PETITION FOR EXPUNGEMENT 
G.L. c. 276, § 100K

DOCKET NO. 

Trial Court of  
Massachusetts

YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS

COURT DEPARTMENT 

Boston Municipal Court
District Court

Juvenile Court
Superior Court

COURT DIVISION 

I request the assistance of an interpreter for the following language: 
(There is no charge to you for interpreter or translation services)

I request that this Court order that the records of the following charges be expunged (list charges):

I make this request because the records were created as a result of:

The offense(s) described above is/are no longer a crime

False use of my identification

Unauthorized use of my identity

Theft of my identity

Errors by law enforcement

Errors by civilian or expert witness(es)

Errors by Court employees

Fraud perpetrated upon the Court

Specifically (provide as much detail as possible explaining the reasons for your request):

I request that the Court hold a hearing on my petition. 

If you need more space to explain, check this box and continue in the space provided on the back of this sheet. You may  
also attach additional pages if necessary. 

If you have documents that support your petition, check this box and attach them to this petition.

I provided this petition and supporting documents to the District Attorney's Office of the county that prosecuted the case       
                                                                                                                                                                                                              

by mailing a copy via first class mail to the District Attorney's Office

by delivering a copy in hand OR

on 

date

.

I swear under the pains and penalty of perjury that all information I provided in this Petition is true 
to the best of my knowledge and belief. 

DATE:

PETITIONER'S SIGNATURE

(Rev. 12.20.18)

Please see reverse side for instructions and space for additional information.

INSTRUCTIONS TO PETITIONER: 
  

Reasons for Expunging a Record Under G.L. c. 276, § 100K 
Under chapter 276, § 100K, you can directly ask a judge to permanently destroy, or “expunge”, the official court records that were 
created because of one of the following reasons: (i) false use of your identification; (ii) unauthorized use of your identity; (iii) theft 
of your identity; (iv) an offense that is no longer a crime; (v) demonstrable errors by law enforcement; (vi) demonstrable errors by 
civilian or expert witnesses; (vii) errors by a court employee; or (viii) demonstrable fraud perpetrated upon the court.   
  
Under this law, the judge can order expungement of the court record only if he or she determines on clear and convincing 
evidence that the record was created because of one of the reasons above and that expungement of the record would be in the 
interests of justice.   
  
Expungement may also be available in circumstances other than those listed above.  If you want to seek expungement under one 
of these other circumstances, you must fill out a different petition and submit it to the Office of the Commissioner of Probation.  
You can find information about these other provisions, including eligibility requirements, at www.mass.gov.          
  
What You Must Show 
You must demonstrate to the judge that the court record was created because of one of the reasons above and that expunging 
the record would be in the interests of justice.  When you fill out this petition, you should provide as much detail as possible.  You 
may give the judge copies of documents that support your reasons for asking for expungement. On the petition, there is a box to 
check for a hearing. At a hearing, you can tell the judge why your petition fits under one of the reasons above, and why granting 
the petition would be in the interests of justice.    
  
Multiple Charges 
On this petition, you should include all of the charges connected to the case that you are asking the judge to expunge.   
If you would like to ask a judge to expunge records in different cases, you should file separate petitions for each case.   
  
Where to File the Petition 
You should file this petition in the clerk's office in the court where the case was heard.   
  
Providing a Copy of the Petition to the District Attorney's Office 
You must provide a copy of this petition and any documents that you file with the petition to the District Attorney's Office that 
prosecuted the case on or before the day that this petition is filed in the court.  You can do this by bringing a copy to the District 
Attorney's Office or by mailing a copy to the District Attorney's Office by first class mail.   
  
Records will be Permanently Destroyed 
An order of expungement requires the clerk of the court where the record was created to destroy/permanently erase the trial court 
records within the care, custody or control of the clerk's office, probation, and the Department of Criminal Justice Information, 
except for information contained in the domestic violence record keeping system.  It also requires criminal justice agencies to 
destroy/permanently erase the record from all publicly available police logs maintained pursuant to G.L. c. 41, § 98F within their 
care, custody or control.  Further, criminal justice agencies are required to respond to inquiries from any party, including criminal 
justice agencies, a county agency, a municipal agency or state agency that no record exists.    
  
While the clerk will provide you with a copy of the expungement order, if you want copies of the records, any documents that you 
filed, or the petition, you must make copies before the court orders expungement.  Once the record is destroyed, you will not be 
able to get a copy from the court.

Additional Information:

(Rev. 12.20.18)