Quick answer: A Maryland conviction can be expunged only if the offense is on the list in Crim. Proc. § 10-110(a), and only after a waiting period measured from completion of the sentence — not from the conviction date. The tiers are 3, 5, 7, 10 and 15 years. Two rules defeat most petitions: a new conviction during the wait disqualifies the original rather than restarting the clock, and under § 10-107 one ineligible charge blocks everything else from the same arrest.
I’m David Waranch, and I’ve handled thousands of Maryland criminal and traffic cases. The question I hear most is how long the wait is — and almost everyone starts counting from the wrong day.
Which Convictions Are on the List
Maryland does not expunge convictions by category or by age. Crim. Proc. § 10-110(a) is a closed list of statute numbers — twenty-eight groups of misdemeanors plus four felonies. If your offense is not on it, no waiting period helps you. The list has grown steadily, so anything you read a few years ago may be stale.
The eligible misdemeanors I see most: second-degree assault (Crim. Law § 3-203), misdemeanor theft (§ 7-104), disorderly conduct (§ 10-201), malicious destruction of property (§ 6-301), fourth-degree burglary (§ 6-205), CDS possession under § 5-601 not involving cannabis, and the common law offenses of affray, rioting, criminal contempt, battery and hindering. Two traffic charges are on the list too: driving without a license (Transp. § 16-101) and driving while suspended or revoked (§ 16-303).
Only four felonies qualify: felony theft under Crim. Law § 7-104 (that is $1,500 or more), possession with intent to distribute a CDS under § 5-602, and burglary in the first, second and third degrees under §§ 6-202(a), 6-203 and 6-204. Watch the subsection: § 6-202(a) is first-degree burglary, but § 6-202(b) is home invasion, which is not on the list. An attempt, conspiracy or solicitation of a listed offense is eligible on the same terms. Everything else sits outside § 10-110 permanently — see six reasons you can’t expunge your Maryland record.
The Waiting Ladder, and the Day It Starts
Every period in § 10-110(c) runs from completion of the sentence, and that phrase is defined:
“‘Completion of the sentence’ means the time when a sentence has expired, including any period of probation, parole, or mandatory supervision.” — Crim. Proc. § 10-101(c)
An extension of probation counts. If unpaid fines or costs are keeping an unsupervised probation open, the clock has not started.
| Conviction | Wait after completion of the sentence | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Possession with intent to distribute cannabis, Crim. Law § 5-602 | 3 years | § 10-110(c)(5) |
| The general rule — every eligible misdemeanor not listed below | 5 years | § 10-110(c)(1) |
| Second-degree assault (Crim. Law § 3-203) or common law battery | 7 years | § 10-110(c)(2) |
| Any eligible felony not in the next row — including third-degree burglary (§ 6-204) and possession with intent to distribute a non-cannabis CDS | 7 years | § 10-110(c)(4) |
| First-degree burglary § 6-202(a), second-degree burglary § 6-203, and felony theft under § 7-104 | 10 years | § 10-110(c)(6) |
| Any offense the court found to be a domestically related crime under Crim. Proc. § 6-233 | 15 years | § 10-110(c)(3) |
Theft appears twice because value sets the tier: under $1,500 it is a misdemeanor at five years, at $1,500 or more a felony at ten. The 15-year row overrides every row above it — under Crim. Proc. § 6-233 the court makes a domestically related finding on the State’s Attorney’s request, by a preponderance, and it enters the court record. A second-degree assault that would clear at seven years takes fifteen if that finding was made.
You are almost certainly counting from the wrong date. Nearly everyone who calls me counts from the day of the conviction. The statute counts from the day the sentence ended, and § 10-101(c) folds probation, parole and mandatory supervision into that. A 2019 conviction with a probation that ended in 2022 does not become expungeable in 2024 under the five-year rule — it becomes expungeable in 2027. Filing early buys nothing: the court has no authority to grant a petition filed before the period runs, and you lose the fee and the time. Get the exact termination date off the docket before you file.
A New Conviction Disqualifies the Old One
§ 10-110(d)(1) is the provision people misunderstand most. If you are convicted of a new crime during the waiting period, the original conviction is not eligible “unless the new conviction becomes eligible for expungement.” The clock does not restart — the old conviction is disqualified, and stays that way until the new one itself becomes expungeable. If the new crime is not on the § 10-110(a) list, it never will — and neither will the old one, however close it was to clearing.
Separately, § 10-110(d)(2) bars expungement while you are “a defendant in a pending criminal proceeding.” An open case anywhere in Maryland stops the petition, even one unrelated to the conviction you are clearing.
One Ineligible Charge Sinks the Whole Arrest
This rule defeats more petitions than the waiting periods do. Under Crim. Proc. § 10-107, charges arising from the same incident, transaction or set of facts form a single unit:
“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.” — Crim. Proc. § 10-107(b)(1)
§ 10-110(d)(3) repeats it for convictions. In practice: one arrest, four counts, three dismissed and the fourth a conviction the statute does not cover — those three dismissals are going nowhere. It runs the other way too, so an eligible conviction is stuck to any ineligible count charged with it.
Two carve-outs exist. A minor traffic violation and possession of cannabis under Crim. Law § 5-601 sit outside the unit — they neither poison it nor are poisoned by it. Be careful with the traffic one: § 10-101(h) defines a minor traffic violation as a nonincarcerable one, and driving while suspended and driving without a license both carry jail. Those join the unit.
Where the Petition Goes and What Happens Next
File in the court where the proceeding began — § 10-110(b)(1). If the case was transferred, file where it went; if it was appealed, file in the appellate court, which may remand. So expungement is county-by-county under a statewide statute: Montgomery, Prince George’s, Anne Arundel, Baltimore County.
| Stage | Time | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Court has the petition served on the State’s Attorney and mails written notice to each listed victim | On filing | § 10-110(e)(1)–(2) |
| Window for the State’s Attorney or a victim to object | 30 days after service | § 10-110(e)(3) |
| No objection — the court shall pass an expungement order | Once the 30 days run | § 10-110(e)(3) |
| Objection filed — hearing required, five findings on the record | No statutory deadline | § 10-110(f) |
| Every custodian must comply and confirm in writing to the court and to you | 60 days after entry of the order | § 10-110(h) |
The commonly quoted “about 90 days” is those two clocks added together, and it holds only if nobody objects. If someone does, § 10-110(f)(2) requires findings on the record that the conviction is eligible, that you are eligible, that you are not a risk to public safety, that you have paid any restitution ordered or cannot pay it, and that expungement is in the interest of justice. Unpaid restitution alone can lose a contested petition. The State’s Attorney is a party under § 10-110(i)(1), and either side may appeal.
Expunged is not destroyed. § 10-101(e) defines “expunge” as removal from public inspection — by obliteration, or by moving the record to a secure area closed to anyone without a legitimate reason for access. That clears an ordinary employment or housing background check, which is what most people need. Here is how an expungement lawyer can help.
DUI and DWI Run on a Different Statute
A conviction under Transp. § 21-902 is not on the § 10-110(a) list, so it cannot be expunged at all. What callers usually mean is a probation before judgment, which is not a conviction and falls under § 10-105 — where the numbers are punishing. A PBJ for § 21-902(a) or (b) cannot be petitioned for 15 years after discharge from probation (§ 10-105(c)(2)(ii)), and a PBJ for § 21-902(c), (d), (h) or (i) is never expungeable (§ 10-105(a)(3)). Full breakdown: expunging a Maryland DUI or DWI.
There Is No Early-Filing Route for a Conviction
Non-convictions have one. An acquittal, nolle prosequi or dismissal is governed by § 10-105: three years, or immediately on filing a written general waiver and release of tort claims under § 10-105(c)(1).
Convictions have no equivalent. I read § 10-110 end to end — there is no good-cause provision, no hardship exception and no early-filing route anywhere in it. The periods are hard deadlines the court cannot waive. What you can control is counting correctly and clearing anything that would draw an objection. For the routes that genuinely do shorten a wait, see early expungement in Maryland.
Common Questions
The general rule in Criminal Procedure Section 10-110(c)(1) is five years, but the clock starts at completion of the sentence, not at the conviction. Section 10-101(c) defines completion of the sentence to include any period of probation, parole or mandatory supervision, so a five-year wait on a case with three years of probation is really eight years from sentencing. Other offenses sit on different rungs: three years for possession with intent to distribute cannabis, seven years for second-degree assault, common law battery and most eligible felonies, ten years for first- and second-degree burglary and felony theft, and fifteen years for any offense the court found to be a domestically related crime.
No, and that is the part people get wrong. Under Criminal Procedure Section 10-110(d)(1), a conviction for a new crime during the waiting period makes the original conviction ineligible unless the new conviction itself becomes eligible for expungement. The clock does not simply start over. If the new offense is not on the eligible list in Section 10-110(a), it will never become eligible, and the older conviction is blocked permanently. A pending criminal case also bars expungement entirely while it is open.
No. Criminal Procedure Section 10-107 treats all charges arising from the same incident, transaction or set of facts as a unit, and 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. One ineligible count blocks the dismissals and acquittals charged alongside it. There are two exceptions: a minor traffic violation and possession of cannabis under Criminal Law Section 5-601 sit outside the unit. A minor traffic violation means a nonincarcerable one, so a jailable charge such as driving while suspended does not qualify for that exception.
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. §§ 6-233, 10-101, 10-105, 10-107, 10-110; Md. Code, Crim. Law §§ 3-203, 5-601, 5-602, 6-202, 6-203, 6-204, 6-205, 6-301, 7-104, 10-201; Md. Code, Transp. §§ 16-101, 16-303, 21-902. This page is general information about Maryland law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.