Summary Expungement for Defendants Under 18 Final Report: 03/01/2019

FINAL REPORT1

Amendment of Rules 490 and 490.1 

SUMMARY EXPUNGEMENT FOR DEFENDANTS UNDER THE AGE OF 18

On March 1, 2019, effective July 1, 2019, upon the recommendation of the 

Criminal Procedural Rules Committee, the Court amended Rules 490 (Procedure for 

Obtaining Expungement of Summary Cases; Expungement Order) and 490.1 

(Procedure for Obtaining Expungement of Truancy Cases; Expungement Order) to 

clarify the procedures for the expungement of summary cases for defendants under the 

age of 18 in two circumstances: (1) expungement under 18 Pa.C.S. §9123(a); and (2) 

the expungement of summary convictions and delinquency adjudications that result 

from a failure to comply with the sentence on the underlying summary convictions. 

These amendments have adopted in conjunction with amendments to Pa.R.J.C.P. 170 

and 172. 

The Criminal Procedural Rules Committee and the Juvenile Court Procedural 

Rules Committee, by means of a joint subcommittee, explored rule changes to address 

two issues regarding the expungement of summary offenses when the defendant is 

under 18 years old: (1) expungement under 18 Pa.C.S. §9123(a); and (2) the 

expungement of summary convictions and delinquency adjudications that result from a 

failure to comply with the sentence on the underlying summary convictions. 

There are two statutes that permit the expungement of summary 

convictions. The first statute, 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122(b)(3)(i), generally applies without 

reference to the age of the defendant and requires the defendant to be free from arrest 

or prosecution for five years. This statute also contains a provision for the 

expungement of underage drinking convictions when the defendant is 20 years or older, 

provided the violation occurred when the defendant was at least 18 years old. 

The second statute, 18 Pa.C.S. § 9123(a), applies to “juvenile records” and 

permits the expungement of a conviction for a summary offense if the defendant is 18 

years or older and six months have elapsed after satisfying the sentence. The statute 

 

1 The Committee's Final Reports should not be confused with the official Committee 

Comments to the rules. Also, note that the Supreme Court does not adopt the 

Committee's Comments or the contents of the Committee's explanatory Final Reports.
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also contains a provision for the expungement of underage drinking convictions when 

the defendant is 18 years or older, provided the violation occurred when the defendant 

was under 18 years old. 

Prior to this amendment, Pa.R.Crim.P. 490 (Procedure for Obtaining 

Expungement in Summary Cases; Expungement Order) cited to Section 9122 and not 

Section 9123(a). Summary offenses are specifically excluded from the Juvenile Act and 

Pa.R.J.C.P. 170 (Motion to Expunge or Destroy Records) did not recognize Section 

9123(a) as it pertains to summary convictions when the defendant is under 18 years of 

age.

The Committees did not see merit in establishing two different procedures to 

expunge the same conviction in the magisterial district (“MDJ”) court based on the age 

of the defendant. Therefore, Pa.R.Crim.P. 490 has been amended to include reference 

to 18 Pa.C.S. § 9123(a) so that these expungements proceed in accordance with the 

Criminal Rules. A cross-reference to Rule 490 has been added to the Comment to 

Pa.R.J.C.P. 170. 

The other issue that the Committees examined was what procedures should be 

used to expunge both the summary conviction and the juvenile record when the 

conviction is certified pursuant to Pa.R.J.C.P. 200(3) and 42 Pa.C.S. § 6304.1. 

Pa.R.J.C.P. 200(3) and 42 Pa.C.S. § 6304.1 provide that a delinquency petition may be 

filed in a case where a juvenile has failed to comply with the sentence arising from a 

summary conviction. The question was whether a petition pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 

490 needed to be filed to expunge the summary conviction and another petition 

pursuant to Pa.R.J.C.P. 170 needed to be filed to expunge the certification and any 

subsequent juvenile court record. 

The Committees recognize that requiring an expungement petition in the criminal 

court for the summary offense and another expungement petition in the juvenile court 

may be burdensome. However, it was observed that eligibility for expungement of the 

MDJ record and the juvenile record are so different that one court should not expunge 

both records. For example, a curfew violation may result in a summary conviction and 

fine. If the minor fails to comply with the sentence (i.e, pay the fine), then the matter 

may be certified to the juvenile court. A majority of these types of certifications result in 

an informal adjustment, consent decree, or entry into a diversion program rather than a 

petition being filed. Consequently, the minor would be entitled to expungement of the 

juvenile record pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 9123(a)(2) six months after completing the 

program. However, the underlying summary offense could not be expunged until the 

defendant was at least 18 years of age. See 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 9123(2.1), (2.2). The minor 

could be eligible for expungement of the juvenile record before being eligible for 

expungement of the summary conviction. Accordingly, the Committees agreed to 

recommend a two-petition procedure. The Comment to Pa.R.Crim.P. 490 has been 

revised to inform readers of the dual tracks for the expungement of certified failure to 

comply cases and the underlying summary offense. 
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Finally, a cross-reference to the Rule 490 procedures for expungement of 

summary cases other than truancy has been added to the Comment to Rule 490.1 

Procedure for Obtaining Expungement of Truancy Cases; Expungement Order).