North Dakota Expungement, Sealing & Court Record Removal

North Dakota's 2019 Sealing Law - What NDCC § 12-60.1-01 Actually Does

Before 2019, North Dakota had almost no mechanism for sealing or expunging criminal conviction records. The Legislature enacted NDCC §§ 12-60.1-01 through 12-60.1-05 in 2019, creating the state's first comprehensive record sealing framework. The law allows eligible individuals to petition the district court to seal qualifying conviction records - but the scope is narrower than most people expect, and the process is more complex than simply filing a form.

When a North Dakota court grants a sealing order, it restricts public access to the record through the official court portal and instructs the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) to restrict the record from standard background checks. However, sealing in North Dakota does not destroy the record. Law enforcement, criminal justice agencies, and certain professional licensing boards retain access. The sealed conviction may also be used to enhance a future sentence if you are convicted of a new crime.

Eligibility Requirements for Sealing a North Dakota Record

Meeting the basic offense class and waiting period requirements is necessary but not sufficient for sealing in North Dakota. Courts retain substantial discretion under NDCC § 12-60.1-02 to deny a petition even when all statutory requirements are met, if the court determines that sealing is not in the interest of justice. Understanding the full picture before filing a petition is essential. For more information, visit the North Dakota Courts.

Statutory Requirements

• The offense must not be on the categorical exclusion list (Class A felonies, violent felonies, sex offenses, DUI, domestic violence, offenses against minors, human trafficking)
• The required waiting period must have elapsed - 3 years for misdemeanors, 5 years for eligible felonies - measured from the date of discharge from sentence, including completion of probation or supervised release
• All fines, fees, costs, and restitution must be paid in full
• You must not have been convicted of any new felony or misdemeanor offense during the waiting period
• You must not have a pending criminal charge in any jurisdiction at the time of filing

Arrest Records Without Conviction

If you were arrested in North Dakota but the case was dismissed, resulted in acquittal, or was diverted without conviction, a separate petition process under NDCC § 12-60.1-04 allows for sealing or expungement of the arrest record. Importantly, there is no waiting period for cases that did not result in conviction - you may petition immediately after the case resolves. These records also receive broader protection and are typically removed from public court databases entirely rather than simply restricted.

How the Court Evaluates Your Petition

Under NDCC § 12-60.1-02, after a petition is filed, the State's Attorney for the county where the conviction occurred has an opportunity to object. The court then considers factors including the nature of the offense, the petitioner's conduct since conviction, evidence of rehabilitation, and the potential impact on public safety. The petitioner bears the burden of demonstrating that sealing is warranted. A hearing is typically scheduled, and both the petitioner and the State's Attorney may present argument. Learn more about expungement vs. record sealing on our blog.

Why North Dakota Court Records Persist Online After Sealing

Obtaining a sealing order addresses the official court record - but it does not automatically remove your case from the internet. Understanding each source is essential to building an effective removal strategy. For more information, visit the North Dakota Legislature.

court.nd.gov - The Official Portal

The North Dakota Supreme Court's public case search at court.nd.gov is the official statewide portal for searching court records. When a sealing order is entered, the court clerk updates the case management system and the public portal should no longer display the sealed case in search results. However, portal updates are not instantaneous - it can take days or weeks for the restriction to propagate. Additionally, any cached versions of the portal pages that Google or other search engines captured before the sealing order remain until those cached pages are separately de-indexed.

BCI Criminal History Repository

The North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) maintains the state's centralized criminal history repository, which is queried when employers, landlords, or licensing boards run background checks. When a sealing order is entered, the BCI is notified and should restrict the sealed record from standard background check responses. However, private background check companies - including the large national services - may have obtained BCI data prior to the sealing order and stored it in their own databases. Those companies are not automatically updated when the BCI seals the record.

Data Broker and Aggregator Sites

Sites like Spokeo, BeenVerified, TruthFinder, Intelius, and dozens of others scrape public court records and compile criminal profiles that persist independently of the official court system. North Dakota's sealing order has no legal effect on these third-party sites - they must each be contacted individually with opt-out requests. Because North Dakota is a smaller state, some aggregators have less frequent update cycles for ND records, which means unsealed data can sometimes persist longer than in larger states. Learn more about court record removal on our blog.

News Archives and Media Coverage

Local North Dakota newspapers including the Bismarck Tribune, Fargo Forum, and Minot Daily News maintain online archives that may include coverage of your arrest or conviction. Sealing the court record has no legal effect on news archives - First Amendment protections apply, and publishers are generally not required to remove previously published articles. However, some publications will add notices of record sealing upon request, and Google may de-index articles about sealed cases under certain conditions using its Personal Information Removal Tool. Learn more about background check reports on our blog.

How to Remove North Dakota Court Records from Google and Data Broker Sites

After obtaining a sealing order, the following steps address the online dimension of your record. Each source must be handled separately - there is no single request that removes a record from all locations simultaneously.

1. 1
   File your sealing petition in the correct district court
   Petitions under NDCC § 12-60.1-02 must be filed in the district court of the county where the conviction occurred. Filing in the wrong county is a common error that requires re-filing. Include certified copies of your conviction and discharge documents, and be prepared for the State's Attorney to receive notice and potentially object. Consider consulting a North Dakota criminal defense attorney before filing if the State's Attorney is likely to oppose the petition.
2. 2
   Confirm the court portal and BCI record are updated
   After receiving the signed sealing order, verify that court.nd.gov no longer shows your case in public search results. Allow 2 to 4 weeks for the update to propagate. Also contact the BCI directly to confirm your criminal history record has been restricted. Request a copy of your own BCI criminal history report before and after sealing to confirm the restriction took effect.
3. 3
   Audit all URLs showing your record in Google
   Search Google for your full name, city, county, charge type, and arrest or conviction year in multiple combinations. Document every URL that surfaces your record - including court.nd.gov pages, data broker profiles, news articles, and any other sources. This URL inventory becomes your removal work queue. Google may still index court.nd.gov pages for weeks after the portal has restricted the underlying case.
4. 4
   Submit opt-out requests to data broker sites
   Submit individual opt-out or removal requests to Spokeo, BeenVerified, Intelius, TruthFinder, PeopleFinder, Whitepages, MyLife, and all other aggregators showing your record. Each has a separate process - most require submitting your name, state, and documentation of your sealing order. Set a calendar reminder to recheck each site every 90 days, as profiles can be repopulated from other data sources that the aggregator uses.
5. 5
   Request removal from legal databases
   Check CourtListener and Justia for any appellate decisions or case documents referencing your record. Submit removal requests with a copy of your sealing order. These platforms respond differently to sealing orders - CourtListener generally honors North Dakota sealing orders for documents it holds, but cached appellate opinions referencing your case may require additional action. For federal cases (if any), PACER records are governed by federal law and are not affected by state sealing orders.
6. 6
   Use Google's Personal Information Removal Tool
   Once source pages have been removed or restricted, submit removal requests through Google's Personal Information Removal Tool (myaccount.google.com/delete-services-or-account) for any cached URLs still appearing in Google search results. For pages that have already been removed from the source site, use Google's Outdated Content Removal Tool (removals.google.com) to de-cache the pages from Google's index. This step is most effective after the underlying source has been updated - submitting a Google removal request before the source page is removed or restricted typically results in rejection.

Attorney vs. Reputation Management: Which Do You Need in North Dakota?

These are two distinct professional services addressing two different problems. Many people need both - but in a specific sequence.

When a North Dakota Criminal Defense Attorney Is Essential

• You need to petition for sealing under NDCC § 12-60.1-02 - only an attorney (or the court's self-help resources) can properly file and argue this petition
• The State's Attorney has filed an objection to your petition and a hearing is scheduled
• Your eligibility is uncertain - for example, if you have a Class B felony and are unsure whether the specific charge falls within the categorical exclusions
• You are trying to address a federal conviction, which operates entirely outside the North Dakota state sealing framework

When Reputation Management Is the Right Tool

• Your sealing order is already in hand but your record still appears on Google, data broker sites, and background check services
• Your offense is categorically ineligible for sealing (DUI, domestic violence, Class A felony, sex offense) but you need to manage what employers and the public can find
• Data broker profiles keep getting repopulated after opt-outs and you need ongoing monitoring
• A news archive or third-party legal database is surfacing your record and not responding to individual removal requests

Frequently Asked Questions - North Dakota Court Records