6.1.4 Expungement

In Louisiana, expungement generally only removes public access to a criminal record, although the record may also be destroyed in some cases. After expungement, most private employers will no longer have access to the record from official sources. However, it usually stays available to law enforcement and criminal justice agencies, as well as to many state boards and agencies. Also, expungement does not automatically remove data available on the internet or maintained by private data collection companies, who must be individually approached to have a record removed. For these reasons, expungement is a limited remedy. Still, it can help some clients get or keep jobs.1

• 1For further discussion, see the chapter on Expungements in Louisiana.