Criminal justice advocates in Massachusetts are asking state lawmakers to make the process of sealing criminal records an automatic one, arguing that the move could open up economic opportunities for people who have brushed against the justice system.
The Clean Slate Massachusetts Campaign aims to make it easier for people with criminal records to get them sealed, once they're eligible. That's three years after a misdemeanor conviction, seven years after a felony. Massachusetts current sealing system is petition-based, where a person has to reach out to the state to begin the process of removing records from public view.
"This petition-based system is so complicated, slow, intimidating, and a lot of people don't know about it," explained Andrea Freeman, Policy Director with the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts (PHIWM). "So the upshot is, less than 10 per-cent of eligible people have sealed records."
That lingering criminal record can impact a person's ability to get a job, or find stable housing. Especially in Hampden County, which sees the most criminal convictions in the state. Springfield city officials endorsed Clean Slate legislation last summer. PHIWM got involved with the Clean Slate after noticing that in the Springfield area, a criminal record was a recurring roadblock to stabilizing vulnerable people.
"One of the things we started hearing from, particularly from older African American men, was that as they started looking for senior housing or other other opportunities as they got older — they were prohibited from certain housing situations because they had decades old records," Freeman said.
Criminal records are more common than you may think: 77 million Americans have one, or 1 in every 3 adults.
Massachusetts State Senator Adam Gomez of Springfield introduced one of the automatic record sealing bills moving through Beacon Hill. He knows what it's like to be dragged down by a criminal record, after being arrested in his youth for cannabis possession.
"I struggled, before I was a senator and city councilor, for a very long time," Gomez recounted. "Trying to find housing, trying to find work, trying to put food on the table, trying to find a great job. Because I had this record that followed me."
Gomez also stressed that lingering criminal records is a racial justice issue: since nonwhite people are disproportionately more likely to face arrest and criminal conviction in Massachusetts, they also represent a disproportionate population of people eligible to have their records sealed.
"45% of eligible individuals are black, 52% are Latino," Gomez said. "Automation helps close equity gaps instantly."
If Massachusetts does pass an automatic record sealing law, they would be 14th state to do so. Most recently, Illinois passed record sealing legislation back in October of 2025.
