Quick answer: An expungement petition is filed in the court that heard your case, not the court nearest your home. Crim. Proc. § 10-105(b)(1) and § 10-110(b)(1) both put it “in the court in which the proceeding began.” Upper Marlboro is the county seat: the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County sits only here, and one of the county’s two District Court locations is here. So a large share of the county’s petitions are filed here whatever town the arrest was in.
I’m David Waranch, and I’ve handled thousands of Maryland criminal and traffic matters, including expungements on the Prince George’s docket.
You cannot pick the good counts out of a bad arrest. This is the most common reason a Prince George’s petition is denied. Under Crim. Proc. § 10-107, charges arising from one incident are a single unit, and one charge you are not entitled to expunge blocks every other charge in that unit. The three counts that were dropped stay visible because of the one that was not.
The Petition Follows the Case, Not the Defendant
The Judiciary says it plainly — file in the court that heard the case — and the statute says it twice.
“Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection, a person shall file a petition for expungement in the court in which the proceeding began.” — Md. Code, Crim. Proc. § 10-110(b)(1)
Moving out of the county does not move the file. The two exceptions are narrow, and both can pull a case into Upper Marlboro that began elsewhere.
| How the case moved | Where the petition is filed | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Began and ended in a Prince George’s District Court location | That same District Court location | § 10-105(b)(1) · § 10-110(b)(1) |
| Indicted, or a jury trial was prayed, and the case was heard in the Circuit Court | Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, Upper Marlboro | § 10-105(b)(1) |
| Tried in the District Court, then appealed to the Circuit Court | The appellate court — the Circuit Court, in Upper Marlboro | § 10-105(b)(3)(i) |
| Began in one court and was transferred to another | The court it was transferred to | § 10-105(b)(2)(i) |
| Charged as an adult, then transferred to juvenile court | Back to the court that entered the transfer order | § 10-105(b)(2)(ii) |
Two Courts, One Town, Different Files
Prince George’s runs its District Court from two locations, Upper Marlboro and Hyattsville; the Circuit Court sits in Upper Marlboro only. Which building heard your case is a matter of record, not geography, so check Case Search rather than a map. The appeal row catches people out: a Hyattsville case appealed for a new trial is, for expungement, a Circuit Court case, and the petition goes to Upper Marlboro.
Several old cases also means several petitions, each in its own court. There is no consolidated filing, so a full record review comes before any paperwork: the county-wide expungement picture.
One Arrest, Several Counts, One Verdict on Eligibility
Cases here are rarely one charge. An arrest produces four, six, sometimes ten counts, ending with some nol prossed, some dismissed, one that sticks. Clients assume the dropped counts come off. Section 10-107 says otherwise.
“If a person is not entitled to expungement of one charge or conviction in a unit, the person is not entitled to expungement of any other charge or conviction in the unit.” — Md. Code, Crim. Proc. § 10-107(b)(1)
A unit is every charge, minus the carve-outs below, arising from “the same incident, transaction, or set of facts.” So the question is never “can I expunge this count?” but “is there anything in this arrest I cannot expunge yet?” A conviction absent from the § 10-110(a) list never becomes eligible and holds the dismissals with it permanently. One on the list — second-degree assault, say — becomes eligible seven years after the sentence is complete, and nothing from that arrest can be filed sooner: which convictions can be expunged, six reasons a record will not.
Two things ride along without joining the unit. Under § 10-107(a)(2), a minor traffic violation or a possession of cannabis charge under Crim. Law § 5-601 from the same incident “is not a part of the unit,” and (b)(2) adds that the traffic count’s disposition does not affect any right to expungement in it.
The traffic carve-out is narrower than it sounds, and in a county where most criminal cases start on a road that is the trap. Crim. Proc. § 10-101(h) defines a minor traffic violation as a nonincarcerable one. So a speeding count is harmless, but a jailable traffic count is not carved out at all: driving while suspended under Transp. § 16-303, driving without a license under § 16-101, reckless driving and DUI all stay in the unit, and any one can hold the whole arrest on your record — Prince George’s traffic defense.
What the Clerk Charges to Take the Petition
The Judiciary sets this schedule statewide; the county does not price its own.
| Disposition being expunged | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Acquittal, dismissal, not guilty, nolle prosequi, stet, probation before judgment, not criminally responsible | No charge |
| Eligible guilty disposition under § 10-110 | $30 per case, nonrefundable even if the petition is denied |
Read “per case” against the unit rule and the logic holds: the $30 is charged once for the case, not for each charge in a unit. Ask the court to waive it if you cannot afford it — and confirm eligibility before you file, because the fee is gone either way.
The State’s Attorney Has 30 Days to Object
The window is statutory, not local custom. The court serves the petition on the State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County, and under § 10-105(d)(2) and § 10-110(e)(3), if no objection is filed within 30 days after service the court “shall pass an order” requiring expungement — no hearing, no appearance.
A timely objection forces a hearing under § 10-105(e)(1) and § 10-110(f)(1), with the State’s Attorney a party by statute. Conviction petitions add a layer: § 10-110(e)(2) has the court notify each listed victim, who may object too, and § 10-110(f)(2) then requires findings on the record that the conviction is eligible, that restitution is paid or you cannot pay it, that you are not a risk to public safety, and that expungement serves the interest of justice. Whether to object is the prosecutor’s call, and no lawyer can promise how that office decides.
Then, under § 10-105(f) and § 10-110(h), every custodian has 60 days after entry of the order to confirm compliance in writing. Thirty plus sixty is where the “about 90 days” quoted online comes from, and it holds only if nobody objects — a hearing adds whatever the docket adds.
Some Cases Now Expunge Themselves
Check whether you need to file at all. Crim. Proc. § 10-105.1 makes expungement automatic three years after disposition, for dispositions entered on or after October 1, 2021, where no charge in the case ended in anything but acquittal, dismissal, not guilty, or nolle prosequi.
Notice the condition — no charge in the case. One guilty count, one stet, one probation before judgment, and the automatic route closes. Unit logic in different clothes. Three years is also a long wait with a job on the line, so § 10-105(c)(1) lets you file immediately on an acquittal, dismissal, or nolle prosequi if you add a written general waiver and release of your tort claims: early expungement in Maryland.
Do not assume a favorable disposition is safe, either. A PBJ is generally expungeable, but § 10-105(a)(3) excludes one for Transp. § 21-902(c), (d), (h) or (i) outright, and § 10-105(c)(2)(ii) puts one for § 21-902(a) or (b) behind a 15-year wait: expunging a Maryland DUI, DUI defense.
An open case stops everything: § 10-105(e)(4)(iii) and § 10-110(d)(2) make you ineligible while a defendant in a pending criminal proceeding, and an outstanding Prince George’s bench warrant means a pending case. Clear it first — Maryland criminal defense, traffic violations.
Common Questions
In Hyattsville. Criminal Procedure 10-105(b)(1) and 10-110(b)(1) both require the petition to be filed in the court in which the proceeding began, so the court that heard the case keeps it, regardless of where you now live or where you were arrested. The exception is an appeal. If the District Court case was appealed to the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, section 10-105(b)(3)(i) sends the petition to that appellate court, which sits in Upper Marlboro. Check Maryland Judiciary Case Search to confirm which court holds the file before filing anything.
Usually not. Criminal Procedure 10-107 treats charges arising from the same incident, transaction, or set of facts as a single unit, and subsection (b)(1) provides that if you are not entitled to expungement of one charge in the unit, you are not entitled to expungement of any other charge in it. So the conviction controls the whole arrest. If that conviction is on the list in section 10-110(a), the entire unit becomes eligible once its waiting period runs from completion of the sentence. If it is not on that list, the dismissed counts stay visible. A cannabis possession charge under Criminal Law 5-601 is carved out of the unit, and so is a minor traffic violation, but Criminal Procedure 10-101(h) defines that as a nonincarcerable violation. A jailable traffic count such as driving while suspended stays in the unit.
The statute fixes two periods and leaves the rest to the court’s schedule. The State’s Attorney has 30 days after the petition is served to file an objection, and if none is filed the court must pass the expungement order. If an objection is filed, the court holds a hearing, which adds however long scheduling takes. After the order is entered, every custodian of the records has 60 days to advise the court and you in writing that it has complied. Those two periods, 30 and 60, are where the commonly quoted figure of about 90 days comes from, and it only holds if nobody objects.
Law Offices of David R. Waranch — 301-563-9575 · toll-free 1-877-566-2408. Hablamos Español.
Last updated: August 2026. Statutory references: Md. Code, Crim. Proc. §§ 10-105, 10-105.1, 10-107, 10-110; Crim. Law § 5-601; Transp. § 21-902. Filing fees are as published by the Maryland Judiciary. This page is general information about Maryland law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.