18 records
Can I get an eviction case sealed or kept off my record in this state, and does it happen automatically or do I have to file for it?
18 records covering 6 states, one fact each. Every value is transcribed from the source that states it and carries the sentence it was taken from: 6 sources across 6 sites, last checked 2026-09-02, due for re-check by 2027-09-02. Every record is listed below, each linking the page its value came from.
About this data
State-by-state comparison of eviction-record relief statutes — the mechanisms that keep an eviction filing off a tenant screening report. An eviction case is a public court record the moment it is filed, whether or not the landlord wins, and tenant-screening companies routinely report the filing itself, not just the outcome. A small but growing number of states now write relief into statute, and it takes three different legal forms, not one: sealing or setting aside the court file (Nevada, Oregon), delaying or restricting public access to it (California), and leaving the file open but barring tenant-screening companies from reporting it (Washington's 'limited dissemination'). This dataset covers all three, because from a tenant's point of view they answer the same question. The trigger varies as sharply as the remedy. California (CCP 1161.2) restricts access to every unlawful detainer file for 60 days from filing with no motion required, and it opens to the public only if the landlord wins. Nevada (NRS 40.2545) seals automatically on dismissal, ten judicial days after a denied eviction order, or 31 days after landlord inaction on a tenant's affidavit — and separately allows a tenant to move for sealing. Oregon runs two tracks at once: a tenant-filed motion under ORS 105.163, and a court-initiated annual sweep under ORS 105.164 that seals old judgments with no tenant action at all. Washington (RCW 59.18.367) is motion-only, on one of three named grounds, with no waiting period stated. Illinois (735 ILCS 5/9-121) puts both tracks in one section — discretionary sealing where the court finds the landlord's action 'sufficiently without a basis in fact or law', and mandatory sealing for three named categories of case. Colorado (CRS 13-40-110.5) has the earliest trigger of any state here: the record is suppressed on commencement of the action, before anything is decided. One record per relief route, not per state, because a state's automatic and motion tracks have different triggers and different waiting periods — collapsing them into one 'does this state allow eviction sealing' answer loses exactly the distinction a tenant needs. Each record quotes the state's own current statute. Answers 'can you get an eviction expunged in [state]', 'does [state] automatically seal eviction records', 'how long until an eviction falls off my record'.
The data
| State | Automatic or by motion | What triggers relief | What the relief does | Statute | Waiting period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | automatic | an eviction action brought against a tenant under Section 9-207.5 of this Code or as set forth in subdivision (h)(6) of Section 15-1701 of this Code or that has been dismissed under Section 9-106 of this Code | shall be placed under seal | 735 ILCS 5/9-121 | |
| Oregon | automatic | (B) The judgment was a judgment of dismissal or otherwise in favor of the defendant and at least 12 months have passed from the date of the entry of the judgment | each justice and circuit court shall enter an order setting aside a judgment and sealing the official records | ORS 105.164 | 12 months |
| Oregon | by motion | (B) The judgment was based on claims that arose on or after April 1, 2020, and before March 1, 2022 | an appropriate order setting aside the judgment and sealing the official records of the action pertaining to the applicant | ORS 105.163 | |
| Washington | by motion | other good cause exists for limiting dissemination of the unlawful detainer action | a tenant screening service provider must not: (a) Disclose the existence of that unlawful detainer action in a tenant screening report | RCW 59.18.367 | |
| Nevada | automatic | Ten judicial days after the entry of a court order which denies the action for summary eviction | the eviction case court file is sealed automatically and not open to inspection | NRS 40.2545 | Ten judicial days |
| Washington | by motion | The court finds that the plaintiff's case was sufficiently without basis in fact or law | a tenant screening service provider must not: (a) Disclose the existence of that unlawful detainer action in a tenant screening report | RCW 59.18.367 | |
| Oregon | by motion | The judgment was a judgment by stipulation of the parties under ORS 105.145 (2) and the applicant has complied with the terms of the stipulated agreement and satisfied any money award included in the judgment | an appropriate order setting aside the judgment and sealing the official records of the action pertaining to the applicant | ORS 105.163 | |
| Oregon | by motion | The judgment was a judgment of restitution entered against the applicant, the applicant has satisfied any money award included in the judgment and: (A) At least five years have passed from the date of the judgment | an appropriate order setting aside the judgment and sealing the official records of the action pertaining to the applicant | ORS 105.163 | five years |
| Oregon | automatic | The judgment was a judgment of restitution entered for the plaintiff and at least five years have passed from the date of the judgment | each justice and circuit court shall enter an order setting aside a judgment and sealing the official records | ORS 105.164 | five years |
| Oregon | by motion | The judgment was a judgment or judgment of dismissal entered in the applicant’s favor | an appropriate order setting aside the judgment and sealing the official records of the action pertaining to the applicant | ORS 105.163 | |
| Illinois | by motion | the plaintiff's action is sufficiently without a basis in fact or law | a court file in an eviction action be placed under seal | 735 ILCS 5/9-121 | |
| Washington | by motion | the tenancy was reinstated under RCW 59.18.410 or other law | a tenant screening service provider must not: (a) Disclose the existence of that unlawful detainer action in a tenant screening report | RCW 59.18.367 | |
| Nevada | automatic | Thirty-one days after the tenant has filed an affidavit described in subsection 3 of NRS 40.253 or subsection 3 of NRS 40.2542 , if the landlord has failed to file an affidavit of complaint | the eviction case court file is sealed automatically and not open to inspection | NRS 40.2545 | Thirty-one days |
| Nevada | by motion | Upon motion of the tenant and decision by the court | the court may order the sealing of an eviction case court file | NRS 40.2545 | |
| Colorado | automatic | Upon the commencement of an action pursuant to this article 40 | any court record of the action is a suppressed court record | 13-40-110.5 | |
| Nevada | automatic | Upon the entry of a court order which dismisses the action for summary eviction | the eviction case court file is sealed automatically and not open to inspection | NRS 40.2545 | |
| California | automatic | Upon the filing of a case so restricted | access to the court file will be delayed for 60 days | CCP 1161.2 | 60 days |
| Nevada | by motion | Upon the filing of a written stipulation by the landlord and the tenant to set aside the order of eviction and seal the eviction case court file | the court may order the sealing of an eviction case court file | NRS 40.2545 |
Where this came from
Every record above links the page it was taken from and quotes the sentence that states it. These are the 6 sources this dataset was assembled from.
- ilga.govhttps://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=073500050K9-121
- oregonlegislature.govhttps://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors105.html
- app.leg.wa.govhttps://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=59.18.367
- leg.state.nv.ushttps://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-040.html
- leg.colorado.govhttps://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-13.pdf
- leginfo.legislature.ca.govhttps://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP§ionNum=1161.2.
Machine-readable
- data.jsonThe whole dataset — every record with its source URL and source quote.
- Open Knowledge Format bundleOne JSON object per line — every record's frontmatter and quoted span exactly as it is held here, in one fetch.
- data.csvThe same records as one flat table, for a spreadsheet or a dataframe. The last four columns are the source URL, the quoted sentence it was read from, the date we last checked it, and which columns are our reading rather than the page's words.
- How this is made and checkedWhat "verified against source" does and does not mean.
Set your AI assistant up to use this
Two files and no account. Put this in .mcp.json at the root of your project — Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code and Codex all read that file — and your assistant can look this dataset up instead of recalling it. The server is remote, keyless and read-only.
{
"mcpServers": {
"referencesource": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://referencesource.org/mcp"
}
}
}Add to Cursor · or, on the command line: claude mcp add --transport http referencesource https://referencesource.org/mcp --scope project
Then one line in the project's CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md, so the assistant knows when to reach for it:
When a question needs "Eviction record sealing and expungement by US state", call the referencesource MCP server at https://referencesource.org/mcp (tool `search_records`, dataset_slug `eviction-record-sealing-and-expungement-by-state`) instead of answering from memory — every record it returns carries its source URL and a verbatim quote from that page.What each tool does, and the servers built over single registers: Connect your AI assistant.