SB 230 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Police and court records; expungement of records, delayed effective date.

Summary

Expungement of police and court records. Permits the expungement of police and court records relating to an initial charge when a person is arrested, charged, summonsed, or indicted for the commission of an infraction, a crime, or a civil offense and such person is not ultimately convicted, provided that no stipulation of facts sufficient to find guilt was entered or the court did not determine the facts sufficient to find guilt but deferred adjudication or disposition to a later date. The bill also permits that a petition may request expungement of the police and court records for multiple charges arising out of separate transactions or occurrences. The bill also provides that if a person was the subject of a delinquency or traffic proceeding and was not ultimately adjudicated delinquent or convicted, provided that no stipulation of facts sufficient to find guilt was entered or the court did not determine facts sufficient to find guilt but deferred adjudication or disposition to a later date, such matter is eligible for expungement. Lastly, the bill (i) allows certain deferred dispositions to be eligible for expungement; (ii) requires the attorney for the Commonwealth, if he files an objection to the petition for expungement, to include the factual basis for such objection; (iii) provides that the unavailability of certain information shall not be a basis for refusing expungement; (iv) requires the court, if it finds potential manifest injustice to the petitioner, to order expungement; (v) provides that the existence of a prior conviction alone shall not be a sufficient basis to deny an expungement; (vi) allows any person whose petition for relief is the subject of an appeal to proceed under a pseudonym pursuant to relevant law; and (vii) allows specifically identified emergency or preliminary protective orders to be expunged. The bill has a delayed effective date of December 1, 2026.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status vetoed 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Mar 2026

Vetoed

Apr 2026

Introduced Jan 11, 2026 Vetoed Apr 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

Finance and Appropriations Substitute → Criminal Subcommittee Substitute · 8 edits

MODERATE

The bill was transferred from the Senate Finance Committee to the House Courts of Justice Committee, changing its classification from a Senate substitute to a House substitute. The scope of the legislation was expanded to include new provisions for juvenile record expungement and deferred disposition in criminal cases. Key substantive changes include clarifying eligibility for expungement when defendants are found innocent or proceedings are dismissed, adding specific rules for juvenile records, and shifting the effective date of the new expungement procedures from July 1, 2026, to December 1, 2026.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded from solely addressing general police and court record expungement to also explicitly covering juvenile court records and deferred disposition agreements in criminal cases.

TIMELINE

The effective date for the new expungement procedures was moved from July 1, 2026, to December 1, 2026.

ELIGIBILITY

New eligibility criteria were added for expungement when a person is found innocent, proceedings are dismissed without a finding of guilt, or deferred adjudication is granted.

A new section was added to specifically govern the expungement of juvenile court records, including special rules for cases involving felonies or offenses reported to the DMV.

New provisions allow for expungement eligibility when a defendant agrees to a deferred disposition and the charge is eventually dismissed.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement for the Commonwealth attorney to file an objection was clarified to mandate including factual reasons if an objection is filed.

The right to use a pseudonym during appeals was changed from automatic to requiring a specific request by the petitioner.

The requirement for the clerk to maintain a sealed copy of the expungement order was removed, simplifying the post-expungement record-keeping process.

DEFINITION

The entire section defining rules for business screening services regarding the dissemination of criminal history records was removed.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 13, 2026 · House of Delegates Mar 4, 2026

How they voted

34–0

Passed · 5 other

Total votes 39

Feb 13, 2026

D Democratic20

19 Yea 1

95% Yea

R Republican19

15 Yea 4

78% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 13, 2026

Vetoed

Governor's recommendation received by Senate

executive

Mar 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB230ER)

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed House with substitute (84-Y 15-N 0-A)

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (20-Y 2-N)

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

House subcommittee offered

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Committee

Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time and passed Senate (27-Y 12-N 0-A)

upper

Feb 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day

upper

Feb 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (15-Y 0-N)

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (11-Y 4-N)

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate committee offered

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate committee offered

upper

Jan 11, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors