Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota

Yes. Expungements are basically useless in Minnesota. You need to get a pardon extraordinary from the pardon board to have your records at the BCA and any others with the Executive branch sealed.

Nathan Hansen

Expungements are only allowed by statute where there has been a determination in your favor. That means, ultimately, the charges must have been dismissed. If that occurred, you may erase any and all court or administrative records.

There are also Judicial expungements. Such an expungement is entirely up to the Judge as to whether it should be granted. This is an important distinction since a Court cannot expunge anything but judicial records with a judicial expungement unless there is an overriding basis that requires the expungement in the interests of justice. The courts have ruled that seeking better employment or promotions would not be a basis to expunge administrative records.

Administrative agencies generally are the places where background checks are performed. Criminal records are also maintained by Administrative Agencies such as the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. This is an executive agency. As a result, the criminal records, if held by the BCA, would never be expunged in a Judicial expungment.

Since you were convicted, a statutory expungement is not possible.