Eviction record sealing

Sometimes a court dismisses your eviction case before a judge decides it. Sometimes you win the case instead. Either way, the court must seal the case record, hiding the file from public view.

Win, lose, or settle, ask the judge to seal the case file. Sealing hides the eviction case from the public record, which protects future apartment applications.

Even if you lose or settle, you can ask the judge to seal the court file. Sealing hides the case from public record searches, which protects your future rental applications. Cases without a real legal basis can be sealed too.

When an eviction case is filed, the court record is kept private (suppressed) at first. Only the judge, court staff, and the people in the case with their lawyers can see it. Certain authorized court staff, and a person with a valid court order, can see it too. If your landlord wins, the record usually becomes public. This does not happen if you both agree to keep it private.

You may be a survivor of domestic violence or abuse, stalking, or unlawful sexual behavior. Is a public record a risk to you? Then ask the court to keep it private. You must give the court proof. The law lists the papers that count. They include a court order to protect you. They include your own signed statement. They also include a letter from a professional you told, like a victim-services worker, lawyer, social worker, doctor, faith leader, or counselor. This works even after the court decides your case.

If your eviction case is withdrawn or dismissed, the court system must remove any record of it from its website within 30 days. The same happens if the case ends with a judgment (the court's final decision in your case) for you, the renter. If there is later activity in the case, such as an appeal, the record can be put back on the website.

In Delaware, you can ask the court to shield (hide from the public) the record of an eviction case. The court must grant it if it finds any one of 7 listed reasons. Three examples are that the landlord withdrew the complaint, the court dismissed it, or the final judgment (the court's final decision) was in your favor.

An eviction case can stay on your record and hurt future rental applications. Illinois courts can seal (hide from public view) an eviction case if it has no real legal basis (735 ILCS 5, § 9-121). Courts must seal it if the case was dismissed for wrongly naming a minor as a defendant.

A court sends the parties a notice if a landlord has done nothing to move an eviction case forward for at least 180 days. If the landlord then does not move it forward or dismiss it, you may ask the court to dismiss the case.

If a court dismisses an eviction case because the landlord did nothing for 180 days, it must also order that the records not be disclosed. This seals the eviction court record from the general public.

Starting July 1, 2025, some eviction cases can be sealed (hidden from the public). The Small Claims Manual says a tenant may file a petition (a written request) to seal the record in some cases. Examples: the case was dismissed, or it was decided in the tenant's favor. A court decision against the tenant also counts if it was overturned or vacated (set aside) on appeal. Other conditions apply, such as paying a money judgment (a court order to pay money).

If your failure-to-pay-rent case ends without a court order to move out, the court must remove it from public view within 60 days. This is called shielding the case.

You can file a petition (a written request) with the court to seal your eviction record. A sealed record is not open to the public. After you have sealed all of your past eviction records, you can answer 'no record' on housing or credit applications that ask about evictions.

Your eviction case is not shown to the public while it is open. It becomes public only after the court decides the case. Before then, only you, your landlord, and licensed attorneys helping either of you can see the case file.

The court must expunge your eviction case (clear it from public court records) in several situations. This includes if you win the case, if the case is dismissed for any reason, or if you and your landlord agree to it. It also happens automatically 3 years after the eviction was ordered.

Say you lived under a contract for deed (buying the home from the seller). You may then get an automatic expungement (the court record erased) in one more case. The same applies if you lived in a home during a mortgage foreclosure (the bank taking the home). This applies only if the eviction case was based only on the redemption or cancellation period ending. It applies if you had already moved out before the case started. It also applies if you were still living there and never got the required notice first.

If the court dismisses your eviction case, the court seals the case file (makes it private) right away.

If the court denies your landlord's eviction request, the court seals the case file (makes it private). This happens 10 judicial days (10 days the courts are open) after the order.

A renter under a court eviction order for unpaid rent or damage may ask to seal the eviction records (keep them from public view). The renter must have resolved all rent and damage claims. The renter may ask 7 years after the order has been satisfied. The renter must not have been evicted from another property in those 7 years.

Once your landlord files an eviction case in court, it can show up on your background check and credit reports. This can make it harder to rent again.

An eviction case leaves an eviction record (court papers about the case). The record stays even if you win or the landlord drops the case. Pennsylvania does not automatically seal or erase these records. The record can show up when you apply for housing later. Getting a paid judgment (the court decision about money) marked satisfied, meaning recorded as paid, keeps your record accurate.

If your eviction case is dismissed, the court will erase the record from public view automatically 30 days later. If your landlord takes a nonsuit (drops the case) instead, the court will erase the record automatically 6 months later. Both only happen if no order let your landlord take the home back.

If you win your case at a hearing, the record is not erased automatically. You must ask the court to erase it yourself, using a petition (a written request).