Can You Expunge a DUI in Utah?
Short answer: Under Utah Code §77-40a-303, both a misdemeanor and a felony DUI conviction generally require a 10-year waiting period — the longest waiting period in Utah's expungement statute — before you can petition for expungement. But there's a separate, harder bar: a DUI conviction is categorically ineligible for expungement if you have a prior DUI conviction within the preceding 10 years, regardless of how long you wait.
Who this guide is for
Anyone with a Utah DUI conviction trying to understand whether — and when — it could be expunged.
Why DUI is treated differently
DUI offenses are explicitly excluded from Utah's automatic Clean Slate expungement track (see Utah's Automatic Expungement (Clean Slate) Explained), alongside felonies generally, sex offenses, and violent offenses. A DUI record will never be cleared automatically — if it's expungeable at all, it requires actively petitioning through the process described in How to Expunge a Criminal Record in Utah.
The 10-year waiting period
Utah Code §77-40a-303 sets a 10-year waiting period — measured from the date of conviction or release from probation, incarceration, or parole, whichever happened last — for:
- Any DUI offense, whether charged as a misdemeanor or a felony
- Felony drug trafficking offenses
This is the longest waiting period in Utah's expungement statute; by comparison, an ordinary class A misdemeanor or felony drug possession offense generally requires 5 years, a class B misdemeanor 4 years, and most other misdemeanors or infractions 3 years.
The separate, harder bar: a prior DUI within 10 years
This is the detail that actually determines whether a DUI is expungeable at all, not just when: Utah law generally makes a DUI conviction categorically ineligible for expungement if the person has another DUI conviction within the 10 years preceding the one they're trying to expunge. If that applies to you, no amount of additional waiting makes the conviction eligible — this is a hard bar, not a longer timer.
Separately, certain offenses are categorically ineligible regardless of DUI status at all — capital felonies, first-degree felonies involving violence, and sex offenses requiring registration among them — but a standalone, first-time DUI (misdemeanor or felony) isn't automatically barred just because it was charged as a felony, contrary to what some general summaries suggest.
Prosecutorial objection is more common for DUI cases
Even where a DUI conviction meets the waiting period and isn't barred by a recent prior, prosecutors are reported to object to DUI expungement petitions more often than for other offense types, citing public safety concerns. Utah's petition process already requires showing, by clear and convincing evidence, that expungement isn't contrary to the public interest — a real, substantive burden — and this can be harder to meet for a DUI specifically.
What to actually do if you have a DUI you want expunged
- Confirm whether you have another DUI conviction within the past 10 years — this determines eligibility more than anything else.
- Calculate your 10-year waiting period from your conviction date or release from probation/incarceration/parole, whichever was last.
- Apply for a BCI Certificate of Eligibility for a definitive, case-specific answer. See Utah Certificate of Eligibility: How to Apply.
- Consider a consultation, particularly given the higher likelihood of prosecutorial objection in DUI cases.
Frequently asked questions
Does a DUI ever qualify for automatic Clean Slate expungement? No — DUI is specifically excluded from that track regardless of how much time has passed.
Is a felony DUI automatically ineligible for expungement? Not automatically — a felony DUI generally follows the same 10-year waiting period as a misdemeanor DUI, unless a prior DUI within the preceding 10 years, or another categorical bar, applies.
Is a pardon a realistic alternative if I can't get a DUI expunged? It's an option worth understanding — see Utah Pardons vs. Expungement: What's the Difference — though pardons involve their own separate, demanding process.