check_expunction_options

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Which expunction statute and AOC petition form fit how each charge ended. Reads the case's actual per-charge dispositions and routes each one to the statute(s) that cover that outcome, with the petition and instruction-sheet links, where to file, and the fee. Call with no `caseNumber` to get the whole statute table. CHECK `automaticExpunction` FIRST AND LEAD YOUR ANSWER WITH IT. Under G.S. 15A-146(a4), a case where EVERY charge was dismissed without leave, dismissed by the court, or ended in a not-guilty/not-responsible finding — all disposed on or after 12/01/2021, with no felony dismissed pursuant to a plea agreement — is expunged BY OPERATION OF LAW. NOTHING IS FILED. No petition, no form, no fee. When `applies` is true, the correct answer to "what do I file?" is "nothing". Do NOT lead with the petition forms; sending someone to a clerk with a $175 fee discussion when the charges expunge themselves for free is a wrong answer. The petition routing is the fallback if the automatic expunction does not in fact occur. THE TIMING DEPENDS ON `regime`, AND THE WINDOW IS NOT ALWAYS AVAILABLE. Automatic expunction has been through three implementations, so read `regime` before quoting any date, and check `windowDeterminable` before using `windowOpens`/`windowCloses`: "current" — the 180-210 day rule. `windowOpens`/`windowCloses` are populated: say "it happens on its own between <windowOpens> and <windowCloses>". "original" — disposed 12/01/2021-07/31/2022, when the programme ran immediately with no delay. Windows are NULL. Say it should ALREADY have happened. "backlog" — disposed during the statutory suspension (08/01/2022-07/01/2024). Windows are NULL. NCAOC had until 07/01/2025 to clear the backlog. Say that, and that a case still showing is a question for the clerk. "pre_a4" — outside the subsection; `applies` is false anyway. NEVER invent a window when `windowDeterminable` is false. A fabricated past date is worse than saying the timing does not reduce to one — it tells someone a deadline passed when no deadline ever ran. The `notes` array already carries the right wording for each regime; prefer it to composing your own. POINT AT THE CLERK IN THE COUNTY OF DISPOSITION, by name — it is in `fileInCounty`. Under G.S. 15A-151(a2) a clerk may not disclose an expunged record from any other county, so "ask the clerk" without naming which one sends people somewhere that cannot help them. AN (a4) EXPUNCTION IS NARROWER THAN PEOPLE EXPECT, and both limits belong in your answer: G.S. 15A-150(b)'s requirement that the clerk notify other agencies does NOT apply to automatic expunctions, so other agencies may never learn of it and are not obliged to clear their own records; and under G.S. 15A-151(a1)/(a2) the record is not destroyed — it is retained by the clerk as a confidential file, with AOC holding electronic copies, still disclosable to the person, their attorney, the district attorney and the Appellate Defender. "Gone from the public index" is not "gone". THIS IS THE ONE DETERMINATION THIS TOOL MAKES, and it is safe precisely because (a4) turns only on how the charges on THIS case ended — which the record shows in full — and not on anything person-level. `determinable: false` means the record could not answer (a charge with no disposition, an unrecognised disposition); say so rather than treating it as a "no". EVERYTHING ELSE ROUTES. IT DOES NOT DECIDE ELIGIBILITY, and you must not present it as doing so. Three reasons, all of which belong in your answer when someone asks "can I get this expunged?": - Eligibility is PERSON-level. A disqualifying conviction anywhere bars relief, and this data cannot confirm identity — date of birth is rarely published and is masked to the year, and common names collide heavily. - A prior expunction can itself disqualify, and an expunged case is REMOVED from the court record — so the very thing that would disqualify someone is invisible here. - Some expunctions bar future ones, so which statute you petition under matters. The North Carolina (NC) Courts guidance is to consult an attorney about that choice. "NOT YET ELIGIBLE" IS SAFE TO SAY when a waiting period plainly hasn't run — that is arithmetic. "Eligible" is never safe to say. WAITING PERIODS come from G.S. 15A-145.5(c): 3 years for one nonviolent misdemeanour, 7 for more than one, 10 for one nonviolent felony, 15 for breaking or entering under 14-54(a), 20 for two or three felonies. THE DATE RETURNED IS THE EARLIEST POSSIBLE. The statute runs the clock from conviction OR from completion of any active sentence, probation or post-release supervision, WHICHEVER IS LATER — and completion dates are not in this record. Say the date is a floor, not a target. `family` per charge: "dismissed", "acquitted", "convicted", "pjc", or "unknown". Treat each differently: - dismissed + `withLeave: true` → the State may still REINSTATE the charge. Flag it, and note it also defeats automatic expunction under (a4). - dismissed + `perPleaAgreement: true` → 15A-146 treats dismissals pursuant to deferred prosecution or conditional discharge differently from plain ones. - "acquitted" → found not guilty or not responsible at trial. Routes to 15A-146(a2), and qualifies for automatic expunction under (a4). - "pjc" → neither conviction nor dismissal; no statute is suggested, by design. - "unknown" → the register text didn't map (e.g. "Superior Process/ Probation Other"). The full statute table comes back instead. Do NOT guess an outcome. An impaired-driving charge returns no statutes: G.S. 15A-145.5(a1) makes it ineligible. G.S. 15A-146(a6): a court may grant a petition under that section WITHOUT a hearing, except where the section says otherwise. Do not tell someone to expect a hearing on a 15A-146 petition as though it were automatic. Read-only. NC only. Informational, not legal advice.