Sealing a Massachusetts Criminal Record

Sealing a conviction

G.L. c. 276, § 100A governs sealing where you were convicted. The waiting periods are three years for a misdemeanor and seven years for a felony.

Some convictions are excluded from § 100A sealing altogether, including firearms violations under G.L. c. 140, §§ 121–131H and offenses against public justice under c. 268 and c. 268A — though convictions for resisting arrest are specifically sealable. Sex offenses carry a substantially longer minimum, and a person classified as a level 2 or level 3 sex offender cannot seal at all. The exclusion list is technical and worth checking against your specific disposition rather than assumed.

Sealing a case that did not end in conviction

G.L. c. 276, § 100C covers everything else, and it splits into two very different tracks.

Sealed on request, with no discretionary showing. Where you were found not guilty by court or jury, where the grand jury returned a no bill, or where the court made a finding of no probable cause, the statute directs that the record be sealed. There is no balancing test. If you were acquitted, this is available to you.

Sealed only where substantial justice would best be served. Where a nolle prosequi was entered, or the case was dismissed, the court seals the record where it appears that substantial justice would best be served. That is a discretionary determination, and it means presenting the court with actual reasons — what the record is costing you in employment, housing or licensing, and why sealing addresses it.

This second track is where a completed CWOF lands, because a CWOF ends in a dismissal rather than an acquittal. So does any case the Commonwealth dropped. Being factually innocent and having the case dismissed puts you on the discretionary track; being acquitted after trial puts you on the automatic one. It is not an intuitive line.

What sealing does and does not do

Sealing restricts access to the record. It does not erase the underlying events, and it is not the same thing as expungement, which is a separate and much narrower remedy under a different set of statutes. People use the two words interchangeably and they are not interchangeable.

A sealed record generally will not appear on a standard CORI check used for employment or housing, which is the practical point of doing it. It remains accessible in certain contexts — including to some government and law enforcement functions — and a sealed case can still carry consequences in specific settings such as firearms licensing or subsequent criminal proceedings.

If what you actually want is expungement rather than sealing, that is a different analysis with different eligibility, and it is worth asking about specifically rather than assuming sealing accomplishes it.

Common questions

Sources

Every legal statement on this page traces to one of the following. Massachusetts law changes; where a point is contested or recently decided, that is noted in the text above.

• G.L. c. 276, § 100A — Sealing convictions
• G.L. c. 276, § 100C — Sealing non-convictions
• Petition to seal a record under G.L. c. 276, § 100C — official form

Written by Michael G. Cashman, Esq., 31 years in Massachusetts criminal courtrooms as both a defense attorney and a prosecutor. Full background and credentials. Last reviewed 2026-09-18.

This page is general information about Massachusetts law. It is not legal advice, it does not create an attorney-client relationship, and no outcome is promised or implied. Every case turns on its own facts.