VPLC's Eviction Defense Center
Virginia Poverty Law Center

Erasing an Eviction from Your Record

After an eviction case is over, even if you win it, the court record can make it harder for you to get a loan, job, or new housing.

But if your case ended either by being dismissed or withdrawn as a ‘non-suit’, you can ask the court to erase the case record. This process is called expungement.

Note: Due to a new law, the court will automatically erase dismissed and non-suited eviction cases that are filed after July 1, 2024.

How to ask the court to expunge your case

You need to file a court form called a Petition for Expungement of Unlawful Detainer

  • Give the completed form to the clerk’s office at the General District Court where your landlord filed the case.
  • You do not have to pay a fee to file this form.

When to file

When you’re allowed to file this form depends on how the case ended.

  • If the case was dismissed, you can file the court form 30 days after the case ended.
  • If the case was nonsuited, you have to wait 6 months before filing the court form.

What happens next

After you file the form, the court will confirm the information is right, then erase the case from court records.