As of November 1, 2023, most juveniles will no longer have to register as a sex offender and be eligible to seal their convictions. Law enforcement will start removing eligible people from the registry soon and mailing letters confirming they have been removed. If you receive a letter indicating that you have been removed from the registry, please contact our office for a free consultation to determine if you are eligible to seal your offense.

Helping You Protect Your Future

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Case Results – Sealing/Vacation

Under a law passed by the Washington legislature, most juvenile sex offenders can now petition a court to vacate and seal their sex offense convictions after a waiting period has elapsed. With this statute in place, fully rehabilitated adults, who have been denied housing, employment, schooling, and otherwise castigated for an incident from their youth, can get their lives back.

Our attorneys have​ successfully petitioned courts to vacate and seal juvenile sex convictions. Our team takes particular satisfaction in helping those individuals, now fully rehabilitated adults, move forward from a painful experience in their youth. We have been impressed with the successful lives our clients have had despite having a sex conviction on their record, and we take great pleasure in being able to tell them, after a court grants their petition, that they can now tell employers they have never been convicted of a sex offense.

Petitioning the court to vacate and seal your juvenile sex conviction is a complex process, and includes petitioning to terminate your sex offender registration at the same time. The court will consider a list of thirteen criteria, including treatment, work and education experience, having a strong support network, input from the victim, input from law enforcement, updated polygraphs, among other factors. Our team works closely with our clients to gather this information to prepare a comprehensive petition to present to the court. Should the court grant the petition to seal your offense, our team also follows up with law enforcement databases to ensure that your conviction data is not disseminated.

Not everyone is eligible to vacate and seal these convictions, and there are waiting periods in place. We offer a free initial consultation to determine if you are eligible to seal your juvenile sex conviction.