- Remove your record of arrest or conviction, related photographs, fingerprints, disposition, or any other related information of any kind from public access.
- Make your record of arrest or conviction “confidential” and no longer considered to be a public record.
- Prevent “background check” companies from accessing—or reporting—your criminal history.
- Prevent prospective employers from obtaining your criminal history from state databases.
- Prevent law enforcement officers from seeing your criminal history, except under special circumstances.
- Allow you to qualify for a concealed handgun permit, if you meet other special requirements.
- Allow you to pass a federal National Instant Criminal Background Check (NICS) review to purchase a firearm, in some limited circumstances.
- Prevent banks and loan companies from considering your expunged criminal record when deciding whether to extend credit.
- Prevent insurance companies from considering your expunged criminal history when deciding whether to issue you certain types of insurance, or how much to charge you for it. This does not automatically apply to your driving record.
- Prevent private landlords from obtaining your criminal history when you apply for a lease.
- Prevent some governmental landlords from getting your criminal history when you apply for a subsidized housing assistance.
- Shield your expunged criminal record from colleges and universities to which you are applying for admission.
- Create special rights for you to sue private companies that sell or publish your criminal history.
- Allow you to answer “no” to employment questionnaires and applications that ask whether you have ever been arrested or convicted of a crime.
- Insulate you and your family from the unfair social stigma associated with having a publicly-available criminal record.
The Louisiana Expungement Assistance & Advocacy Center (LEAAC), a division of the law practice of S. Christie Smith IV, has extensive experience in obtaining expungements for convictions throughout the state of Louisiana, as well as in the development and application of the newly-reformed Louisiana expungement laws. If you have any questions about getting a Louisiana expungement, please call LEAAC at 318.308.7667. An attorney will review your case, offer suggestions on the best course of action for your circumstances, and answer your questions—often on the same day.
Updated September 2020