When Can You Expunge a Charge in North Carolina?

Expungement statutes in North Carolina that impose a waiting period based on the date of conviction and completion of sentence can generally be interpreted in two different ways. The first interpretation treats the statutory language consistently across various statutes and reads the timing requirement to mean that a person may not file a petition for expunction until the later of two benchmarks: (i) a set number of years from the date of conviction or (ii) the date the person completed the sentence imposed.

This reading results in the conclusion that a person must always wait the minimum statutory period from the conviction date to petition for expunction, but if the sentence was not completed within that timeframe, then the petitioner must wait until the sentence has been fully served. Following that logic, the required waiting period begins with the date of conviction but may extend depending on when the sentence is completed.

The second interpretation distinguishes between statutes that incorporate enumerated elements, such as the use of Roman numerals, versus those that do not. Under this view, statutes that contain such enumeration expressly delineate that the waiting period begins on the later of the two events. Statutes without formatting could be read to require the petitioner to wait the full statutory period beginning after the completion of the sentence, regardless of the date of conviction. In practice, this interpretation may require a longer waiting period for certain expunction petitions.

Two expunction statutes in North Carolina demonstrate legislative drafting due to their use of Roman numerals. Under N.C.G.S. § 15A-145, which applies to misdemeanors committed before age 18 or age 21, and N.C.G.S. § 15A-145.1, which applies to gang offenses committed before age 18, the General Assembly inserted roman numerals to clarify the statute’s intent.

For example, N.C.G.S. § 15A-145 sets forth that a petition may not be filed “earlier than: (i) two years after the date of the conviction, or (ii) the completion of any period of probation, whichever occurs later.” The addition of Roman numerals in 2008 via technical corrections legislation resolved a previously ambiguous phrase that lacked clear structure and could have been read as requiring both conditions to be met independently. The updated structure clarified that only the latter of the two dates matters.

Similarly, N.C.G.S. § 15A-145.1, enacted in 2009 as part of a broader consolidation of the expunction statutes, contains comparable roman numeral formatting. The General Assembly adopted the same language and structure used in N.C.G.S. § 14-50.30, the earlier gang offense statute. Both demonstrate the legislature’s apparent intent to require the petitioner to wait until the later of the conviction date or the completion of the sentence.

For expunction statutes enacted after 2008, the General Assembly has not consistently used the same formatting. One example is N.C.G.S. § 15A-145.4(c), enacted in 2011, which allows for the expunction of certain nonviolent felonies committed before age 18. It provides that a petition “may not be filed earlier than four years after the date of the conviction or when any active sentence, period of probation, and post-release supervision has been served, whichever occurs later.” Although this version omits roman numerals, it uses “whichever occurs later,” which invites a similar interpretation.

One could read that to require waiting four years after completing all sentence-related obligations. Reasonable minds may disagree. Some might argue that the statute should be interpreted consistently with those containing Roman numerals, meaning that the person must wait at least four years from conviction and longer only if the sentence is still being served when the four-year mark has passed.

N.C.G.S. § 15A-145.5, which governs expunction of older nonviolent misdemeanors and felonies, presents additional variation. When enacted in 2012, it contained language similar to that found in N.C.G.S. § 15A-145.4. However, subsequent amendments clarified the waiting period in certain subsections while leaving others unchanged. For example, N.C.G.S. § 15A-145.5 states that a petition for expunction of a felony conviction may not be filed “earlier than 10 years after the date of the conviction or 10 years after any active sentence, period of probation, or post-release supervision has been served, whichever occurs later.”

Similarly, N.C.G.S. § 15A-145.5, governing expunction of more than one misdemeanor conviction, adopts parallel language using “seven years after the date of the person’s last conviction . . . or seven years after any active sentence, period of probation, or post-release supervision has been served, whichever occurs later.” These provisions may support the view that the waiting period begins on the later of the two referenced events and reinforce the broader statutory trend of aligning with the “Roman numeral” logic even without using the numerals.

The same pattern is followed in the relevant provisions of N.C.G.S. § 15A-145.5 governing the expunction of two or three felony convictions after 20 years and provisions addressing felony breaking or entering after 15 years. These subsections reflect a legislative structure that uses clear timeframes tied to either conviction date or sentence completion, whichever is later, implying that the General Assembly has gradually formalized this approach even without the Roman numeral format.

A notable exception to this trend is N.C.G.S. § 15A-145.5(c)(1), which governs expunction of a single misdemeanor conviction. It states that a petition “may not be filed earlier than five years after the date of the conviction or when any active sentence, period of probation, and post-release supervision has been served, whichever occurs later.” This phrasing, lacking the structure seen in the revised felony provisions, is open to the same two interpretations discussed earlier. Nevertheless, the structure and history of the statute suggest that it should be read consistently with other sections of the same statute and with the overall legislative trend. In other words, the better reading is that the petitioner must wait at least five years from the date of conviction and longer if the sentence has not yet been completed.

A similar ambiguity appears in N.C.G.S. § 15A-145.6(b)(2), which allows for expunction of certain prostitution-related offenses. Enacted in 2014 as part of broader anti-trafficking legislation, the statute states that “at least three years have passed since the date of conviction or the completion of any active sentence, period of probation, and post-release supervision, whichever occurs later.” This language follows the pattern seen in statutes without Roman numerals. However, it is still subject to the same interpretive division: either the three-year clock starts at conviction and is extended only if the sentence is still ongoing, or the three-year period does not begin until all sentence-related obligations are fully completed.

On balance, the more consistent and practical interpretation across these statutes is the “Roman numeral” approach. This interpretation provides a straightforward rule: a petitioner must wait the specified number of years from the date of conviction and, if the sentence has not been completed by then, any additional time until the sentence ends. Once both requirements are satisfied, the person becomes eligible to file the petition. This reading avoids making statutory references to conviction dates meaningless and aligns with how earlier expunction statutes were revised to clarify their waiting periods.

If you have questions about whether you’re eligible to expunge a charge, call or text the Glover Law Firm at (252) 299-5300 to schedule a confidential consultation. No promises, just straightforward advice.