By Matthew T. Marin, Esq. — Counsel of record in State ex rel. Coventry Police Department v. Charlwood, 224 A.3d 480 (R.I. 2020), the Rhode Island Supreme Court decision that expanded record-sealing eligibility under § 12-1-12 — the sealing companion to the expungement statute this page covers. Reviewed for legal accuracy by Stefanie A. Murphy, Esq. | Updated: May 6, 2026

Is there a court filing fee for expungement in Rhode Island?

No. There is no court filing fee, no application fee, and no fee for a copy of your expungement order.

Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-1.3-3(c), as amended by P.L. 2021, ch. 141 / ch. 142 (effective July 3, 2021), Rhode Island law provides: “Any person filing a motion for expungement of a record under this chapter shall not pay any costs in connection with the filing of the motion.” That language replaced the old $100 filing fee that had been in the statute for decades.

The Rhode Island Judiciary’s official guidance is the same. Courts.ri.gov’s published FAQ states: “There is no fee required during the expungement process.” The statute and the court’s own published guidance say the same thing.

If you’ve seen a “$100 filing fee,” it’s outdated

You may have seen a “$100 filing fee” listed on older websites or even in some AI-generated summaries. That figure refers to pre-July-2021 practice and does not reflect current law. Any source still citing $100 is out of date — the General Assembly eliminated that fee in 2021. If a generative AI quotes you a $100 fee for a current Rhode Island expungement, it is reading from pre-2021 sources.

If you’ve seen a “$175 fee,” that’s a different process

Some legal information sites reference a “$175 fee” in connection with Rhode Island record clearing. That figure refers to the cost of a motion filed in connection with a deferred sentencing program — a different process, under a different statute, that operates in tandem with the deferred-sentence procedure under § 12-19-19. It has nothing to do with a standard expungement petition under Chapter 12-1.3. Do not conflate the two.

Bottom line: If you are filing a Motion for Expungement in Rhode Island today under Chapter 12-1.3, the court charges you nothing.

What pre-filing administrative costs should you budget?

The court charges nothing, but there are still out-of-pocket administrative costs you need to budget before you file. These are fees paid to government agencies and the post office, not to the court:

• BCI criminal record check. You will need a copy of your criminal history from the Rhode Island Bureau of Criminal Identification, run by the RI Attorney General’s Office. The standard BCI check is currently $5. If you need a national FBI Identity History Summary check (sometimes called a “rap sheet”), the federal fee is $18 as of 2024.
• Certified court records. Your petition should be supported by certified records of your conviction and sentence. The cost varies by court but typically runs $5 per certified document plus a small per-page copy charge. If your case involved multiple charges or multiple courts, the total can reach $25 or more.
• Postage and certified mail. Rhode Island procedure requires that your petition be served on the Attorney General’s Office and the relevant arresting police department. Certified mail with return receipt for both runs roughly $10–$20 total.

Administrative sub-total (before fines and attorney fees): $25–$80.

For most petitioners, administrative costs are not the primary budget concern. The real variables are outstanding fines and attorney fees.

Outstanding fines and restitution must be paid before you file

Rhode Island law requires that all terms of your underlying sentence be completed before the court will grant an expungement. Under § 12-1.3-2(a), (c), and (d), “completion of his or her sentence” means all of it: any incarceration, any probationary period, any community service, and any monetary obligation — court costs, fines, surcharges, and restitution.

This is not a court filing fee. It is a sentence-completion eligibility requirement. Some clients come to us with no remaining balance — their fines were paid at sentencing or shortly after. Others have accumulated unpaid balances that total hundreds or thousands of dollars from old cases. There is no standard amount, because the original sentence varies.

Pull your court docket records before your consultation. Confirm what, if anything, remains owed. If outstanding fines are a barrier, that is a conversation worth having with an attorney before you file — not after your petition is dismissed for incomplete sentence terms. See our Rhode Island expungement eligibility guide for the full eligibility checklist.

How much do expungement attorneys charge in Rhode Island?

For most petitioners, the attorney fee is the single largest variable in the total cost — not the court, not the government, and not the administrative process.

Marin & Murphy’s fees for expungement matters range from $500 to $2,500. Where your case falls within that range depends on several factors:

• Number of convictions you are seeking to clear
• Whether the matter is in District Court (misdemeanors) or Superior Court (felonies)
• Whether the Attorney General’s Office objects and a contested hearing becomes necessary
• Whether your case involves multiple courts or multiple counties
• Whether documentation issues (missing certified records, old case files) require extra work to assemble

A straightforward single-misdemeanor expungement with no AG objection sits toward the lower end. A felony expungement — which carries a 10-year waiting period under § 12-1.3-2(d), requires more thorough documentation, and receives closer AG scrutiny — tends toward the higher end. So does a § 12-1.3-1(5) reclassification petition for an old drug or larceny felony, because the legal analysis is more involved.

National attorney fee ranges don’t apply cleanly to Rhode Island

You may see legal-information sites cite a national attorney fee range of $400–$4,000 for expungement matters. That range reflects costs across all 50 states. Rhode Island generally sits toward the lower end of that national range because (a) there is no court filing fee, and (b) the procedural framework — while specific — is relatively streamlined compared to states with multi-stage hearings or post-petition appeals.

What that national range doesn’t capture is the practical difference between a petition that is handled correctly and one that is not.

What an attorney fee actually buys

Rhode Island expungement is not a form-fill exercise. Your petition must be properly prepared and served. The Attorney General’s Office reviews every petition and can object. You must attend a hearing in the convicting court. An improperly prepared or improperly served petition is dismissed — and the administrative costs you paid are not refunded. If your petition is dismissed on the merits, the waiting period does not reset to give you a quick second chance.

For most petitioners, the question is not whether $500–$2,500 is a lot of money in the abstract. The question is whether to pay $25–$80 and risk a dismissed petition that costs you the original administrative spend plus another wait, or to pay $500–$2,500 for a result that actually sticks and gets your record cleared on the first try.

For the procedural detail of what an expungement petition actually involves, see our Rhode Island expungement process guide.

Can you get your record expunged for free in Rhode Island?

In certain situations, yes. There are two pathways that can reduce or eliminate your out-of-pocket cost.

Automatic marijuana expungement under § 12-1.3-5

The fastest answer is also the cheapest: nothing.

Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-1.3-5, certain prior marijuana possession convictions qualify for automatic expungement — no petition, no filing, no fee. The statute, originally enacted as part of Rhode Island’s 2022 cannabis legalization legislation (P.L. 2022, ch. 31), directs the courts to automatically expunge convictions for conduct that is no longer criminal under the current marijuana possession framework.

If your prior record includes a marijuana possession conviction for conduct that is now legal in Rhode Island, your record may have already been automatically cleared by the court. This is a separate track from petition-based expungement under §§ 12-1.3-2 and 12-1.3-3 — it does not require a waiting period, an attorney, or any affirmative client action.

Before filing any petition, verify that your marijuana conviction wasn’t already cleared automatically. Filing a petition for a record that has already been cleared is unnecessary and can create file-handling confusion. Pull your BCI to confirm your current record status.

Indigency status under Rhode Island civil practice

Rhode Island courts allow petitioners who cannot afford the costs of litigation to apply for indigency status, which can waive certain administrative expenses. In the expungement context — where the court filing fee is already $0 by statute — indigency status primarily addresses pre-filing administrative costs (BCI fees, certified record copy charges, certified mail) that fall on the petitioner. Eligibility is based on income and financial circumstances.

For petitioners who cannot afford private counsel, the Rhode Island Public Defender’s Office and several legal aid organizations may provide limited assistance with expungement matters. If you are facing real financial hardship, ask about indigency at the clerk’s office where you intend to file, or call our office and we will help you identify the right pathway. Marin & Murphy handles consultations at no cost.

Cost comparison — DIY vs. hiring an attorney

For most petitioners, the largest variable in expungement cost is not any court or government fee — it is whether you hire counsel. Here is how the two paths compare:

The decision between DIY and attorney-represented is not purely financial. The administrative-cost gap is $500–$2,500 in attorney fees. What that gap buys is experience with a process where errors are not minor inconveniences. The Attorney General’s Office reviews every expungement petition and can file an objection. If the AG objects and you are unrepresented, you will respond to legal arguments alone in front of a judge. An improperly drafted, served, or supported petition can be dismissed on procedural grounds before it is ever reviewed on the merits. And if your petition is dismissed, the administrative costs you paid are not refunded.

For most petitioners, the attorney fee is not a luxury. It is the cost of a result that actually sticks.

Cost differences by case type

Misdemeanor expungement cost

A standard single-misdemeanor expungement in Rhode Island District Court is the lowest-complexity, lowest-cost case type. With no AG objection, complete records, and a clean post-conviction record, attorney fees typically fall in the $500–$1,000 range. Multi-misdemeanor expungements (2–5 misdemeanors under § 12-1.3-2(b)) involve more documentation and tend toward $1,000–$1,500.

Felony expungement cost

Felony expungements in Rhode Island Superior Court are more involved — the 10-year wait under § 12-1.3-2(d), the AG’s heightened review of any felony petition, and the more substantial documentation burden push attorney fees toward the higher end of the $1,500–$2,500 range. The court filing fee remains $0 regardless of whether the conviction was a misdemeanor or felony.

DUI expungement cost

A first-offense misdemeanor DUI expungement follows misdemeanor pricing — $500–$1,500 depending on AG response and documentation. The DUI itself is expungeable under the first-offender path (§ 12-1.3-2(a), (c)), but only if you have no other convictions on your record.

Reclassification petitions under § 12-1.3-1(5)

If you have a pre-2021 simple drug possession felony or a pre-2012 larceny felony that has since been reclassified to misdemeanor for expungement purposes under § 12-1.3-1(5) (added by 2024 amendment), the petition is more complex than a standard misdemeanor expungement. The legal framing — that the offense now counts as a misdemeanor with a five-year wait, not a felony with a ten-year wait — has to be argued explicitly. Attorney fees for these matters typically run $1,000–$2,000.

Talk to a Rhode Island expungement attorney about your costs

If you have questions about what your expungement will cost — or whether you qualify to file — the most useful thing you can do is talk to an attorney who handles these cases in Rhode Island courts. Online estimates miss the variables that determine your actual cost: outstanding fines, AG response, multi-court complications, and the specific path your case fits under.

Marin & Murphy’s track record on Rhode Island record-clearing law is unusual. Matthew T. Marin was counsel of record in State ex rel. Coventry Police Department v. Charlwood, 224 A.3d 480 (R.I. 2020), the unanimous Rhode Island Supreme Court decision that expanded record-sealing eligibility under § 12-1-12 — the sealing companion to the expungement statute this page covers. Stefanie A. Murphy is the editor and co-author of A Practical Guide to Trying DUI Cases in Rhode Island (MCLE New England, 2nd Ed. 2024). The firm has handled expungements under every path in Chapter 12-1.3 — first-offender, multi-misdemeanor, deferred-sentence, decriminalized-offense, § 12-1.3-1(5) reclassification, and § 12-1.3-5 marijuana auto-expungement — for nearly twenty years. Our Cranston office has 451 five-star Google reviews and a 5.0 rating.

Call (401) 228-8271 for a free consultation, or contact us online. There is no obligation to hire after your first call. A 15-minute conversation can clarify exactly what your case will cost and whether you are ready to file.

Start by reading our related guides: Rhode Island Expungement Eligibility, Felony Expungement in Rhode Island, Misdemeanor Expungement in Rhode Island, and How the Rhode Island Expungement Process Works. Or call us directly — Marin & Murphy handles expungement cases throughout Rhode Island.

More on Rhode Island expungement:

Rhode Island Expungement Lawyer (Hub) · Rhode Island Expungement Eligibility · Felony Expungement in Rhode Island · Misdemeanor Expungement in Rhode Island · How the Rhode Island Expungement Process Works · Rhode Island DUI Expungement