Checker / Guide

Rhode Island expungement lawyer

A record you cannot explain costs you jobs, apartments, licenses and loans, every year, quietly. Rhode Island law lets most of it be cleared — and the difference between a motion that is granted and one that is denied is usually preparation, not luck.

Check my eligibility → Free · about two minutes · every answer cites its statute
13ways Rhode Island law lets you clear a record
6need no waiting period at all — dismissals, completed filings, marijuana possession, deferred sentences and decriminalized offenses
2026a new law made two to four felonies expungeable for the first time
How long the wait is, by path

Which path you are on depends on how your case ended, not on how serious the charge was. Note the top group: several records clear with nothing filed at all.

YEARS BEFORE THE RECORD CAN CLEAR 0 3 6 9 12 15 CLEARS ON ITS OWN — NOTHING TO FILE Completed filing § 12-10-12(c) No wait Rule 48(a) dismissal, since 2023 § 12-1-12.1(a) No wait Marijuana possession § 12-1.3-5 No wait Traffic Tribunal violation § 31-41.1-10 3 years Refusal, Traffic Tribunal § 31-41.1-10 5 yearsYOU FILE A MOTION, AND A JUDGE DECIDES Dismissed or acquitted — sealing § 12-1-12.1(b) No wait Completed deferred sentence § 12-1.3-2(f) No wait Decriminalized offense § 12-1.3-2(i) No wait Prostitution / solicitation conviction § 11-34.1-5 1 year Misdemeanor conviction, first offender § 12-1.3-2(d) 5 years Felony conviction, first offender § 12-1.3-2(e) 10 years Two to five misdemeanor convictions § 12-1.3-2(g) 10 years Two to four felony convictions § 12-1.3-2(h) 15 years

A first offense usually ends in a filing, not a conviction. A completed filing expunges itself at the end of the filing period with nothing to file — so the five-year row above is not what a typical first offense costs. That row is for an actual conviction carrying a fine, probation or a suspended sentence, and its five years run from the day that sentence closes, not from the date of the conviction.

What you get

  • A straight answer on eligibility — read off your actual BCI record and the statute that governs it, not a guess.
  • The motion drafted and filed in the court that took the conviction, on the right statutory path the first time.
  • Notice served correctly on the Attorney General and the originating police department, ten days out, which is where self-filed motions most often fail.
  • Representation at the hearing, including the rehabilitation showing the court has to make findings on before it can grant anything.
  • Follow-through after the order — making sure every agency holding your record is named and served with it.

Cases handled

First-offender expungements, misdemeanor and felony. Multiple-misdemeanor petitions under § 12-1.3-2(b). Deferred sentences. Sealing of dismissals, acquittals, no true bills and no informations. Decriminalized offenses. Marijuana records that never got cleared automatically. Traffic Tribunal and refusal records. Prostitution convictions under § 11-34.1-5, and vacatur for trafficking victims under § 11-67.1-17.

Statewide — Providence, Kent, Washington, Newport and Bristol counties, District Court and Superior Court.

When a lawyer actually changes the outcome

Some records are simple and some are not. The ones where counsel earns the fee are the ones where the answer is contested or the file is not clean: multiple cases interacting across different statutes, an out-of-state disposition, a prior probation that may or may not have cost you first-offender status, a charge whose classification is disputed, an Attorney General objection at the hearing, or a judge who needs to be persuaded on rehabilitation and the public interest.

It is also worth a phone call before you accept a "you are not eligible" that came from a summary rather than from the statute. That answer is wrong more often than it should be — the crimes-of-violence list alone is narrower than most people are told, and the traffic and one-year paths are routinely missed.

Start with the free eligibility check

The checker on this site walks the statute with you in about two minutes and names the section behind every answer. If it says you appear eligible, you can send your answers straight through at the end and a lawyer will look at your case. No form to fill out twice — the questions that decided your eligibility are the questions the attorney needs answered.

Common questions

How much does an expungement lawyer cost in Rhode Island?

Fees depend on how many cases are involved and which statutory path applies; a single straightforward motion is quoted flat. The court charges no filing fee for a motion to expunge, so the legal fee is the whole cost.

How long does the process take?

The motion is filed in the court of conviction, the court sets a hearing, and notice must go out at least ten days before it. The timeline turns on the court's calendar rather than a statutory clock.

Can you expunge more than one case at once?

On the multiple-misdemeanor path, § 12-1.3-2(b) permits a motion for any or all of the qualifying misdemeanors.

What if I was told I am not eligible?

Get a second read before you accept it. Eligibility turns on the exact statute, the exact classification of the charge, and the exact dates your sentences closed — and each of those is a place where a quick summary gets it wrong.

Talk to an attorney

Tell us about your case.

No cost to ask, and no obligation. If you would rather have the statute answer first, the eligibility checker takes about two minutes and sends your answers along at the end.

Sending this does not create an attorney-client relationship, and nothing you write here is confidential until one exists. Do not include anything about a case that is still open without speaking to a lawyer first.

Who reviews it
Thomas C. Thomasian, Esq., Rhode Island criminal defense attorney

Thomas C. Thomasian, Esq.

Founding attorney · Providence, Rhode Island

Nearly twenty years defending criminal cases in Rhode Island — District Court, Superior Court and the Traffic Tribunal. Expungement is the part of the work where somebody gets their life back rather than just avoiding something worse.

Check my eligibility →

Two minutes, and you will know where you stand

Every answer names the statute it comes from. If you appear eligible, you can send your answers to a Rhode Island expungement attorney at the end — the same questions, no second form.

Check my eligibility →