Are you preparing to petition for criminal record expungement or record sealing in Indiana? Did you know that just one tiny error in the filing process can cause your application to get denied, forever? Whether a misspelled name or a missed deadline, a rejected expungement petition is the end of the line. Applicants only get once chance to file for criminal record expungement, so don’t mess things up by making some common petitioner mistakes!

Continue reading to learn the most common mistakes made when people file for criminal record expungement, and hopefully avoid making these same mistakes yourself!

The Importance of Criminal Record Expungement

Criminal records are very disconcerting to live with, especially if they happened a long time ago. Most people make mistakes when they are young, but mistakes that are crimes go on a person’s permanent record. Whether your past criminal history is from a time of adolescence, or a mistake made later in your life, expungement services are a wise choice if you wish to alleviate the stress that goes along with having a public criminal record. Open yourself up to better employment opportunities, residential opportunities, property ownership, and more.

In order to file for criminal record expungement, you must follow a stringent set of steps and guidelines that can take over a year to complete. It involves a heap of complex paperwork that must be filled out in its entirety, as well as, court hearings and appearances, depending on the extent of one’s criminal record. This is why it is strongly encouraged to hire a licensed attorney for professional assistance throughout the process.

The Most Common and Damaging Expungement Mistakes

The first mistake anyone can make when it comes to filing for criminal record expungement is to NOT hire an attorney. Attempting to apply for expungement on your own is a huge set up for disaster. The process is a highly complicated legal back-and-forth that can be highly demanding and defeating. And just ONE little mistake, like a skipped line or misspelled word, can sacrifice a person’s only chance of sealing their criminal records. You can only file once.

Another common mistake people make in the process of filing for criminal record expungement is failing to get a “Certificate of Eligibility” or allowing their certificate to expire. These are documents that claim a person is eligible to apply for expungement. A person MUST have one in order to continue the process of expunging their criminal history. This certificate is only good for one calendar year, and you can only have one issued in your lifetime. If it expires, so does your chance of expungement.

Are you ready to get in touch with a skilled criminal defense attorney who can help you clean up your criminal history in Indiana? Contact our Indianapolis Indiana criminal record expungement lawyers to learn how to begin your petition, today. Our expungement fees start as low as $850, and we never charge for initial consultations.

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