Criminal Record Expungements:
Pursuant to Section 19.2-392.2, Code of Virginia, individuals charged with a crime(s) in which the court rendered a disposition of not guilty, dismissed, nolle prosequi or an individual received an absolute pardon for which they had been unjustly convicted, may file a petition with the court that rendered adjudication of the case for an expungement of the record. Further information pertaining to the expungement process may be obtained from the Department of State Police at (CCRE) 804-674-6754.
In instances where it comes to an individual’s attention that his/her name or other descriptive information is a matter of record in the Central Criminal Records Exchange (CCRE) and he/she is not the person of the record, then he/she may initiate a "challenge of a record." This process is accomplished by an individual reporting this information to a local sheriff, police or State Police Headquarters and requesting to be fingerprinted for the purpose of challenging a criminal record.
It will be necessary for the individual to be fingerprinted after personal identification has been established. The official taking the fingerprints must document on letterhead paper that he/she has reviewed the individual's personal identification and obtained the fingerprints. There is no charge for this service.
This letter and the fingerprints are to be mailed to Manager, Central Criminal Records Exchange, Virginia State Police, P. O. Box 27472, Richmond, Virginia 23261-7472. Within 5 workdays, the individual that initiated the challenge will receive written confirmation of the fingerprint search results; whether he/she is or is not the person of the record and record modification(s) taken, if applicable.
Correction or Modification of a Criminal Record:
It is the policy of the CCRE to correct or otherwise modify a criminal record after receiving notification from the contributor of the record of the change to be initiated. Upon receipt of information that a record is in error, CCRE staff will initiate an audit of the record and coordinate corrections or modifications directly with the contributing agency. The time to complete this process varies depending on how expeditiously CCRE is officially advised by the contributor that a change to a record is appropriate.
CCRE will not accept corrections or changes to a criminal record from sources other than the criminal justice agency (contributor) which submitted the record.