A first offense DUI charge that resulted in a conviction will remain on your record for at least five years. Moreover, to remove the DUI conviction you must file a Motion to Expunge in the Court where the case was heard and appear before a Judge at the time and date of the expungement hearing. If the Motion to Expunge your DUI charge is granted, you will be required to pay a $100 expungement fee to the court to complete the expungement process and remove the case from your record.

How Do I Know If My DUI Charge Resulted in a Conviction?

If you were arrested and charged with a DUI in Rhode Island and you either went to trial and were found guilty or you entered a plea of nolo contendre (no contest) to the DUI charge then you have been convicted. Under Rhode Island law, a conviction results when an individual is sentenced on a case to a jail sentence, a suspended jail sentence, or a “fine.” Rhode Island's DUI statute carries mandatory “fines” which means that each and every person sentenced on a Rhode Island DUI charge is in-fact convicted by imposition of the fine.

How Long Do I Have to Wait to Expunge My Rhode Island DUI Conviction?

If you have been convicted of a Rhode Island DUI charge, you must wait a minimum of five years from the date of the completion of the sentence you received on your DUI charge. If you have not been arrested or charged for five years following the completion of your DUI sentence, you may be eligible to have the case expunged. You will not be eligible if (1) you have other criminal offenses on your record that resulted in “convictions” or sentences of probation, (2) you owe money or costs on the DUI case or other Court cases, (3) the DUI charge for which you were sentenced was not a misdemeanor but was instead a felony DUI charge.

How Long Do I have to Wait to Expunge A Rhode Island DUI Charge that was Dismissed? 

If you were arrested and charged with DUI in Rhode Island and the charge was dismissed (dropped) or you were found not guilty after trial, you may be eligible to have it expunged from your record immediately. The only thing that would prevent you from immediately removing the dismissed DUI charge from your record would be if you have been previously convicted of a felony charge. Otherwise, you may have records of your DUI arrest removed from your record within a matter of a few weeks.

What Records are there of my Rhode Island DUI case?

When you are arrested and charged with a DUI in Rhode Island, a record of that arrest will appear on your criminal record (called a “BCI”). All State of Rhode Island Official Criminal Records (“BCI”) are maintained by the Rhode Island Department of Attorney General. In addition to BCI records, every time you are arrested for DUI in Rhode Island the arresting police department creates and maintains copies of your arrest report. Once the DUI charge is brought to court in Rhode Island, an official court file with records relating to your DUI arrest is opened and will be maintained by the Rhode Island Judiciary. These Judiciary records can be accessed via the Public Portal on the Rhode Island Judiciary website which can be found here: https://www.courts.ri.gov/Pages/access-caseinfo.aspx

Successful expungement of your Rhode Island DUI case would result in the removal of records related to your arrest in these three databases. Attorney Matthew Marin has extensive experience assisting clients with the expungement of Rhode Island DUI arrests and convictions. If a Rhode Island DUI charge on your record has been holding you back, give us a call today. We provide a no obligation expungement consultation to determine if your case is in-fact eligible to be expunged. If it is, we are able to provide you with concrete steps and a straightforward process and explanation about how we can assist you through the expungement process. We are available 24/7 at 401-228-8271 or via email at [email protected].