Colorado Springs Record Sealing Lawyer
Sealing Your Colorado Criminal Record
A past arrest or conviction should not decide the rest of your life. If a criminal record is following you into job interviews, apartment applications, and background checks, Colorado law may let you seal it. Sealing removes the record from public view, and after a wave of legislative changes between 2019 and 2025, more Coloradans qualify than ever before. Many of them do not know it yet.
Attorney Aaron P. Gaddis of Colorado Springs Criminal Defense, LLC has practiced criminal defense in Colorado since 2006. He reviews record sealing cases for people across El Paso, Teller, Pueblo, and Fremont Counties, from a single old arrest to multiple convictions in different courts.
Find out in one phone call whether your record can be sealed. Call (719) 578-3344 for a free, confidential consultation with Aaron directly. He is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, there is no cost to ask, and you will end the call knowing whether you qualify, what the process looks like, and what it will take to get it done. If you would rather write, send a message here and he will get back to you.
Why Choose Colorado Springs Criminal Defense, LLC for Record Sealing
Record sealing looks simple on paper. In practice, eligibility turns on the exact charge, how the case ended, what has happened since, and which of several overlapping statutes applies. Two decades of criminal defense work in southern Colorado courts means Aaron has handled cases at every stage, from arrest through post-conviction relief, and knows what the district attorney and the court need to see before an order is signed.
Free eligibility review before you spend a dime. Not every record can be sealed. Aaron pulls your history, checks each case against current law, and tells you plainly which records qualify by motion, which should already have been sealed automatically, and which are not eligible.
One attorney, start to finish. You work with Aaron, not a rotating staff. He prepares the motion, handles notice to the district attorney, and appears at any hearing the court sets.
Prepared for every path. Some cases are granted on the paperwork alone. Others draw an objection from the district attorney and require a hearing. Aaron builds each case so it is ready for either outcome.
Local court knowledge. Sealing motions are filed in the court that handled the original case. Aaron regularly appears in Colorado Springs Municipal Court, the El Paso County Combined Courts, and the county courts in Teller, Pueblo, and Fremont Counties.
Located downtown at 10 Boulder Crescent Street, Ste. 301, Colorado Springs, CO 80903, a short walk from the El Paso County courthouse.
Our Record Sealing Services
Colorado uses different statutes and different timelines depending on what kind of record you have. Here is what we handle and how each type of record is treated under current law.
Adult Conviction Sealing
Most adult convictions in Colorado cannot be expunged. Sealing is the remedy, and it is governed by C.R.S. 24-72-706. A motion to seal is filed in the original criminal case once a waiting period has run. The waiting period is measured from the later of the final disposition or your release from supervision, and depends on the offense level:
Civil infractions, petty offenses, and drug petty offenses: 1 year
Class 2 and class 3 misdemeanors and drug misdemeanors: 2 years
Class 1 misdemeanors, class 4, 5, and 6 felonies, and level 3 and 4 drug felonies: 3 years
All other eligible offenses: 5 years
Unpaid restitution blocks a sealing motion until it is paid or the order is vacated. Outstanding fines and court costs no longer do, a change made by SB 22-099. Many drug convictions, theft and property offenses, and other non-violent misdemeanors and lower-level felonies fall within these rules.
Colorado also now seals many eligible convictions automatically under its Clean Slate law, C.R.S. 13-3-117, but on a much longer timeline: 4 years for civil infractions, 7 years for petty offenses and misdemeanors, and 10 years for eligible felonies. Filing a motion yourself is almost always faster. It also lets you confirm the record is actually gone rather than waiting on a state process that is currently working through a large backlog.
Arrest and Non-Conviction Records
If you were arrested but never charged, or your case was dismissed, ended in acquittal, or was resolved through a completed diversion or deferred judgment, the record should be sealed without a fight. Under HB 21-1214, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation automatically seals arrests made on or after January 1, 2022 when no charges are filed within a year. Courts are also required to enter sealing orders at the time a case is dismissed or acquitted.
Older no-charge arrests are being sealed on a rolling statutory schedule: records from 2013 through 2018 were sealed as of January 1, 2023, followed by 2008 to 2012 in 2024, 2003 to 2007 in 2025, 1997 to 2002 in 2026, and everything older by January 1, 2027. Automatic sealing does not always happen the way the statute intends. If a dismissed case or old arrest still shows up on a background check, Aaron can file a motion to force the issue, and the $65 processing fee is waived when the record should have been sealed automatically.
Juvenile Record Expungement
Juvenile cases follow a separate process under C.R.S. 19-1-306, and they are the one category where Colorado offers true expungement rather than sealing. An expunged juvenile record is treated as though it never existed. Courts automatically expunge records when a juvenile is found not guilty, the case is dismissed, or the juvenile completes diversion or a deferred adjudication for a lower-level offense.
Other juvenile records can be expunged by petition, in most cases as soon as 42 days after the case closes. Juveniles who are not eligible include those adjudicated for a sexual felony, homicide, or as an aggravated or violent juvenile offender. If you or your child has a juvenile record that never came off, or an underage possession charge that should have sealed on completion of the required class, we can review it.
Municipal Court Convictions
Convictions in Colorado Springs Municipal Court and other city courts are sealed under a separate statute, C.R.S. 24-72-708. The motion is filed with the municipal court, generally three years after the case closed, provided you have no new felony or misdemeanor convictions in the meantime. Municipal cases are easy to overlook, and they show up on background checks just like state cases do.
Multiple Convictions
People with more than one conviction can still seal their records under C.R.S. 24-72-709, though the waiting periods are longer and the number of prior cases is capped. Separate motions must be filed in each jurisdiction where a conviction occurred. This is where an attorney earns their fee: sequencing the motions correctly and confirming eligibility across courts prevents a denial in one case from complicating the others.
How the Record Sealing Process Works
From filing to a signed order, a straightforward sealing motion typically takes two to four months. Cases that draw a district attorney objection, or that involve several courts, can take longer. Here is what to expect.
Step 1: Free Consultation and Eligibility Review
Aaron starts by obtaining your Colorado criminal history and going through every case, charge, disposition, and date. He identifies which records qualify by motion, which should already have been sealed automatically, and which are ineligible under current law. He also flags anything that could sink a motion before it is filed, such as an intervening conviction, a pending charge, or unpaid restitution.
Step 2: Filing the Motion
Once eligibility is confirmed, Aaron prepares the motion to seal and files it in the court that handled the original case, along with a certified copy of your criminal history and the $65 processing fee. The fee is waived for indigent filers and for records that should have been sealed automatically. For misdemeanors and felonies, notice goes to the district attorney's office, which decides whether to object. Civil infractions, petty offenses, and marijuana possession cases are sealed without a hearing once the court confirms no new convictions.
Step 3: Court Decision
If the district attorney does not object, the court can grant most motions on the paperwork alone. If there is an objection, or a victim requests a hearing, the court sets the matter for hearing. Aaron presents your case under the standard set by statute: that the harm to your privacy and the risk of continued adverse consequences outweigh the public interest in keeping the record open. The court weighs the severity of the offense, your history since, and the government's need to retain the record.
Once the order is signed, it goes to every agency holding the record, including the court, the arresting agency, and CBI. From that point, employers, landlords, and volunteer organizations running standard background checks should no longer see it.
Areas We Serve
Colorado Springs Criminal Defense, LLC represents clients throughout southern Colorado, including:
Colorado Springs, Broadmoor, Cimarron Hills, Black Forest, Falcon, Fountain, Security-Widefield, Manitou Springs, and Monument in El Paso County
Woodland Park and Cripple Creek in Teller County
Pueblo and Pueblo West in Pueblo County
Canon City and Florence in Fremont County
Sealing motions are filed where the original case was heard. Aaron appears regularly in Colorado Springs Municipal Court, the El Paso County Combined Courts and Teller County Combined Courts in the 4th Judicial District, the Pueblo County Combined Courts in the 10th Judicial District, and the Fremont County Combined Courts in the 11th Judicial District.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Difference Between Record Sealing and Expungement in Colorado?
Expungement erases a record. Sealing hides it from the public but keeps it intact. In Colorado, expungement is reserved for juvenile delinquency records. Adult criminal records can be sealed, not expunged. A sealed record does not appear in ordinary public searches, and in most situations you may lawfully state that no record exists. Courts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and law enforcement can still access sealed records, and a sealed record can be unsealed if you are convicted of a new offense.
How Long Does Record Sealing Take?
Once filed, most motions resolve in two to four months. The waiting period before you can file is separate and depends on the offense: one year for petty offenses and civil infractions, two years for class 2 and 3 misdemeanors, three years for class 1 misdemeanors and class 4 through 6 felonies, and five years for other eligible offenses. Be aware that CBI has a substantial backlog of orders to process. As of April 2026 the agency reported roughly 430,000 cases awaiting sealing statewide, so there can be a lag between the court's order and the record disappearing from a CBI-based background check.
Will Sealing My Record Help With Employment and Housing Background Checks?
Yes, in most cases. Once sealed, the record will not appear in the public court database or on a standard CBI background check, and you may generally answer that you have no record on job, housing, and many licensing applications. There are exceptions. Certain government positions, security clearance investigations, law enforcement hiring, and some professional licensing boards can still access sealed records or require disclosure. Sealing also does not by itself restore rights that were lost because of the conviction, such as federal firearm eligibility after a felony. Aaron will tell you where the limits are for your situation.
What Records Cannot Be Sealed in Colorado?
C.R.S. 24-72-706(2) lists the convictions that are not eligible. They include:
DUI and DWAI convictions, and class 1 and class 2 misdemeanor traffic offenses
Class 1, class 2, and class 3 felonies, and level 1 drug felonies
Offenses involving unlawful sexual behavior and sexual offenses under Part 4 of Article 3 of Title 18
Convictions with a domestic violence factual basis under C.R.S. 18-6-800.3
Crimes of violence, extraordinary risk crimes, and felony Victim Rights Act offenses such as serious assault
Child abuse, cruelty to animals, identity theft, and pandering
There is one important exception. A misdemeanor or petty offense that would otherwise be ineligible, including a domestic violence misdemeanor, can still be sealed if the district attorney consents, or if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that your need for sealing is significant and substantial, enough time has passed that you are no longer a threat to public safety, and public disclosure is no longer needed to protect or inform the public. That is a demanding standard, and it is exactly the kind of motion that benefits from an attorney.
Can I Seal My Record Without a Lawyer?
You can. The Colorado Judicial Branch publishes the forms, and for a single petty offense or dismissed case the process is manageable. It gets harder when the offense is a misdemeanor or felony, when there are multiple cases in different courts, when the district attorney objects, or when a record that should have sealed automatically never did. A mistake in the paperwork or the wrong court can delay the case by months. The consultation is free, so it costs nothing to find out how complicated your situation actually is.
Get Started With Your Free Consultation
Colorado has rewritten its sealing laws several times since 2019, and each round has widened who qualifies. If you were told years ago that your record could not be sealed, that answer may no longer be correct. Whether you are dealing with an old arrest, a conviction you completed long ago, a municipal case, or a juvenile record that should have been expunged, the first step is the same.
Call (719) 578-3344 or contact us online for a free consultation. Aaron will pull your record, tell you exactly what can be sealed and when, and handle the entire process from motion to signed order so you can stop explaining your past and start moving forward.
Colorado Springs Criminal Defense, LLC · (719) 578-3344 · 10 Boulder Crescent Street, Ste. 301, Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Sources
C.R.S. 13-3-117, State court administrator, automatic conviction sealing
HB 21-1214, Record Sealing Collateral Consequences Reduction
Colorado Lawyer, Automatic Record Sealing in Colorado (Colorado Bar Association)
KRDO13 Investigates, Colorado backlog delays sealing of criminal records (April 15, 2026)
