SECOND CHANCE ACT
Updated: Nov 12, 2021
Major provisions of the transformative Second Chance Act, which breaks down barriers to jobs, housing, and more for those with criminal records, went into effect December 1, 2020. Nearly 1 in 4 North Carolinians have a criminal record; this landmark piece of bipartisan legislation will allow hundreds of thousands of people with criminal records to have their records expunged, thereby granting them access to opportunities they were previously denied.
Hundreds of thousands of people will become eligible for expunction under the new law, including those with multiple misdemeanor convictions from seven or more years ago. Those with a felony conviction can now petition to expunge dismissed or not guilty charges, and district attorneys can now petition for expunction of dismissed and not guilty charges on behalf of a person.
On December 1, 2021, dismissed and not guilty charges will be expunged through an automated process. A provision that allows for the expunction of certain juvenile convictions obtained before December 1, 2019, is already in Effect.
From Second Chance Alliance, accessed 12/1/2020