Alaska Expungement Laws: What You Can (and Cannot) Do With Your Criminal Record

Alaska does not have a general expungement law. Criminal conviction records maintained by the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS) are permanent, and the narrow relief that exists under state law depends heavily on what the court did at the time of the case: a suspended entry of judgment under AS 12.55.078, which ends in dismissal of the proceedings; the set-aside of a conviction under AS 12.55.085 after a suspended imposition of sentence; and the sealing, under AS 12.62.180, of records that, beyond a reasonable doubt, resulted from mistaken identity or false accusation.

Information last verified on May 29, 2026. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed attorney.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Alaska state criminal records only. For a state-by-state comparison, see Expungement Laws by State.

Does Alaska Have Expungement?

Alaska does not have expungement in the way most states use that term. The Alaska Department of Public Safety states on its official background-check pages that Alaska does not have a law to expunge criminal history records, which means those records cannot be permanently removed from the central repository. That reflects longstanding Alaska law. The Alaska Legislature has not enacted a general expungement statute, so there is no procedure by which an adult can petition a court to permanently destroy or remove a criminal conviction record from the DPS central repository. Records of arrests, charges, and convictions accumulate and remain in the DPS criminal history repository indefinitely unless one of the narrow statutory exceptions below applies.

Suspended Entry of Judgment Under AS 12.55.078

Alaska law gives a sentencing court a deferral tool that discussions of the set-aside often overshadow. AS 12.55.015(a)(8) lists both options side by side: the court may "suspend entry of judgment under AS 12.55.078 or suspend imposition of sentence under AS 12.55.085." The two lead to different endpoints. With a suspended imposition of sentence, a conviction is entered and may later be set aside. With a suspended entry of judgment, the court withholds entry of the judgment itself, and successful completion of the conditions ends the case in dismissal rather than in a conviction that is later annotated. AS 12.55.045(l) draws that contrast in statutory text, distinguishing the point at which "the proceeding is dismissed under AS 12.55.078" from the point at which "a conviction is set aside under AS 12.55.085."

That difference carries through to what the public can see. Under AS 22.35.030, the Alaska Court System "may not publish a court record of a criminal case on a publicly available website" once 60 days have elapsed from the date of acquittal or dismissal, where the defendant was acquitted of all charges, all charges were dismissed other than as part of a Criminal Rule 11 plea agreement in another case, the defendant was acquitted of some charges and the rest were dismissed, or "all criminal charges against the defendant in the case have been dismissed after a suspended entry of judgment under AS 12.55.078." A case that ends in a suspended-entry-of-judgment dismissal therefore comes off CourtView by operation of statute, on the same footing as an acquittal. The Alaska Court System's own CourtView guidance describes this statutory bar alongside the separate set-aside removal rule, and notes that qualifying cases should come down automatically but are occasionally missed, in which case the court asks that it be reported using form TF-810.

Like an SIS, a suspended entry of judgment is something a court grants during the case, not relief a person can seek years after a conviction is final. It therefore matters mainly for a case that is still pending, and an Alaska attorney can say whether it is available on the particular charges involved.

The Set-Aside of Conviction Under AS 12.55.085

The closest Alaska comes to conviction relief after the fact is the set-aside procedure under AS 12.55.085. A set-aside is not expungement. When a court grants a Suspended Imposition of Sentence (SIS), it withholds a formal judgment of conviction and instead places the defendant on probation. If the defendant successfully completes all probation conditions, the court may set aside the conviction under AS 12.55.085. The practical effect is that the case is officially noted as "set aside" in court records. Under Alaska Administrative Rule 40(a)(13), cases in which a defendant successfully completed an SIS and the court set aside the conviction are automatically removed from public access on the Alaska Court System's CourtView website, provided all other charges in the case were also dismissed, set aside, or the defendant was acquitted. However, the conviction record continues to exist in DPS criminal history files and does not disappear from background checks that query the DPS repository directly. The set-aside may carry some collateral benefits in limited licensing or employment contexts, but it does not erase the DPS record or restore all civil rights automatically.

Not all convictions qualify for SIS at sentencing. Courts may not impose SIS for certain serious felonies, and prosecutors and judges retain broad discretion over whether to offer SIS in the first place. Some offenses are shut out by statute rather than by discretion. On a conviction for driving while under the influence, AS 28.35.030(b) provides that the court "may not ... (B) suspend imposition of sentence," and the same bar appears in the felony DUI sentencing provisions of that section and in AS 28.35.032 for refusal to submit to a chemical test. Because an SIS is unavailable for a DUI conviction as a matter of statute, a DUI conviction can never be set aside under AS 12.55.085. If SIS was not granted at the time of sentencing, the set-aside route under AS 12.55.085 is not available.

Sealing of Records Under AS 12.62.180

Alaska law provides one mechanism specifically labeled "sealing," but it applies only to records that resulted from mistaken identity or false accusation. Under AS 12.62.180, a criminal justice agency may seal information it is responsible for maintaining when that information meets those narrow criteria. To seek this relief, an individual submits a written request to the head of the agency holding the record, asking that the information be sealed because it resulted, beyond a reasonable doubt, from mistaken identity or false accusation, one of the highest evidentiary standards in Alaska law. For records held by DPS, the request goes to the R&I Quality Assurance Unit at 5700 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK 99507. DPS has a designated "Request to Seal Criminal Justice Record" form for this purpose. This process does not apply to accurate conviction records. If you were arrested, charged, and convicted and the record correctly reflects those facts, AS 12.62.180 provides no avenue for sealing.

Challenging Inaccurate or Incomplete Criminal History

Separate from the sealing process, Alaska law allows individuals to challenge the accuracy or completeness of their criminal history records held by DPS. AS 12.62.170 governs that process. It requires a criminal justice agency to "correct, modify, or add an explanatory notation to criminal history records that the agency is responsible for maintaining if the revision is necessary to achieve accuracy or completeness," and it allows a person to submit a written request to the head of the agency responsible for maintaining the information. The decision of the head of the agency is the final administrative decision on the request. Under AS 12.62.170(c), an adverse decision may be appealed to court under the applicable rules for appealing an administrative agency decision, with the appellant bearing the burden of showing that the agency decision was in error.

In practice, you submit a "Request to Correct Criminal Justice Information" form to the DPS R&I Quality Assurance Unit. DPS states that where the disputed APSIN criminal history information was or will be used to deny a right or privilege, the department has five days to respond to the request or to forward it to the agency responsible for maintaining that information. That five-day figure comes from DPS itself, not from AS 12.62.170, which sets no response deadline. Missing disposition data is among the most common issues that arise in these correction requests. Providing documentation from your court case can help expedite the process. A successful correction updates the accuracy of the record but does not remove it. The distinction between correcting an inaccurate record and sealing or expunging an accurate conviction record is critical: only the former is available as of right under Alaska law.

Juvenile Records in Alaska

Alaska treats juvenile delinquency records under a separate statutory framework. Juvenile records are not automatically public in the same way adult criminal records are, and Alaska law provides procedures under which certain juvenile records may be sealed when the individual reaches adulthood and meets applicable conditions. The specific eligibility requirements and procedures for juvenile record sealing are distinct from anything discussed in this article, which focuses on adult criminal records. If you have a juvenile record and want to understand your options, consult an Alaska attorney familiar with the Alaska Delinquency Rules and the applicable provisions of the Alaska Children's Code.

What You Can Do If You Have an Alaska Criminal Record

Given how limited Alaska's record-relief options are, practical steps focus on accuracy and context rather than erasure. First, obtain your own criminal history record from DPS to verify it is accurate and complete. Second, if the record contains errors or missing dispositions, submit a correction request to DPS R&I under AS 12.62.170 with supporting court documentation. Third, if you received an SIS at sentencing and have completed probation, consult an Alaska attorney about whether you are eligible to petition the court for a set-aside under AS 12.55.085, keeping in mind that a DUI conviction is statutorily ineligible for an SIS and therefore for a set-aside. Fourth, if the court suspended entry of judgment under AS 12.55.078 instead, ask whether the proceedings have been dismissed and whether the case has come off CourtView under AS 22.35.030. Fifth, if your record stems from a case of mistaken identity or false accusation, ask an attorney whether a sealing request under AS 12.62.180 applies to your situation. Finally, be aware that some federal records, FBI records, and records held by other states are outside the reach of Alaska's procedures entirely.

Disclaimer: This article discusses Alaska state law as it existed on May 29, 2026. Alaska criminal records law is subject to legislative change. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice. Consult a licensed Alaska attorney for guidance specific to your situation.

Related Articles

• Expungement Laws by State
• DUI Expungement by State
• How to Check If Your Record Has Been Expunged

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RecordingLaw.com provides general legal information, not legal advice. Laws change; verify current statutes with official Alaska sources or a licensed attorney.

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