Maine: Adult Conviction Expungement and Record-Sealing Eligibility

Requirements one by one

Relief name and legal effect

Maine calls the remedy sealing. Under 15 M.R.S. § 2265, the conviction
record becomes confidential for ordinary public dissemination. It is not
destroyed. Authorized recipients retain access, and § 2266 lets the person
ordinarily answer an unauthorized inquiry without disclosing the sealed
conviction.

For the general route, a later conviction in Maine or another jurisdiction
causes the record to be unsealed. Beginning July 29, 2026, that later-conviction
rule will not apply to records sealed under the prostitution or new trafficking
and sexual-exploitation routes.

Automatic or clean-slate relief

There is no general automatic process. Section 2263 requires a written motion
in the criminal case that produced the conviction. Public Law 2025, chapter
513 does not make the July 29 trafficking route automatic; the person must
still file a motion.

Convictions eligible by petition

The current general route under § 2261(6) covers a current or former Class E
conviction other than a sexual-assault crime in Title 17-A, chapter 11. That
subsection also lists specific Class D marijuana cultivation and possession
convictions for conduct before January 30, 2017.

Section 2262-A separately covers a conviction under former § 853-A for engaging
in prostitution. The general four-year rule does not control that route.

On July 29, 2026, Public Law 2025, chapter 513 will add § 2262-B. A person who
was a victim of sex trafficking or sexual exploitation may then seek sealing
of any current or former crime if the conviction was substantially caused
by the trafficking or exploitation.

Excluded offenses and statuses

The general route excludes chapter 11 sexual-assault convictions and does not
extend to other Class A, B, C, or D convictions beyond § 2261's closed list of
historical marijuana offenses.

The person must also have no later Maine conviction, no later Maine charge
dismissed through deferred disposition, no later conviction in another
jurisdiction, and no presently pending charge. The special prostitution route
instead bars convictions for §§ 852, 853, 853-B, or 855, and substantially
similar out-of-state conduct.

Waiting period and when it starts

Under § 2262, the general wait is four years after the person fully satisfies
every sentencing alternative imposed for the eligible conviction. The
prostitution route uses one year after full sentence satisfaction.

The July 29, 2026 trafficking and sexual-exploitation route has no numbered
wait. The enacted text says a motion may be filed at any time after conviction.

Sentence, restitution, and new-record conditions

The current statute requires full satisfaction of every sentencing alternative
before the general or prostitution clock begins. Chapter 310-A does not create
a separate unpaid-restitution exception to that completion requirement.

For the general route, the clean-record conditions continue through the order,
and any new conviction after sealing requires unsealing. Beginning July 29,
the new-conviction unsealing rule will no longer apply to the prostitution
route or the new trafficking route.

Petition process and decision standard

The written motion goes in the underlying criminal proceeding and briefly
addresses every prerequisite. Under § 2263 and § 2264, the clerk sets a hearing.
The person may have counsel but has no right to appointed counsel at state
expense. The prosecutorial office from the original case may represent the
State.

The person bears the preponderance-of-the-evidence burden. If every statutory
prerequisite is proved, the court shall grant sealing and issue written
findings; the statute does not add a free-standing public-interest balancing
test.

Beginning July 29, a trafficking-route filer and witnesses may participate
remotely unless the court makes the enacted in-person finding. Official victim
documentation is not required, but qualifying documentation creates a
presumption. The court may grant the motion without a hearing if the State
consents.

Who can still see or use the record

Section 2265 preserves access for the person or designee, criminal-justice
agencies, the Secretary of State for motor-vehicle laws, victims and specified
representatives, financial-services regulators, professional licensing
agencies, financial institutions required to perform a background check, and
entities required to perform fingerprint-based checks.

Section 2266 ordinarily permits nondisclosure to other requesters without a
state-law sanction. The exceptions include responding to criminal-justice
agencies and testifying under oath while being prosecuted for a later crime.

What trips people up

The July 29 expansion is enacted but not current yet. Until that date, a
trafficking or sexual-exploitation history does not itself make every offense
eligible under Chapter 310-A. The present Class E and listed-marijuana limits
still control unless the prostitution route applies.

A sealing order is not destruction. Criminal-justice, licensing,
fingerprint, victim, motor-vehicle, and financial-regulatory access remains.

A new conviction can undo today's general relief. The person must notify
the court, and the record must be unsealed. The July 29 amendment creates
exceptions for the prostitution and trafficking routes, not for every sealed
record.

Common questions

Does Maine automatically seal an eligible conviction? No. The person files
a written motion in the original criminal case, and the court holds a hearing
under current law.

Can a Class D conviction be sealed now? Only the specific pre-January 30,
2017 marijuana cultivation and possession convictions listed in § 2261. The
general route otherwise covers Class E crimes.

What changes for trafficking victims on July 29, 2026? Any current or
former crime may qualify if the person proves victim status and that the crime
was substantially caused by the trafficking or sexual exploitation. The
motion may be filed at any time after conviction.

May a person deny a sealed conviction? Ordinarily yes when the requester is
not a criminal-justice agency or another entity authorized by § 2265. The
statute preserves exceptions, including testimony under oath in a later
prosecution.

Statutes and sources

• 15 M.R.S. § 2261 — current eligible-conviction definition and historical
  Class D marijuana list.
  https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/15/title15sec2261.html
  (accessed 2026-07-20)
• 15 M.R.S. § 2262 — four-year general clock, later-record restrictions, and
  pending-charge bar.
  https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/15/title15sec2262.html
  (accessed 2026-07-20)
• 15 M.R.S. § 2262-A — special former engaging-in-prostitution route.
  https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/15/title15sec2262-A.html
  (accessed 2026-07-20)
• 15 M.R.S. §§ 2263–2264 — motion, hearing, burden, mandatory order, notice to
  the State Bureau of Identification, and later-conviction unsealing.
  https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/15/title15sec2264.html
  (accessed 2026-07-20)
• 15 M.R.S. § 2265 — confidentiality and retained access.
  https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/15/title15sec2265.html
  (accessed 2026-07-20)
• 15 M.R.S. § 2266 — applicant nondisclosure rule and exceptions.
  https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/15/title15sec2266.html
  (accessed 2026-07-20)
• Maine Public Law 2025, chapter 513 — July 29, 2026 trafficking and sexual-
  exploitation sealing route, procedure, and later-conviction exception.
  https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0741&item=3&snum=132
  (accessed 2026-07-20)
• Maine Legislature, 132nd Legislature effective-date notice — general July
  29, 2026 effective date for nonemergency Second Regular Session laws.
  https://legislature.maine.gov/ (accessed 2026-07-20)