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How to Seal Criminal Records in Oklahoma

If you are trying to seal an Oklahoma arrest or criminal case on your record, you must qualify under Oklahoma's Expungements statute. If you are pursuing an expungement, you are strongly encouraged to hire an attorney; however, if that is not possible the legal process for filing the expungement is listed below.

How Criminal Records Are Expunged in Oklahoma?

by Kevin D Adams, LawyerAdams@me.com

First, you qualify for an expungement under Oklahoma statute , the steps for obtaining an expungement are listed below.

Draft the Petition

File the Petition

Leave the Petition and Order Setting Hearing

Mail the Petition

Pick-up the Hearing Order

Mail the Hearing Order

Circulate the Agreed Order

Attend the Hearing

File the Expungement Order

Pay the OSBI

  1. Draft the Pleadings

    2. The first step in obtaining an expungement, after making sure you qualify is to draft the Petition for Expungement. Here is copy of an example Petition for Expungement. A couple of points that should be pointed out on drafting the petition, you need to include the name and address of the proper representatives of the various agencies involved. You should include the District Attorney's Office for the county the petition is being filed in (the Petition must be filed in the District Court of the county the arrest and/or charges occurred), the legal representative of the law enforcement agency that made the arrest and the OSBI representative.

    Make sure that you get the case number correct of the case you are attempting to have expunged.

    When you draft the Petition leave the last section of the "MI" case number blank (example MI-2014-____), because your filing will be assigned that number by the clerk.

    The filing fee for an expungement is $128, paid to the Court clerk

    You will also need to draft an Order Setting Hearing and an Agreed Order of Expungement. Make sure you include the new case number (the "MI" case number in your agreed order. You do this to seal of the record created by the filing of the expungement petition

  2. File the Petition

    3. Go to the Court house and file your Petition for Expungement

  3. Leave the Petition and Order setting Hearing

    4. Take a copy of the filed Petition for Expungement and the blank Order Setting Hearing and leave it in the judges "in box". The judge's "in box" is located in the judge's chambers.

  4. Mail the Pleadings

    5. Mail a copy of the Petition for Expungement to everyone listed on the certificate of mailing of the Petition. (Since you are at the courthouse, you can just drop a copy of the district attorney's at their office. Most times the district attorney's office has an in box at the court clerk.)

  5. Pick-up the Hearing Order

    6. In a couple of days you have to return to the Courthouse and pick-up the signed hearing order. The hearing order will be in the judge's "out box' in the judge's chambers. You then must make copies of that order and file it.

  6. Mail the Hearing Order

    7. Repeat the steps for the mailing, but this time just mail and/or deliver the Hearing Order.

  7. Circulate the Agreed Order

    8. Even though you have mailed the Agreed Order previously, you need to circulate the order so that all parties can sign it. It makes most sense to get it signed by the OSBI and then circulate it to the other parties. You may be able to get this done at the hearing if everyone plans on attending

  8. Attend the Hearing

    9. Attend the hearing and get the order signed by everyone in attendance and the judge.

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  9. File the Expungement Order

    10. Before you file the hearing make copies!Get extra copies and get at least two (2) certified copies. Then mail the filed Agreed order to the same parties you previously mailed it to.

  10. Pay the OSBI

    11. The final step in getting the record expunged is to mail a certified copy of the Agreed Expungement Order to the OSBI, along with the necessary fee

Conclusion

The steps above explain the process for obtaining an expungement in Oklahoma. The process is a little involved because of all of the parties that must be notified and the different steps that must be taken. If you qualify for an expungement and are attempting to do the expungement yourself, these steps should help you get your records sealed. However, it is recommended that you hire an attorney to assist you in obtaining an expungement.