;
• Professional accomplishments;
• The length of time since the conviction;
• The circumstances surrounding the original offence; and
• The effect the old conviction continues to have on the applicant's life.

The District Attorney must be provided with the application and has an opportunity to object. If the application is opposed, the court may conduct a hearing before determining whether the conviction should be sealed.

Ultimately, unlike automatic Clean Slate sealing, a CPL § 160.59 application requires the judge to exercise discretion.

Why the Clean Slate Act Still Matters in a § 160.59 Motion

The existence of the Clean Slate Act can also be relevant to the argument presented to the court.

If the New York Legislature has already determined that a particular category of old conviction should eventually qualify for automatic sealing, an attorney may argue that this broader legislative policy supports discretionary sealing under CPL § 160.59 where the applicant independently satisfies the requirements of that statute.

That does not make the § 160.59 application automatic. The judge must still consider the statutory requirements and the circumstances of the individual applicant.

But it raises an important question:

If New York law already contemplates that this conviction will ultimately be sealed, why should an otherwise qualified person continue suffering the consequences of the record simply because the State's automatic sealing system has not reached the case yet?

A Real-World Problem We Recently Encountered

Our office recently confronted this exact issue for a client with an old misdemeanor conviction dating back more than a decade.

The conviction appears to be the type of record that should ultimately receive relief under New York's Clean Slate law. But the record had not yet been automatically sealed.

Rather than simply telling the client to wait and hope that the State eventually processes the conviction, we examined whether the client could affirmatively seek judicial sealing under CPL § 160.59.

That is an important distinction:

Clean Slate is an automatic process. CPL § 160.59 is something you can affirmatively pursue.

Depending upon your criminal history and the particular conviction involved, there may be no reason to assume that waiting for statewide Clean Slate implementation is your only option.

Is Sealing the Same as Dismissing or Expunging the Conviction?

No.

This distinction is important.

The Clean Slate Act generally seals eligible conviction records. It does not retroactively dismiss the criminal case or erase the fact that the conviction occurred for every legal purpose.

A sealed record is substantially restricted from ordinary public access and many background checks, but New York law permits access to sealed convictions in certain specifically defined circumstances.

That is why anyone considering a sealing application should understand exactly what relief is available and what sealing will — and will not — accomplish.

Your Old Conviction May Be Eligible for Relief Now

If you have an old New York misdemeanor or felony conviction and were told that the Clean Slate Act would eventually seal your record, it may be worth determining whether you have another option while you wait.

A lawyer can review:

1. Whether your conviction qualifies under the Clean Slate Act; 2. Whether it should ultimately be automatically sealed under CPL § 160.57; 3. Whether you independently qualify to file a sealing motion now under CPL § 160.59; and 4. What evidence should be presented to give the court the strongest factual basis for granting the application.

An old conviction should not automatically mean that you have to spend additional years waiting for an administrative process if New York law already provides another potential avenue for relief.

If you have a New York conviction that is more than ten years old and it is still appearing on your criminal record, contact our office to determine whether you may be eligible to ask the court to seal it now.

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Legal References and Resources

New York State Unified Court System — Clean Slate Act Official New York Courts information regarding the Clean Slate Act, eligibility, implementation and automatic sealing. New York Courts — Clean Slate Act

New York State Unified Court System — Sealed Records After 10 Years Official New York Courts guidance concerning applications to seal eligible convictions under CPL § 160.59. New York Courts — Sealing After 10 Years / CPL § 160.59

New York Criminal Procedure Law § 160.57 — Automatic Sealing of Convictions The statutory text governing automatic sealing under New York's Clean Slate law. New York CPL § 160.57 — Automatic Sealing

New York Criminal Procedure Law § 160.59 — Sealing of Certain Convictions The statutory text governing applications to a court for discretionary sealing of certain older convictions. New York CPL § 160.59 — Sealing of Certain Convictions

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This article is provided for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Eligibility for criminal-record sealing depends upon the particular conviction, criminal history, sentence and other individual circumstances.