Utah Juvenile Record Sealing: How It Differs From Adult Expungement
Short answer: Sealing a Utah juvenile record is a separate process from adult expungement, filed in juvenile court rather than through BCI's adult track. You generally need to be at least 18, with at least one year having passed since the juvenile court's jurisdiction ended or you were unconditionally released from custody — and the most serious offenses (like murder or aggravated murder) are excluded entirely.
Who this guide is for
Anyone with a Utah juvenile court record — or a parent helping an adult child — trying to understand how to have it sealed.
Why this is a genuinely different process from adult expungement
Juvenile records live within the juvenile court system, which operates separately from the adult criminal justice system. The petition to expunge a juvenile record is filed in the juvenile court that handled the original case — not through BCI's Certificate of Eligibility process used for adult records.
Eligibility timing
You generally need to:
- Be at least 18 years old, and
- Have at least one year passed since either the juvenile court's jurisdiction over the case ended, or since an unconditional release from custody, whichever applies to your situation.
What's excluded
Expungement is not available for a juvenile record containing an adjudication for murder or aggravated murder — these are excluded outright, regardless of how much time has passed.
The different "types" of juvenile expungement
Utah's juvenile expungement framework isn't one-size-fits-all — it generally distinguishes between:
- Adjudication expungement — for records where the juvenile court actually made a formal finding (an adjudication).
- Nonjudicial expungement — for records involving only a nonjudicial adjustment (handled outside a formal court adjudication).
- Expungement of arrest/investigation-only records — for delinquency records consisting solely of arrest, investigation, or detention records, or petitions that never resulted in an adjudication at all.
Which category applies affects the specific process and requirements — this isn't a detail to guess at.
Required documentation
Before filing the petition, you generally need to first obtain your adult Criminal History Report from BCI — yes, even though this is a juvenile record process, an adult-record check is part of establishing eligibility. The petition itself generally needs to be notarized before filing.
What happens at the hearing
If there was a victim in the underlying case, they're generally given the opportunity to testify at the hearing. The court considers whether the individual has been rehabilitated to the court's satisfaction, among other statutory factors — this is a substantive judgment call by the court, not a rubber-stamp process.
Frequently asked questions
Does a sealed juvenile record ever get looked at again? Sealing generally restricts access similarly to adult expungement — but the specific rules about what remains accessible to whom (certain government or law enforcement purposes, for example) are worth confirming for your specific situation.
Can a parent file the petition on behalf of their adult child? The eligible petitioner is generally the individual whose record it is, once they've reached 18 — a parent can certainly help and support the process, but confirm the specific filing requirements.
Is there a fee for juvenile record expungement? Fees may apply similarly to the adult process — confirm current amounts with the specific juvenile court handling your case.