Colorado law allows you to petition to have your criminal record sealed—that is, expunged or hidden from public view. In Colorado, it is usually not possible to expunge or “seal” a conviction from your criminal record, even if you have completed probation.

Drug Misdemeanor – two years after final dispositions or release. Class 4, 5, or 6 Felony – three years after final disposition or release. Level 3 or 4 Drug Felony – three years after final disposition or release. Class 1 Misdemeanor – three years after final disposition or release.

If you’ve been convicted of a felony offense, you may be able to have your gun rights restored by obtaining a Colorado Governor’s Pardon. This is the public forgiveness of a past crime and will restore some of the rights you lost when you were convicted.

Take our online eligibility test to find out exactly how you can remove your criminal records.

The only felony convictions that can be sealed in Colorado are class 4, class 5, and class 6 felonies as well as level 2, level 3, and level 4 drug felonies. But any felony charge that gets dismissed can be sealed immediately.

With Colorado’s strict sealing / expungement laws a “restoration of civil rights” to include the right to bear arms, leaves only the governor’s pardon.

Can a convicted felon own a muzzleloader in Colorado? No. Pursuant to Colorado Revised Statutes 18-12-108 C.R.S., people who have been convicted of a felony are then forbidden from knowingly possessing firearms or weapons.

More serious felonies can be expunged eight or 10 years after the completion of the sentence. Some crimes must have the prosecutor’s written consent for expungement.

Because you can’t go to federal court (see above), a presidential pardon is essentially the only way to restore your federal firearm rights if you’ve been convicted of a federal felony. In practice, therefore, you have very little chance of ever fully restoring your gun rights with a federal felony.

In Colorado, the process for obtaining an expungement is as follows: Obtain documentation of your criminal record. Fill out the Petition, Notice and Order forms available on the Colorado State Judicial Branch website. File the paperwork with the Colorado court where the arrest occurred.

The Governor can only grant a pardon for a Colorado State conviction. To achieve a pardon on a Federal conviction, the application is made through the United States Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney. To be eligible to apply for a pardon, apply as follows.

However, only juvenile delinquency records can be expunged under Colorado law. Therefore, if you were arrested or convicted of a DUI or DUI-related charge as a juvenile and you meet certain other conditions including no further juvenile or adult criminal convictions, you may be able to have your records expunged.

Expungement in Colorado is the legal process of removing juvenile records, underage drinking and driving (UDD) records, or arrest records of people apprehended because of mistaken identity. Expunged records do not show up on background checks.