Quick answer: Maryland expungement waiting periods run from 3 years to 15 years for convictions, and the clock starts when you complete your sentence — including probation — not on the date you were convicted. A driving while suspended (Transp. § 16-303) or driving without a license (Transp. § 16-101) conviction waits 5 years. A DUI that ended in probation before judgment (PBJ) waits 15 years, and some DUI dispositions can never be expunged. If your charge did not end in a conviction, you move faster: a dismissal, nolle prosequi, or acquittal clears in 3 years, or immediately if you sign a written waiver of tort claims. The ladder below shows every waiting period the statute sets.
I’m David Waranch, and I’ve handled thousands of Maryland traffic and criminal cases. Getting the waiting period right is the difference between a petition the court grants automatically and one that comes back denied. Here is exactly how long each disposition takes, when the clock actually starts, and the one event that can wipe out your eligibility entirely.
The Conviction Waiting-Period Ladder
For convictions, Md. Code, Crim. Proc. § 10-110 sets a fixed ladder of waiting periods in subsection (c). The waiting period depends on what you were convicted of, and every rung is measured the same way — from completion of your sentence. There is no early-filing or good-cause escape hatch inside § 10-110, so the ladder is the ladder. For traffic clients, the line that matters most is the general 5-year rule, because both driving while suspended and driving without a license fall under it.
| Waiting period | Applies to |
|---|---|
| 3 years | Possession with intent to distribute cannabis (Crim. Law § 5-602) |
| 5 years | General rule — most eligible misdemeanors, including driving while suspended (§ 16-303) and driving without a license (§ 16-101) |
| 7 years | Second-degree assault (§ 3-203), common-law battery, and felonies generally |
| 10 years | Felony theft (§ 7-104) |
| 15 years | A crime that was domestically related under § 6-233 |
Not every conviction is on the eligibility list to begin with — a reckless driving conviction is not named in § 10-110 and generally cannot be expunged at all. For the full catalog of what qualifies, see Maryland convictions you can expunge. If you were convicted of driving while suspended, the 5-year rung is your path.
When the Clock Really Starts
This is where people miscalculate. The waiting period runs from “completion of the sentence,” and under Crim. Proc. § 10-101(c), completion of the sentence includes any period of probation, parole, or mandatory supervision. So a 5-year wait on a suspended-driving conviction does not start on your sentencing date. If you were given 30 days suspended plus two years of probation, the five-year clock starts when that probation ends — meaning your record is actually clear seven years after sentencing, not five.
“‘Completion of the sentence’ includes any period of probation, parole, or mandatory supervision.”
Myth: “It’s been five years since my conviction, so I can file now.” The clock does not start on the conviction date — it starts when you finish the entire sentence, and probation counts. Filing before the true waiting period runs out only gets your petition denied. Count from the day your probation or parole actually ended, then add the years from the ladder above.
Faster Routes: Non-Convictions and PBJ
If your case did not end in a conviction, you do not use the § 10-110 ladder at all — you use Crim. Proc. § 10-105, and it moves much faster. A dismissal, nolle prosequi, or acquittal can be expunged after 3 years, or immediately if you file a written general waiver and release of all tort claims arising from the charge. A stet is 3 years. Probation before judgment has its own math that surprises people, and DUI is treated separately from every other charge.
| How the case ended | Route | Waiting period |
|---|---|---|
| Dismissal, nolle prosequi, or acquittal | § 10-105 | 3 years — or immediately with a written waiver and release of tort claims |
| Stet docket | § 10-105 | 3 years |
| Probation before judgment (most charges) | § 10-105 | Later of: discharge from probation, or 3 years after probation was granted |
| PBJ for DUI/DWI — § 21-902(a) or (b) | § 10-105 | 15 years from discharge |
| PBJ for § 21-902(c), (d), (h), or (i) | Not available | Cannot be expunged |
The PBJ timing catches people out. Under § 10-105(c)(2)(i), the clock ends at the later of your discharge from probation or 3 years after the probation was granted — not three years after it ends. There is a hard three-year floor from the grant date, so ending an 18-month probation early buys you nothing. DUI is the sharp exception: a PBJ for Transp. § 21-902(a) or (b) waits 15 years, and a PBJ for § 21-902(c), (d), (h), or (i) is not expungeable at all. I walk through those distinctions on expunging a Maryland DUI or DWI.
A New Conviction Can Wipe Out Your Wait
Here is the trap that undoes an otherwise-clean wait: under § 10-110(d)(1), a new conviction during the waiting period disqualifies the original one. It does not restart the clock — it can take the earlier conviction off the table entirely, unless the new conviction itself later becomes eligible. So if you are waiting out a 5-year period on a suspended-driving conviction and you pick up a new charge in year three, you can lose the ability to expunge the first one. Staying clean through the entire waiting period is not optional. When you are ready to file, the steps and timing are laid out in how the Maryland expungement process works, and the broader picture lives in the expungement knowledge hub.
It starts when you complete your sentence, not on the conviction date. Under Crim. Proc. section 10-101(c), completion of the sentence includes any period of probation, parole, or mandatory supervision, so the clock begins the day your probation or parole actually ends.
Five years. Driving while suspended under Transportation section 16-303 and driving without a license under section 16-101 fall under the general rule in Crim. Proc. section 10-110(c), which is 5 years measured from completion of the sentence, including probation.
Yes. Under Crim. Proc. section 10-110(d)(1), a new conviction during the waiting period disqualifies the original conviction. It does not restart the clock — it can remove your eligibility entirely unless the new conviction later becomes eligible itself, so you must stay clean through the whole waiting period.
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. §§ 10-101, 10-105, 10-110; 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.