By Keith E. McAndrews, Esq. | Last updated September 2026
A summary offense expungement is a court order that permanently destroys the record of a Pennsylvania non-traffic summary citation (such as harassment, disorderly conduct, retail theft, or underage drinking) so it no longer appears on background checks. Traffic citations under the Vehicle Code are handled differently.
Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122 and Pa.R.Crim.P. 490, there are three common eligibility tracks for expungement of a summary offense:
- Dismissed or withdrawn: You can file immediately.
- Acquittal: A separate automatic procedure applies. If a judge found you not guilty, verify your record was actually cleared.
- Conviction: You can petition 5 years after conviction if you have been free of arrest or prosecution since.
In over 20 years as a Pennsylvania expungement lawyer, I have filed more than 500 summary expungement petitions in the Bucks County Courts and surrounding Pennsylvania counties. Most summary expungement petitions take 4 to 6 months to resolve. Not sure which situation you’re in? Call (215) 752-5282 and I’ll tell you in one phone call. Am I eligible? Is it worth it, and how does it work? What does it cost? Common questions
On this page
Can My Pennsylvania Summary Offense Be Expunged?
| How your case ended | Eligible | When you can file |
| Dismissed or withdrawn | Yes | Immediately |
| Found not guilty | Yes, automatic expungement procedure applies if acquitted of all charges from the same criminal episode | If a full acquittal, automatic expungement procedure applies; verify the record was cleared |
| Convicted (pled guilty, paid fine, or found guilty by a judge) | Yes | 5 years after conviction, if free of arrest or prosecution during that period |
| Underage drinking conviction | Yes | Special rules; often sooner than 5 years (see underage drinking expungement rules) |
| Traffic citation (Title 75) | No | Not under the summary offense expungement process |
What Pennsylvania Summary Offenses Can Be Expunged?
A summary offense is the lowest grade of criminal offense in Pennsylvania. It is below a misdemeanor, and the police typically file this charge through a citation rather than an arrest or an arrest warrant.
Many Pennsylvania non-traffic summary offenses qualify for expungement. Eligibility depends on how the case ended and, if you were convicted, whether you meet the applicable waiting period. Summary offenses I commonly handle for expungement include:
- Retail theft (shoplifting)
- Disorderly conduct
- Harassment
- Underage drinking
- Public drunkenness
- Criminal mischief
- Defiant or simple trespass
- Theft of services
- False identification (fake ID)
Don’t see your offense listed? The list is not exhaustive. Call (215) 752-5282 and I can review the court docket and tell you whether your summary offense may qualify for expungement.
What if I Was Convicted of a Summary Offense?
You can petition to expunge a non-traffic summary conviction five years after the conviction date if you have not been charged or prosecuted for any offense during those five years. This is by far the most common type of summary expungement I file, and it is the one where petitions most often run into problems.
Paying the Fine Was a Conviction
If you responded to a summary citation by pleading guilty and paying the fine by mail, online, or in person, you have a conviction. Many people discover this for the first time when the charge appears on a background check years later.
The Five-Year Rule Counts Arrests, Not Just Convictions
You must be free of arrest or prosecution for five years following the conviction, not just free of convictions. An arrest or prosecution during the five-year period may affect your eligibility even if it did not result in a conviction.
In my experience, the District Attorney runs its own updated criminal background check on every petition, so a new arrest will surface even after the petition is filed. This is the eligibility question I am asked about most often, and it is fact-specific: call (215) 752-5282 and I can tell you where you stand.
Unpaid Fines, Court Costs, and Restitution Should Be Resolved First
Rule 490 requires the petition to state whether any fines, court costs, or restitution have been paid. I check the court docket and, if necessary, the court file for unpaid balances or other outstanding issues that could prevent the petition from being granted.
Before I file the petition, I confirm that your charge was a non-traffic summary offense, confirm the conviction date on the docket, and review your State Police history to verify that the five-year window has been met.
If something on your record would block the petition, I will tell you what it is and if and when you may become eligible for expungement. Not sure if your summary case resulted in a conviction? Call (215) 752-5282 and I can give you my opinion after reviewing the docket.
What if My Charge Was Dismissed or Withdrawn?
You can file now. Many people assume a dismissed or withdrawn summary citation leaves no record. A dismissed or withdrawn summary charge can leave a record unless the record is expunged or subject to limited access. The charge and the disposition may remain on the public court docket in the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System and may be available for the public to look up.
The police department that filed the citation, the magisterial district court where the charge was filed, and the county clerk of courts may also have records of a dismissed or withdrawn criminal summary offense.
The charge may also remain in the Pennsylvania State Police criminal history repository unless the record is subject to limited access or the Pennsylvania State Police receives an expungement order from the court. An employer running a background check may see the charge even though you were never convicted.
Even if the charge shows dismissed or withdrawn, a potential employer, school admissions officer, or landlord may use the information against you when making a decision without giving you an opportunity to explain the circumstances of the charge.
There is no five-year waiting period for a dismissed or withdrawn summary charge, so there is no reason to delay filing if your record is eligible for expungement. Call me at (215) 752-5282 and I can review the docket and tell you whether you can file now.
What if I Was Found Not Guilty?
If you were found not guilty of all charges based on the same conduct or criminal episode after a summary trial, Pennsylvania law provides for automatic expungement. The expungement must occur no later than 12 months after acquittal (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122(a)(4)(iv)).
In practice, I tell clients to order a Pennsylvania State Police criminal history through the Pennsylvania Access To Criminal History (PATCH) about 6 months after the verdict to confirm that the expungement was completed.
If the record is still there, I can determine why it was not cleared and what needs to be done to complete the expungement.
What if My Case Involved Underage Drinking?
Underage drinking citations follow different rules depending on your age at the time of the offense:
- Convicted and under 18 at the time: Eligible to petition for expungement once you have reached age 18, 6 months have passed since the conviction, and you have completed all your conditions.
- Convicted and you were between ages 18-20: Eligible to file for expungement once you have turned 21 and have completed all the terms and conditions of your sentence, including any applicable driver’s license suspension.
- Your citation was dismissed or withdrawn (example: after completing community service): Eligible to file for expungement immediately.
- You were found not guilty by a judge: The court automatically expunges your record within 12 months or sooner.
What if I Have More Than One Summary Offense?
Having more than one summary offense conviction does not automatically disqualify you from expungement. Each conviction has to be evaluated separately based on its conviction date and whether you have been free of arrest or prosecution for the five years following that conviction.
If you have summary convictions under different docket numbers, I review each docket individually to determine which offenses are eligible now and whether any of the cases have a problem that could prevent or delay expungement.
When multiple summary cases are eligible, I can prepare and file the petitions together rather than filing the petitions at different times so the eligible cases can move through the expungement process at the same time.
What Could Prevent My Summary Offense from Being Expunged?
In the more than 500 summary expungement petitions I have filed, the problems I look for before filing that could delay or prevent an expungement include:
- Unpaid fines, costs, or restitution.
- An arrest or prosecution during the five-year waiting period.
- A disposition on the docket that differs from what the client remembers.
- Being unable to locate the docket number for the summary offense, which is required for filing the petition.
- Case information such as date of arrest, charge, or disposition that does not match the State Police record.
- Filing the petition without identifying the agencies that must receive the expungement order.
- Paying the wrong filing fee. For example, Montgomery County requires a separate payment for each certified copy of the expungement order, and Bucks County includes an additional $5 automation charge if the case does not already have a Common Pleas (CP) docket number.
Call (215) 752-5282 if you are not sure whether any of these apply to your case.
Is It Worth Expunging a Pennsylvania Summary Offense?
Yes. A non-traffic summary offense stays on your record indefinitely unless it is expunged. The summary offense can appear on a Pennsylvania State Police (PATCH) check, public court docket, and the commercial background check databases used by employers, landlords, schools, and licensing boards, and if you were fingerprinted, FBI criminal history.
A summary offense is the lowest grade of offense in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the person reviewing your background check may not know that. A fifteen-year-old disorderly conduct or retail theft citation can raise questions on a job application, apartment application, or an application for a professional license or certification. In most cases, you won’t have a chance to explain it. About 86% of North American employers surveyed run criminal background checks at the pre-employment stage (SHRM), and Census Bureau research shows that a criminal record makes it harder to get hired for a job.
With limited exceptions, an expungement order requires the Pennsylvania State Police and other agencies to destroy the records of the offense. If the summary offense appears on an FBI criminal history, the Pennsylvania State Police provides the FBI with the expungement information after receiving and processing the court’s expungement order. There is no benefit to waiting. If your charge was withdrawn or dismissed or if your five-year waiting period has passed, you are likely eligible to file for expungement now. Every application you submit while the record exists is another chance for it to surface.
Call (215) 752-5282 and I can pull your docket while we are on the phone. I’ll tell you whether you are likely eligible for expungement and what it would cost to remove the record.
How the Summary Expungement Process Works
A Pennsylvania summary expungement petition is filed in the Court of Common Pleas of the county where the alleged summary offense occurred, not the magisterial district court where the police filed the citation.
Under Pa.R.Crim.P. 490(a)(3), the petition must include a current Pennsylvania State Police criminal history report obtained within 60 days before the petition is filed (unless waived by the District Attorney). When I am retained to file the expungement petition, I ask clients to order a copy of their own State Police report through the Pennsylvania Access To Criminal History (PATCH) system and send it to me. I’ll tell you when to order it, so the report is still current when the petition is filed.
Before filing, I will confirm the charge and the disposition on the docket and check for unpaid fines, court costs, or restitution or any other matter that could potentially block the petition. Under Rule 490, the petition must be served on the District Attorney at the time of filing, which starts a defined timeline:
- Filing: The petition is filed in the Court of Common Pleas in the Clerk of Courts office (Bucks, Montgomery, Chester counties) and in the Office of Judicial Support in Delaware County.
- Service: The petition must be served on the District Attorney (and Court Administration in Montgomery County) on the day of filing.
- The District Attorney’s 30-day window: After the petition is filed and served on all parties, the DA has 30 days to consent, object, or take no action. The rule does not require the DA to respond although, in my experience, the Bucks County District Attorney files a written objection or consent to the petition.
- The judge’s decision: Once the DA responds, or within 14 days after the 30-day timeline has expired, the judge must grant the petition, deny it, or schedule a hearing.
- If the judge grants the order: Unless the DA consented to the expungement, the order is stayed for 30 days to allow for an appeal. Once the 30-day window passes, the court will send certified copies of the order to all agencies listed for service on the petition.
Most of my clients’ petitions are granted without a hearing and most summary expungements resolve in 4 to 6 months from filing to the destruction of the records. The variation comes from county-specific filing procedures, service lists, and processing times.
Call (215) 752-5282 and I can pull your docket while we are on the phone and tell you whether you are likely eligible to start the process now.
Do I Need a Lawyer to Expunge a Pennsylvania Summary Offense?
No. Pennsylvania does not require that you hire a lawyer to file a summary expungement petition, and some people are able to successfully file on their own. However, the petition is a formal court filing, as the process above shows. That means the petition must be filed with all required information, in the right court office in the Court of Common Pleas, served on the District Attorney (and other court offices, if applicable) on the day it is filed.
Most of my clients discover that properly filing a summary expungement petition is much more difficult than filling out a one-page summary appeal form. If the petition is not filed and served properly, it can be rejected or returned by the clerk of courts before a judge ever sees it.
The most common mistakes that are made in filing a summary expungement petition include:
- A missing page or pages such as the proposed Order of Expungement, certificate of service, or confidential information form required by the Case Records Public Access Policy (204 Pa. Code § 213.81).
- Missing information such as the magisterial docket number, name, address and police department of the affiant, or required personal information.
- An incorrect filing fee. Some counties (Montgomery County), in addition to the filing fee, require a separate payment for a certified copy of the order for each agency listed. Other counties (Delaware County) require an initial payment of the filing fee, and a subsequent payment for certified copies of the expungement order once it is granted.
- A missing State Police Report or a report that is older than 60 days by the filing date.
- A service list that leaves out an agency that must receive the expungement order.
In the process of filing more than 500 summary expungement petitions, I have learned each county’s requirements, so you are in the best position to have the petition accepted and ruled on by the court the first time.
If you decide to hire an expungement attorney, call (215) 752-5282. I’ll tell you what your county requires and what I would charge, and you can make an informed decision with real numbers in front of you.
How Much Does a Summary Expungement Cost in Pennsylvania?
The total cost of a Pennsylvania summary expungement typically has three parts: the attorney’s fee (the cost of hiring an expungement lawyer), the county filing fee, and the cost of your Pennsylvania State Police criminal history report ordered through PATCH (currently $22) plus, in some counties, payment for certified copies of the expungement order. I will quote you a flat fee for filing the summary expungement and representing you at an expungement hearing, if necessary.
The flat fee is based on the type of summary offense, the number of summary cases, the disposition of the charge, possible legal objections to the expungement, and the likelihood that the District Attorney will consent to the expungement. If you have more than one summary case eligible for expungement, I’ll quote a combined fee for filing the petitions together.
The court costs, including summary expungement filing fees, are separate from the attorney’s fee. As of September 2026, they include the following:
- Bucks County: $258.50
- Montgomery County: $176.50 plus $13.50 for additional agencies to be served
- Delaware County: $154.50 plus additional fees for certified copies of the expungement order if the petition is granted
- Chester County: $168.00
Call (215) 752-5282. I’ll review your docket while we are on the phone and quote you the complete price, including the attorney’s fee and all court costs, so you’ll know the full number upfront.
Why Hire Me for Your Summary Expungement?
In more than 20 years of practice as an expungement attorney, I have filed more than 500 summary expungement petitions in Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware, and Chester counties. I know the different filing and service requirements in each county. Not understanding these differences is the main reason most self-filed petitions get rejected or returned.
For example, in Montgomery County, the clerk of courts office may file and create a docket number for your expungement petition, but the case can sit unlisted for disposition indefinitely if you did not serve the office of Court Administration. Another common failure is a service list that leaves out a required agency. Most self-filers don’t know that the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC) and Pennsylvania State Police should be listed on each petition for the record to be fully expunged. Failing to list a required agency on the petition may result in your record continuing to appear on a background check even after expungement is granted.
Every check described on this page, including the docket, disposition, State Police history, 5-year window, unpaid balances, and the 60-day PATCH report, happens before your petition is filed, not after a problem surfaces. If something on your record would block the expungement, I will tell you before you spend money on a filing, not after the petition comes back.
Call (215) 752-5282 and I will pull your docket while we are on the phone, tell you whether you are likely eligible, and quote you one complete price.
Pennsylvania Summary Expungement FAQs
Will a Summary Offense Show Up on an Employment Background Check?
Yes, it can. A non-traffic summary offense can appear on a Pennsylvania State Police (PATCH) check, on the public court docket through the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System web portal, and in the commercial background check databases that employers use to screen job applicants.
This is true even if the charge was dismissed or withdrawn, because a dismissed summary charge can remain on the public court docket and in background check databases unless the record is expunged.
About 86% of North American employers surveyed run criminal background checks at the pre-employment stage (SHRM). If you want to know what an employer would see, call (215) 752-5282 and I can pull your docket while we are on the phone.
Do I Have to Go to Court for a Summary Expungement?
Usually no. Most of my clients’ summary expungement petitions are consented to by the District Attorney and granted by the judge without a hearing and without the client needing to appear in court.
Under Pa.R.Crim.P. 490, the judge may grant the petition, deny it, or schedule a hearing, and in my experience in most counties, the summary expungement petitions that are properly prepared and unopposed by the District Attorney are granted without a hearing.
In Montgomery County, all summary expungement petitions filed without a Joinder letter (the District Attorney’s written consent to expungement) are scheduled for a court hearing. The petitioner and the petitioner’s lawyer are notified of the hearing date and time and that they are not required to attend. In almost every case, the District Attorney consents to the expungement at the hearing date and the expungement order is granted.
If a hearing is scheduled, my flat fee includes representing you at it. Call (215) 752-5282 and after reviewing your docket, I can tell you whether anything about your case makes a hearing more likely.
Why Does My PATCH Check Say “No Record” if My Summary Offense Was Never Expunged?
A “No Record” result on a standard Pennsylvania State Police (PATCH) background check does not necessarily mean your summary offense was expunged. The PATCH system reports criminal history information maintained by the Pennsylvania State Police Central Repository. A summary citation may still have an unexpunged court record, which you or an employer can find on the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System web portal, even though a standard PATCH check returns “No Record.”
An expungement is different. The court enters an Expungement Order directing the appropriate criminal justice agencies to destroy the records covered by the order. Until that happens, the court record remains, and a clean PATCH result alone does not mean an expungement is unnecessary. If you are unsure whether an old summary offense was actually expunged, call (215) 752-5282 and I can review the court docket and tell you whether additional steps are necessary.
How Long Does a Summary Expungement Take?
Most summary expungements resolve in 4 to 6 months from filing to the destruction of the records. The variation comes from county-specific filing procedures, service lists, and processing times. After the petition is filed and served on all required parties, the District Attorney has 30 days to consent, object, or take no action.
Once the District Attorney responds, or within 14 days after the 30-day period expires, the judge must grant the petition, deny it, or schedule a hearing. The timeline in the process section above shows each step.
Call (215) 752-5282 and I can tell you what to expect in your county.
Do I Have to Disclose an Expunged Summary Offense?
Usually no, but there are exceptions. Once a summary offense is expunged, most private employers will not see it and most applications do not require you to disclose it. However, certain applications, such as some professional licenses and certifications, law enforcement positions, and jobs requiring a security clearance, may still require disclosure of expunged summary offenses.
If you are applying for a position or license with special disclosure rules, call (215) 752-5282 and I can discuss whether an exception applies to your situation.
What Is the Difference Between Expungement and Clean Slate Limited Access?
An expungement destroys the record: the court orders the Pennsylvania State Police and other agencies holding the record to destroy it. Clean Slate limited access seals the record from public view, but the record still exists and remains available to courts, law enforcement, certain employers, and many government agencies responsible for professional licensure and certification.
Another important difference is that under Clean Slate limited access, your record may remain on your FBI criminal history while an expungement results in the State Police notifying the FBI to clear it. Some summary convictions are sealed under the Clean Slate law, but sealing is not expungement. If your summary conviction is more than five years old and still appears on the public court docket, Clean Slate sealing may not have applied to your case.
If you want the record gone rather than hidden, expungement is the remedy. Call (215) 752-5282 and I can tell you whether your record qualifies for Clean Slate, expungement, or both.
Will My Summary Offense Still Show Up on Background Checks After Expungement?
It should not, but there can be a delay. After the expungement order is granted, the clerk of courts office (or the Office of Judicial Support in Delaware County) sends certified copies of the expungement order to the agencies holding the record. Each agency must process the destruction of its records, so it can take time after the order is signed for the charge to stop showing up on a background check.
When I file the expungement petition, I include self-addressed stamped envelopes so that the agencies can mail me a records destruction confirmation letter once your records are destroyed. Most agencies return a confirmation letter, although some, such as the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, do not. For the AOPC, the removal of the docket from the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System website is evidence that the AOPC has destroyed its records.
Commercial background check companies maintain their own databases, and a company that collected your record before the expungement was granted may report outdated information until its data is refreshed or corrected. For information on what to do if an old record appears on a background check after your expungement, read Background Checks After Expungement: What to Know.
If your record is still showing up well after it should have been removed, I begin by contacting the records custodian at the Pennsylvania State Police to confirm that it received the expungement order. If it has, I will then contact all remaining agencies that have not confirmed that your records have been destroyed.
If you are in this situation, call (215) 752-5282 and I can tell you what options may be available to resolve it.
Find Out Whether Your Record Can Be Cleared
Call (215) 752-5282 and tell me what you remember about how your case ended. I can pull the docket on the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System website while we are on the phone, so you do not need to know the exact charge, date, or disposition. Many people do not, and that is not a problem.
In one call, I will tell you whether you appear to be eligible now, whether anything on your record could block or delay the petition, and what it would cost to clear your record if you decided to move forward.
As a Bucks County expungement lawyer, I have filed more than 500 summary expungement petitions across Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware, and Chester counties, and I know each county’s filing requirements, fees, and service lists. Those details cause many self-filed petitions to be rejected and returned by the clerk of courts.
Call (215) 752-5282. The consultation is free and it takes one phone call to find out where you stand.
