Sometimes there are different types of expungement. It varies from state to state. Some are erased, and some are sealed. Many employers do not go back more than 10 years. Some employers do not consider old convicitons. You should contact legal aid to find out about the type or types of expungements in your state.

It probably will depend more on the severity. If you killed someone, and served a short sentence, and by some miracle managed to get it expunged, there would be plenty of records still available. I don't believe expungement(if you'll forgive my made-up word) reaches any records except criminal records kept by the police. Anywhere else is still fair game. It will still be in the newspaper records, and now it would definitely be on the internet. If no one ever mentioned your conviction to anyone, and your arrest wasn't broadcast on the news or in the papers, you might be alright. It's best to be upfront and forthcoming with any information that you think that they might think is relevant.

If it's not for any kind f violent crime, it's just as good as erased.

I think it has to be ten years in new york state before you can have it expunged. I would ask your local police precinct for the appropriate referral.

Most states have their own procedure and eligibility requirements for expungement of convictions. However, some states, such as Texas, do not allow a court to expunge a conviction. Accordingly, one would need to know what state your conviction was to answer your question. In general, the process involves petitioning the court where you were convicted and demonstrating that you meet the legal requirements or standards necessary to have your record cleared. In some states, such as Nevada, the record of the conviction is destroyed. In other states, such Arizona and California, the records of the case are still public, but the disposition is changed from convicted to dismissed. If your conviction was in federal court, you cannot have your conviction expunged. However, some states, such as http://www.answers.com/topic/arizona, will allow you to petition to have all of your civil rights and gun rights restored. Most counties have a public defender's or legal aid office that will file a petition for record clearance (expungement, vacating, setting-aside, sealing, or whatever it is called in your state) for free-- though most public defenders have a low-income requirement. They may also have packets on how to do it yourself. If you have financial means, I would highly recommend having an attorney handle it for you. There are law firms that specialize in record clearing; this one handles multiple states: http://www.recordgone.com. However, there are many others. If you are paying someone, just make sure they are licensed attorneys who have experience clearing records. Many attorneys will give a money back guarantee. Also, if you have convictions in multiple states, make sure your attorney understands the record clearing laws in both states because proceeding in the wrong order could cost you your eligibility in one of the states.

Felony convictions can never be expunged. You may hire an attorney, you may go to court, but i promise your conviction is still on file, somewhere.

In many states, a felony conviction can be expunged if the original crime was either non-violent in nature, or later evidence overturned the original conviction. Expungement rules do vary from state to state, so a person needs to check with their local court system to find out if their specific case qualifies for expungement. A felony conviction usually has to be downgraded to a misdemeanor, before the conviction can be expunged. If all goes well, and the court gives the order to expunge the conviction, the file is no longer accessible to any public database, nor is the file available to the public at the courthouse itself. Some states will just seal the expunged records, while a few other states actually order the expunged records to be destroyed after a certain period of time. A person with an expunged record can legally answer "no" to any employment application questions regarding arrests or convictions. The main exceptions to this rule are employment applications to law enforcement, applications for most government agencies, and applications to run for political office. A job seeker should be aware that although they may have expunged their record, it may still come up in an employment background search. This may happen because most companies that do this kind of background search are using software that specifically targets the collection of information on arrests and convictions from the state and federal court systems. Their software is not currently designed to collect expungement, or any other kind of post-conviction relief that a person may qualify for. There are simple remedies for this problem too. To find out more on these subjects; contact an experienced expungement attorney, research it at your local law library, get some self-help guidance through your local courthouse website, or http://www.expungement4u.com/.