Connecticut Record Erasure After a Dismissal or Nolle: What to Know
Versión en español: Borrado de antecedentes en Connecticut tras una desestimación o nolle
A Connecticut criminal case can end without a conviction, but the paperwork does not always disappear the same day. A dismissal, a not-guilty finding and a nolle are different outcomes. Understanding those differences can help you decide when to review the record and what questions to raise with your defense attorney.
Dismissal or not guilty
Connecticut General Statutes § 54-142a provides that when a final judgment finds the accused not guilty, or when a charge is dismissed, police, court and state’s attorney records relating to that charge are erased after the time to appeal expires if no appeal is taken. If there is an appeal, erasure follows a final appellate decision sustaining the not-guilty finding or dismissal.
That timing matters. A court result may be favorable without being immediately reflected everywhere a person expects to see it. Keep the disposition paperwork and ask counsel when the statutory appeal period ends.
A nolle has a separate timetable
A nolle means the prosecutor is not pursuing the charge at that time. It is not the same as an immediate dismissal. Under § 54-142a(c), records relating to a nolled charge are erased once at least thirteen months have elapsed since the nolle. If your case was nolled, write down the exact nolle date and do not assume that the public record will vanish immediately.
Multi-count cases need careful review
Cases involving several counts can be more complicated. The statute generally limits erasure when a criminal case contains more than one count until every count is entitled to erasure, although it includes a provision for qualified electronic records or portions of them. Before relying on a single count’s disposition, review the complete docket with a lawyer.
Erasure has limits
The statute says a person whose proceeding has been erased is deemed never to have been arrested, within the meaning of Connecticut’s general statutes, for that erased proceeding and may swear to that effect under oath. But erasure is not a promise that every possible document disappears. The law identifies exceptions, including published Superior Court decisions, appellate records and information in the protective-order registry. It also excludes court-reporter transcripts and court audio or video recordings from the statute’s definition of court records.
What to bring to a record review
Bring the docket number, arrest date, court location, charging document if available and the written disposition. If an employer, landlord or private background-reporting company is showing the charge, preserve a copy of what is being reported before disputing it. Do not send sensitive records through an unsecured channel.
This article focuses on charges that ended without a conviction. Connecticut also has separate rules for certain conviction erasures, with eligibility, waiting periods and exclusions that require an individualized review.
The Law Offices of Arnaldo J. Sierra, LLC serves clients from 215 Washington Street in Hartford and throughout Connecticut. Attorney Sierra has over 30 years of practice. For a consultation about a criminal case or record-erasure question, call (860) 527-2345. Se habla español.
Official source: Connecticut General Statutes § 54-142a (reviewed October 21, 2026).
This article provides general information, not legal advice. Results depend on the facts and law applicable to each matter.
