Can a conviction be erased from the criminal record?

Verified 20 October 2025 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister), Ministry of Justice

After several years, a conviction is automatically erased from the criminal record. In the meantime, the convicted person may request the non-registration and/or deletion of a sentence entry in B2 and B3 from his record. In certain circumstances, he may also request the removal of this mention from bulletin n°1. If he wants all the entries removed from his record, he can apply for a judicial rehabilitation after waiting a certain time.

After a certain period of time, the references to convictions are automatically deleted from the bulletins n°2 and n°3 of the criminal record. That's called the legal rehabilitation.

After a certain period of time, they are also deleted from the bulletin n°1 of the criminal record.

When does a conviction no longer appear on the B2 and B3 of the record?

The legal rehabilitation concerns any person sentenced to a criminal penalty, correctional or ticketed that has been executed.

The convicted person has no gait to be rehabilitated. The legal rehabilitation takes place automatically after a delay which varies according to the sentence handed down:

  • For sentences of a fine or fine days, 3 years from the payment of the fine or the total amount of the fine-days
  • For sentencing of imprisonment less than 1 year, 5 years from end of sentence
  • For a sentence of less than 10 years' imprisonment or for multiple sentences of less than 5 years' total, the time limit shall be 10 years from the expiry of the sentence.
  • For sentences to a term of reprieve, these three periods run from the day on which the conviction is no avenue. For example, an offender may be sentenced to imprisonment with a 2-year suspended sentence. If he does not commit a new offense for 2 years, his stay ends. Thus, he does not serve a prison sentence and the conviction is deleted from the B2 of his criminal record, after the legal rehabilitation period.

FYI  

These deadlines are doubled in the event of recurrence.

For rehabilitation to be automatic, it is necessary that the convicted person has not committed a new criminal or tort offense during these delays.

When does a conviction no longer appear on the B1 of the record?

All convictions are deleted from the B1 after a period that varies depending on the offense committed or the sentence imposed. These include:

  • Criminal and delictual sentences handed down for more than 40 years, if they have not been followed by a new correctional or criminal conviction
  • Contraventional sentences handed down for more than 3 years
  • Some penal compositions pronounced for more than 3 years, except in the case of a new conviction or a new criminal composition during this period
  • Convictions with dispensation from punishment.

It is possible to request the non-registration and/or deletion of a statement of conviction of the bulletins n°2 and n°3 of the criminal record.

In addition, persons sentenced between 18 and 21 years of age may request the removal of the statement of conviction from their record of entry No. 1.

How can I request the non-inclusion or deletion of an entry in B2 and B3?

At the hearing, the author of a infringement may request that his conviction not be entered in ballots 2 and 3 of his criminal record.

If he wishes to wait (for example: to gather evidence) or if his request was rejected at the hearing, he can make a request to delete the entry on the B2 and B3 of his record, after the hearing.

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At the hearing

During the hearing, the accused person may request, before the judge announces the sentence, that the conviction is not entered in ballots No 2 and No 3 of the criminal record. This is a request for exemption from registration on the criminal record.

The judge makes his decision based on the facts concerned and the situation of the accused person. If the application is accepted, the statement of conviction is not entered on ballots 2 and 3. However, it appears on bulletin No. 1 of the criminal record.

For certain offenses, the exemption from registration cannot be requested. These include:

  • Murder or murder
  • Pimping on a minor
  • The use of prostitution by a minor
  • Sexual assault or rape (on an adult or a minor).

After the hearing

A person may request the erasure of a statement on Bulletin No. 2 of his criminal record, except in the case of a conviction for a violent crime (e.g. murder) or for a sexual offense (rape, pimpingetc.).

The request takes the form of a query argued. Indeed, the person must prove that the erasure they request is genuinely necessary for its reinsertion in the business (for example, she can show that the entry on her criminal record prevents her from getting a job). It must also prove that it compensated the victim.

The request must be forwarded to public prosecutor the place where the court which convicted her is located.

Who shall I contact

The public prosecutor forwards the application to the criminal court to which he or she belongs.

The court makes its decision after hearing the public prosecutor, the person making the request or his lawyer.

If the court grants the deletion of an entry on bulletin No. 2, this entry is also deleted from bulletin No. 3 of the criminal record.

If it rejects the application, the offender may appeal the decision before the correctional appeals chamber.

Who shall I contact

It also has the possibility to request a new erasure, after a period of 6 months following the refusal of his request.

FYI  

A Frenchman convicted abroad may also request the deletion of the entry on the B2 and B3 of his criminal record. The application must be sent to the criminal court of his home (or Paris if he still lives abroad)

How can I request the non-inclusion or deletion of an entry in B1?

When she committed a infringement when she was between 18 and 21, the person convicted for this act may request the removal of the entry on bulletin n°1 from his criminal record.

For this, all the following conditions must be met:

  • A period of 3 years must have elapsed since the conviction of the person
  • The person must have performed the main sentence and the additional penalties which may have been pronounced against it
  • If the person has been fined, the person must provide proof of payment
  • The person must demonstrate positive developments in his or her situation since the time of the offense.

The request must be forwarded to president of the court which issued the conviction or of the investigation chamber if the conviction was handed down by a court of assizes.

Who shall I contact
Who shall I contact

FYI  

Under the same conditions, a minor may request that the decisions handed down against him (e.g. decision on guilt for an offense) be deleted from bulletin No. 1 of his criminal record. However, the request must be forwarded to the juvenile court the place where the minor was convicted.

Who shall I contact

If the request is accepted, the conviction is removed from the criminal record sheet No. 1.

A person convicted for a crime, one offense or a ticket may request a judicial rehabilitation.

The judicial rehabilitation entails the erasure of the convictions which appear in bulletins n°2 and n°3 of the criminal record.

Deadlines for requesting a judicial rehabilitation vary according to the sentence imposed on the perpetrator:

  • 1 year for the offense
  • 3 years for correctional sentences
  • Five years for criminal sentences.

These time limits run from a date which depends on the sentence imposed:

  • For fines, the time limit shall run from the day on which the sentence became effective definitive
  • For prison sentences, the period runs from the final release or the parole, if it has not been canceled
  • For other penalties, the time limit starts to run from the moment the penalty is carried out.

FYI  

The author of a offense in recurrence status may request a judicial rehabilitation only after a period of 6 years from prescription of sentence or the moment he's released. If he has been sentenced to a criminal penalty, this period is extended to 10 years.

The request must take the form of a reasoned query. The person making the request must prove, among other things, that he or she has behaved irreproachably since his or her conviction. On the other hand, if it has been fined, it must provide proof of payment. If it has been ordered to pay damages to the victim, she must prove the payment of this amount.

The request must relate to all references to convictions handed down which have not already been deleted. It must specify the dates of conviction and the places where the convicted person has lived since his release.

The request must be forwarded to public prosecutor the current residence of the sentenced person (or the place of his last residence in France if he lives abroad).

FYI  

If the person does not have a residence, the application may be forwarded to the public prosecutor of the place where he was sentenced.

Who shall I contact

The public prosecutor shall forward the request to the investigation chamber on which he depends. That court must give its decision within 2 months of receiving the application.

Please note

In principle, the examining chamber must decide on a pardon application at a hearing. In practice, it can make its decision without a hearing being scheduled. For this to happen, it is essential that the convicted person has given his consent.

If the request is accepted, the convictions are deleted from the bulletins n°2 and n°3 of the criminal record. If the investigating chamber so decides, they may also be erased from the B1 of the locker.

In the event of rejection of the application, the sentenced person may appeal in cassation.

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

  • To be assisted in an application for judicial rehabilitation or erasure of entries in the criminal record

    Lawyer

  • To obtain the deletion of entries on one or more extracts from the criminal record

    Judicial Tribunal

  • To obtain the deletion of entries on one or more extracts from the criminal record (convictions abroad)

    Judicial Tribunal of Paris

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