Oklahoma Launches Clean Slate Expungement Portal, Not Auto Sealing

Oklahoma's expedited Clean Slate expungement portal went live on November 1, 2026, the deadline set by 22 O.S. § 19d. Eligible Oklahomans can now ask the state to seal a qualifying record without filing a court petition. The fully automatic sealing process is not running yet.

Information last verified on November 6, 2026. This is a developing story; we update it as the record changes.

Status: The expedited request portal is live as of November 1, 2026, and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) confirms the launch on its own Clean Slate page. The fully automatic sealing process is not live. Under 22 O.S. § 19d(D), OSBI has until November 1, 2027 to begin implementing that automatic process, and until November 1, 2029 to run eligible electronic records through it. Nothing is being sealed automatically today, and the ordinary petition route under 22 O.S. §§ 18 and 19 remains open.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Oklahoma criminal history records under Oklahoma law, specifically 22 O.S. §§ 18, 18b, 19 and 19d. It does not cover federal criminal records, which no state portal can reach, and it does not cover records held by any other state. Sealing rules, waiting periods and procedures differ in every jurisdiction; see our state-by-state guide to clearing a criminal record for how other states handle it.

What Happened

OSBI launched Oklahoma's expedited Clean Slate expungement portal on November 1, 2026. The agency's Clean Slate Initiative page, last modified November 5, 2026, states the point directly:

"Clean Slate refers to a State initiated process which allows for the expungement of certain eligible criminal history records and does not require a court petition. See 22 O.S. §§ 18b and 19d. On November 1, 2026, the OSBI launched the expedited clean slate portal."

The launch date is not incidental. Oklahoma's 22 O.S. § 19d(A) opens: "By November 1, 2026, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation shall establish and maintain a publicly accessible online portal for individuals to submit an expedited expungement request for clean slate eligible records as defined in Section 2 of this act, or records eligible under paragraph 16 of Section 18 of Title 22." OSBI launched on the statutory deadline itself.

The portal runs as a separate web application at cleanslate.osbi.ok.gov, and the "Enter Expedited Clean Slate Portal" entry in OSBI's own site menu redirects to it. OSBI's Clean Slate Initiative page carries the statutory basis, the launch date, a "Before you Apply:" section with the eligibility prerequisite described below, and a contact route of cleanslate@osbi.ok.gov or 405-879-2641, and it points readers to the portal itself for the eligibility detail and the request form. Neither that page nor 22 O.S. § 19d sets out a fee or a processing time for an expedited request, and § 19d(B) limits what a request may require to identification and contact information.

OSBI does publish one operational prerequisite on that public page. To be Clean Slate eligible, a record "must have the final disposition information (e.g. conviction, dismissal)." Where a criminal history is missing that information, OSBI directs a person to obtain certified copies of the final disposition from the court clerk or the district attorney's office that processed the charges and mail them to the Bureau so it can update the record. OSBI also offers an optional criminal history report through its CHIRP service.

Where the authority comes from

Oklahoma Senate Bill 2030 (2026) created both operative sections. The Legislature's bill action log for SB 2030 records the Senate passing the measure 45 yeas to 0 nays on March 25, 2026, with the emergency clause passing 44 to 1 the same day; the House passing the measure and emergency 87 to 2 on May 4, 2026; the bill being sent to the Governor on May 5, 2026; and the entry "Approved by Governor 05/11/2026."

That approval date is worth pinning down carefully, because the enrolled PDF of SB 2030 does not establish it. Every signature block on the enrolled text, including "Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _________ day of ___________________," is a blank, unexecuted template. The signing date here rests on the Legislature's own action log and on the codification credit line that the Oklahoma State Courts Network now carries for both new sections, "Laws 2026, SB 2030, c. 282, § 2, emerg. eff. July 1, 2026" for § 18b and the parallel "§ 4" credit for § 19d. SB 2030 itself contains both an effective-date section setting July 1, 2026 and an emergency clause declaring that the act "shall take effect and be in full force from and after its passage and approval."

Both sections are now codified and carry catchlines: 22 O.S. § 18b, "Clean Slate Eligible Record - Sealing - Expungement," and 22 O.S. § 19d, "Online Portal for Expedited Expungement - Process - Automatic Process - Annual Report." The amended 22 O.S. § 18 now lists sixteen categories of persons authorized to file a motion for expungement, up from fifteen.

Who Is Eligible

Oklahoma's eligibility test lives in 22 O.S. § 18b(A)(1), and its opening words do a great deal of work: a "clean slate eligible record" means "a record arising on or after January 1, 1980, where each offense listed within the record meets one of the following criteria."

Two limits are built into that sentence before any category is reached. The record must arise on or after January 1, 1980, and every offense listed within the record must independently qualify. One non-qualifying offense on the record defeats the record as a whole.

The five criteria then divide into one unconditional group and four that are conditioned on the record being a single-source record.

Unconditional. Subparagraph (a) covers "records described in paragraph 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, or 15 of subsection A of Section 18 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes." Those paragraphs, as amended, are: the person was acquitted; the conviction was reversed with instructions to dismiss, or reversed with the prosecuting agency then dismissing the charge; factual innocence was established by DNA evidence after conviction; the person received a full pardon from the Governor; the person was under eighteen at the time of the offense and received a full pardon; and the person was charged, arrested or made the subject of an arrest warrant for a crime committed by another person who used their name or identification without consent. These are the innocence, pardon and mistaken-identity categories, and § 18b attaches no single-source condition to them.

Arrests with no charges filed. Subparagraph (b) is narrower than it first appears. It covers "records described in paragraph 5 of subsection A of Section 18 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes where the prosecuting agency has declined to file charges and the record is an Oklahoma single-source record." Paragraph 5 of § 18(A) itself reaches a person arrested where no charges of any type are filed and either the statute of limitations has expired or the prosecuting agency has declined to file charges. Oklahoma's § 18b extends Clean Slate treatment only to the declination branch. An arrest that aged out through the statute of limitations is not swept in by subparagraph (b).

Dismissals. Subparagraph (c) covers "records described in paragraphs 7 or 8 of subsection A of Section 18 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes where the record is an Oklahoma single-source record." Paragraph 7 covers a person charged with one or more misdemeanor or felony crimes where all charges have been dismissed, who has never been convicted of a felony, with no charges pending and the limitations period for refiling expired or the prosecuting agency confirming the charges will not be refiled; by its own terms, paragraph 7 "shall not apply to charges that have been dismissed following the completion of a deferred judgment or delayed sentence." Paragraph 8 covers a misdemeanor charge dismissed after successful completion of a deferred judgment or delayed sentence, where the person has never been convicted of a felony, no charges are pending, and at least one year has passed since the dismissal.

One felony drug conviction category. Subparagraph (d) covers a person who "was convicted of a felony offense pursuant to paragraph 1 of subsection A of Section 2-402 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes," who "is not currently serving a sentence for a crime in this state," where "at least five (5) years have passed since the end of the last felony or misdemeanor sentence, and the record is a single-source record." Paragraph 1 of 63 O.S. § 2-402(A) is Oklahoma's prohibition on knowingly or intentionally possessing a controlled dangerous substance without a valid prescription or practitioner's order.

Misdemeanor convictions. Subparagraph (e) covers a person who "was convicted of a misdemeanor offense," "has not been convicted of a felony," has no felony or misdemeanor charges pending, where "five (5) years have passed since the end of the last misdemeanor sentence, and the record is a single-source record."

What "single-source record" actually excludes

This is the provision that does most of the narrowing, and Oklahoma defines it tightly in 22 O.S. § 18b(A)(3): a single-source record "means a criminal history record from this state that consists of an Oklahoma arrest record only. A single-source record shall not contain any arrest from another state, a federal arrest, or an entry into the National Sex Offender Registry or a National Crime Information Center (NCIC) wanted/warrant entry."

Four of the five criteria, (b) through (e), carry that condition. An out-of-state arrest, a federal arrest, a National Sex Offender Registry entry or an outstanding NCIC warrant entry anywhere in the criminal history record takes those categories off the table, whatever the Oklahoma offense looks like on its own.

What Clean Slate does not reach

Oklahoma's § 18b simply does not incorporate the felony categories in § 18(A). Paragraph 9 (a nonviolent felony charge dismissed after a deferred judgment, which itself excludes offenses listed in 57 O.S. § 571), paragraph 12 (a nonviolent felony conviction, also excluding 57 O.S. § 571 offenses), and paragraphs 13 and 14 (up to two felony offenses, excluding offenses listed in 21 O.S. § 13.1 and any offense requiring registration under the Sex Offenders Registration Act) are absent from the § 18b list. OSBI's own published category chart likewise marks paragraphs 9, 12, 13 and 14 as not Clean Slate eligible. That chart is dated September 22, 2025 and describes itself as a summary of 22 O.S. §§ 18 and 19, so where it and § 18b differ, the statute governs.

The practical effect: apart from the 63 O.S. § 2-402(A)(1) possession category in § 18b(A)(1)(d) and the paragraph 16 category for a nonviolent felony later reclassified as a misdemeanor, felony convictions remain on the petition track described in our Oklahoma expungement guide.

A sealing that is partial by design

Oklahoma draws a distinction here that a reader can easily miss. Under 22 O.S. § 18b(D), "Records expunged pursuant to this section shall be partially sealed so that such records are not available to the public but remain available to law enforcement agencies for law enforcement purposes." Section 18b(E) goes further: such records "shall be admissible in any subsequent criminal prosecution to prove the existence of a prior conviction or prior deferred judgment without the necessity of a court order requesting the unsealing of the records."

So a Clean Slate expungement in Oklahoma removes a record from public view without removing it from law enforcement view or from a later prosecutor's reach. That difference matters for anyone trying to understand what shows up on an Oklahoma background check after sealing.

One further limit sits in 22 O.S. § 18b(C): in deciding whether the waiting periods have been met, OSBI "shall only consider records in its possession and shall deem sentences to have ended based on the imposed sentence length information in its possession." The Bureau assesses its own repository, which is why its public page tells people to get certified dispositions filed with it first.

How the Expedited Portal Works

Oklahoma's § 19d(A) sets the portal's scope: clean slate eligible records as defined in § 18b, plus records eligible under paragraph 16 of § 18, the category for a nonviolent felony offense not listed in 57 O.S. § 571 that was later reclassified as a misdemeanor under Oklahoma law. Paragraph 16 carries its own conditions: the person is not currently serving a sentence for a crime in this state or another state, at least thirty (30) days have passed since the completion or commutation of the sentence for the crime that was reclassified, any restitution ordered by the court has been satisfied in full, and any treatment program ordered by the court has been successfully completed.

What a person submits is deliberately thin. Section 19d(B) provides that a request through the portal "shall only require the individual to provide sufficient personal identification information to allow the Bureau to locate the relevant criminal history record and contact information, including an electronic mail address or phone number, for notification purposes." There is no documentary filing requirement in the statute and no fee provision.

Section 19d(C) then sets out the review sequence in six steps. OSBI reviews the associated criminal history record to determine whether it meets the criteria. If OSBI finds the record eligible based on its own records, the Bureau "shall solicit a review by the appropriate arresting and prosecuting agencies." On confirmation of eligibility from both of those agencies, OSBI "shall send a request to the appropriate district court for consideration." If the court approves, the court provides an expungement order to OSBI and any other record-holding agency. If any party determines the record is not eligible, OSBI sends the individual written or electronic notice of rejection "clearly stating the reason or reasons for rejection." Once a record is sealed, OSBI notifies the individual using the contact information in the request.

Two features of that sequence deserve emphasis. First, both the arresting agency and the prosecuting agency get to review an expedited request, and either can stop it at the eligibility stage. Second, a district court order is still the final step. Oklahoma removed the petition, not the judge. Section 19d(F) adds that each order carries a unique identification number prefixed "AE," identifying it as an automated or expedited expungement, that the order is not a public record but is used for administrative purposes, and that each agency seals the relevant records on receipt of a signed order.

Cost, and what the statute does not say about timing

Oklahoma's § 19d imposes no fee for an expedited request, and the request requirement in § 19d(B) is limited to identification and contact information. The contrast with the petition route is stark in OSBI's own words on its expungement page: "Expunging your court record is free. Expunging your arrest record requires paying a $150 processing fee. It may also require fees be paid to local law enforcement agencies expunging their records." The same page notes OSBI accepts cashier's checks or money orders and not personal checks, and it tells readers that petitioning for an arrest-record expungement carries "specific paperwork, notice, and legal requirements" for which OSBI "strongly suggests you get a lawyer."

On timing, the honest answer is that Oklahoma's § 19d sets no deadline at all for the expedited track. The statute gives OSBI no time limit for its review, gives the arresting and prosecuting agencies no response deadline, and gives the district court none. The 45-day objection window that appears in § 19d(E)(3) belongs to the automatic process, not to the portal, and attributing it to a portal request would be wrong. For comparison on the petition side, OSBI states that expungement of court records "can take about one month after the OSBI receives the order," with arrest records taking a similar period after receipt of the order and the required fee.

What the Law Actually Says

Oklahoma now runs three distinct mechanisms. Conflating them is the single easiest mistake to make about this story.

Track one: the expedited request portal. Live now. Governed by 22 O.S. § 19d(A) through (C) and launched November 1, 2026. It is person-initiated: someone asks, OSBI and two agencies review, a district court orders.

Track two: the fully automatic process. Not live. Section 19d(D) is explicit about the schedule: "On or before November 1, 2027, the Bureau shall begin implementing the automatic process to identify and submit clean slate eligible records for sealing without receiving a request." The same subsection continues that all electronic records eligible for expungement through the automated Clean Slate process on or after November 1, 2027 "shall be identified and expunged through the automated clean slate process before November 1, 2029, in accordance with a schedule to be determined by the Bureau." Beginning in 2027, OSBI must publish and electronically submit to the Legislature an annual report containing statistical data on the number of records identified and sealed through the expedited and automatic processes.

Section 19d(E) sets out how that automatic process will work once it exists: OSBI searches its criminal history repository monthly to identify clean slate eligible records; it provides notice to the appropriate arresting and prosecuting agencies; and the prosecuting agency, arresting agency and OSBI may object within 45 days of the notice. An objection must be in writing, transmitted to all parties, and grounded in one of three reasons: that the agency believes the arrest record does not meet the definition of a clean slate eligible arrest record; that the individual has not paid court-ordered restitution to the victim; or that the agency has "a reasonable belief, grounded in supporting facts," that the person is continuing to engage in criminal activity, charged or uncharged, inside or outside Oklahoma. If an agency objects, the record is not expunged, though the court may set the matter for a hearing. Under § 19d(E)(6) that hearing shall be closed at the objecting party's request where there is reason to believe the basis of the objection may impede or frustrate an ongoing investigation, the objecting party must receive at least thirty days' notice of any hearing set, and the court may order the record expunged if it finds the grounds insufficient. Where no party objects, the objection is waived and the court reviews OSBI's list and produces signed orders. Section 19d(E)(7) allows OSBI and the Oklahoma Supreme Court to promulgate rules governing the process.

Track three: the ordinary petition. Still available. Section 19d(G) preserves it in terms: "Nothing in this section precludes an individual from filing a petition with the district court pursuant to Section 19 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes for expungement of clean slate eligible records." The §§ 18 and 19 petition route remains the only path for the felony categories § 18b does not reach.

Two further provisions shape how much weight the new tracks carry. Section 18b(B) makes individuals with clean slate eligible records eligible for sealing without a petition "[b]eginning on the effective date of this act and subject to the availability of funds," carrying a funding condition into the new framework. And § 19d(H) states that an individual "shall not have a cause of action for damages if the Bureau fails to identify an arrest record as eligible for expungement pursuant to this section."

The 2022 Act and the deadline that moved

Oklahoma's Clean Slate framework did not start in 2026. House Bill 3316, enacted in 2022 with an effective date of November 1, 2022, created the original state-initiated process. Its text provided: "Beginning three (3) years after the effective date of this act and subject to the availability of funds, individuals with clean slate eligible cases shall be eligible to have their criminal records sealed automatically." Three years after November 1, 2022 is November 1, 2025.

OSBI described that history itself in an August 2026 training document for criminal justice partners, stating that HB 3316 "required implementing this process three (3) years after the bill's effective date of November 1, 2022, pending the availability of funding," and that "[s]ince 2022, there have been two additional bills modifying the Clean Slate expungement process." The enrolled text of SB 2030 is consistent with that account of intervening amendments: its own title records it amending 22 O.S. § 18 "as last amended by Section 1, Chapter 259, O.S.L. 2024" and 22 O.S. § 19 "as last amended by Section 1, Chapter 292, O.S.L. 2025." What SB 2030 then did was remove the earlier automatic expungement procedures from §§ 18 and 19, define clean slate eligibility afresh in § 18b, and set the new November 2026, November 2027 and November 2029 dates in § 19d. The automatic sealing Oklahoma first contemplated for late 2025 is now scheduled to begin no later than November 1, 2027.

Analysis: Why This Matters

The following is analysis from the Recording Law Editorial Team.

The substantive change here is procedural, and procedure is where record-clearing laws usually succeed or fail. Oklahoma's statutory eligibility categories largely predate the portal; what changed on November 1, 2026 is the cost of asking. The petition route, by OSBI's own description, involves specific paperwork and notice requirements, a $150 processing fee for an arrest record, possible local agency fees, payment by cashier's check or money order, and an agency recommendation to hire a lawyer. Section 19d(B) replaces that with identification details and an email address, and § 19d sets no fee. For a person whose record qualifies, that is a meaningful reduction in friction.

It is not, however, administrative sealing, and the statute is clear on that. Section 19d(C) routes every expedited request through the arresting agency, the prosecuting agency and a district court. Oklahoma removed the petition requirement, and § 19d imposes no fee; it did not remove the judge or the agencies that can halt a request at the eligibility stage. Describing the portal as self-executing would misstate what § 19d(C) sets up.

The outcome a successful request produces is also narrower than the word "expungement" suggests to most readers. Under § 18b(D) the seal is partial, and under § 18b(E) the record stays admissible in a later Oklahoma prosecution to prove a prior conviction or deferred judgment, without any unsealing order. A person who understands Clean Slate as erasure will have the wrong picture of what law enforcement and prosecutors can still see.

The real narrowing device is the single-source definition in § 18b(A)(3), and it interacts with the "each offense listed within the record" language in § 18b(A)(1) in a way worth noticing. For criteria (b) through (e), a single out-of-state arrest, federal arrest, National Sex Offender Registry entry or outstanding NCIC warrant entry anywhere in the record removes the category. Oklahoma has built a mechanism that works cleanly for people whose contact with the criminal justice system was confined to Oklahoma and poorly for people whose was not.

Finally, § 18b(C) makes data quality determinative. OSBI considers only records in its possession and deems sentences ended based on the sentence-length information it holds. That is why the agency's public page leads with the instruction to get certified dispositions from the court clerk or district attorney and mail them in. In Oklahoma's design, a missing disposition in a state repository is an administrative gap that produces a legal result, and the burden of closing it sits with the individual. Set against that, § 19d(H)'s bar on any cause of action for damages where the Bureau fails to identify an eligible arrest record, and § 18b(B)'s "subject to the availability of funds" condition, show a framework whose timetable carries no damages remedy for the person whose record is missed, and whose funding condition the statute leaves open.

What Happens Next

Oklahoma's § 19d contains three dated obligations that function as the measurable tests of this framework.

On or before November 1, 2027: OSBI must begin implementing the automatic process under § 19d(D), identifying and submitting clean slate eligible records for sealing without any request. This is the milestone that would change the answer to whether Oklahoma seals records automatically.

Beginning in 2027: OSBI must publish and electronically submit to the Legislature an annual report containing statistical data on the number of records identified and sealed through both the expedited and automatic processes. That report is the first public measure of whether the portal is producing sealed records rather than rejections, and we will report the counts when it appears.

Before November 1, 2029: all electronic records eligible for automatic expungement on or after November 1, 2027 must be identified and expunged through the automated process, on a schedule OSBI determines.

Several intermediate developments would convert those dates into news. OSBI and the Oklahoma Supreme Court may promulgate rules under § 19d(E)(7), and published rules would fill in the timing the statute leaves open. The interagency groundwork is also still visible: OSBI's August 2026 training document told criminal justice partners that "[i]n order to implement this process, the OSBI needs input from every arresting and prosecuting agency and every muncipal and district court to begin planning the next steps in the process," and that it intended a digital workflow between agencies designed to avoid "creating a backlog of records for agencies to review." Progress on that workflow is a prerequisite to the 2027 date rather than a side issue.

The statutory record also shows this framework has been amended repeatedly: OSBI counted two bills modifying the Clean Slate process after 2022, SB 2030 made further changes in 2026, and the automatic sealing date Oklahoma first contemplated for November 2025 now sits at November 2027. We are tracking the 2027 and 2029 milestones and the first annual report, alongside how other states run clean-slate sealing and Missouri's automatic sealing law for drug offenses.

This is general legal information, not legal advice. This article describes Oklahoma law, specifically 22 O.S. §§ 18, 18b, 19 and 19d, as verified on November 6, 2026, and it does not address any individual record or situation. Eligibility under 22 O.S. § 18b turns on the specific contents of a person's criminal history record, including information held only in OSBI's repository, and nothing here evaluates any particular record. Statutes, agency procedures and OSBI's published guidance change. For advice about a specific Oklahoma criminal history record, consult a licensed Oklahoma attorney; for questions about the Clean Slate process itself, OSBI lists cleanslate@osbi.ok.gov and 405-879-2641.

Related articles

• Oklahoma Expungement Laws: 22 O.S. § 18, Clean Slate and How to File, the evergreen guide to every Oklahoma expungement category and the petition process
• Expungement laws in every state, our by-state hub on clearing a criminal record
• Oklahoma background check laws, on what a sealed or partially sealed record looks like to an employer
• Pennsylvania's clean-slate sealing, another state's framework for sealing records without a petition
• Missouri's automatic sealing law for drug offenses, a 2026 comparison from another state

Last updated: 2026-11-06. This is a developing story; details verified as of 2026-11-06.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Oklahoma's expungement portal live?

Yes. OSBI launched Oklahoma's expedited Clean Slate expungement portal on November 1, 2026, the deadline set by 22 O.S. § 19d(A). OSBI's Clean Slate Initiative page, last modified November 5, 2026, states: 'On November 1, 2026, the OSBI launched the expedited clean slate portal.' The portal runs as a separate application at cleanslate.osbi.ok.gov, and OSBI lists cleanslate@osbi.ok.gov and 405-879-2641 as its contact routes.

Does Oklahoma automatically expunge records?

Not yet. As of November 6, 2026, Oklahoma's live mechanism is the expedited request portal, which a person has to use. The fully automatic process is scheduled, not operating: 22 O.S. § 19d(D) requires OSBI to begin implementing it on or before November 1, 2027, and requires all electronic records eligible on or after that date to be processed before November 1, 2029. Oklahoma first contemplated automatic sealing three years after HB 3316's November 1, 2022 effective date, and SB 2030 reset that timetable.

Who is eligible for Clean Slate expungement in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma's test is in 22 O.S. § 18b(A)(1): a clean slate eligible record is one arising on or after January 1, 1980 where each offense listed within the record meets one of five criteria. The first group, records under paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 or 15 of 22 O.S. § 18(A), covers acquittals, reversed convictions, DNA-established innocence, full pardons, juvenile pardons and identity-theft arrests, with no single-source condition. The remaining four criteria cover arrests where the prosecuting agency declined to file, dismissals under paragraphs 7 or 8, a felony possession conviction under 63 O.S. § 2-402(A)(1) after five years, and misdemeanor convictions after five years, and each of those is limited to a single-source record.

What does 'single-source record' mean under Oklahoma's Clean Slate law?

22 O.S. § 18b(A)(3) defines a single-source record as a criminal history record from Oklahoma that consists of an Oklahoma arrest record only. By the statute's terms, it 'shall not contain any arrest from another state, a federal arrest, or an entry into the National Sex Offender Registry or a National Crime Information Center (NCIC) wanted/warrant entry.' Four of the five eligibility criteria in § 18b carry this condition, so an out-of-state arrest, a federal arrest, a registry entry or an outstanding NCIC warrant entry in the record removes those categories.

How much does expungement cost in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma's 22 O.S. § 19d sets no fee for an expedited request through the Clean Slate portal, and § 19d(B) limits what a request requires to identification and contact information. For the ordinary petition route, OSBI states on its expungement page that expunging a court record is free, that expunging an arrest record 'requires paying a $150 processing fee', and that it 'may also require fees be paid to local law enforcement agencies expunging their records.' OSBI accepts cashier's checks or money orders and does not accept personal checks.

Is a court order still required under Oklahoma's Clean Slate process?

Yes. Under 22 O.S. § 19d(C), OSBI first reviews the criminal history record, then solicits review by the appropriate arresting and prosecuting agencies, then sends a request to the appropriate district court for consideration. If the court approves the expungement, it provides an order to OSBI and any other record-holding agency, and each agency seals the relevant records on receipt. Oklahoma removed the requirement that an individual file a petition; it did not remove the district court from the process.

Does a Clean Slate expungement in Oklahoma erase the record completely?

No. Under 22 O.S. § 18b(D), records expunged under that section 'shall be partially sealed so that such records are not available to the public but remain available to law enforcement agencies for law enforcement purposes.' Section 18b(E) also makes those records admissible in a later criminal prosecution to prove the existence of a prior conviction or prior deferred judgment without any court order unsealing them. Oklahoma's § 19d(J) separately provides that nothing in the section authorizes physically destroying criminal justice records.

Can someone in Oklahoma still file a petition instead?

Yes. 22 O.S. § 19d(G) provides that nothing in the section 'precludes an individual from filing a petition with the district court pursuant to Section 19 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes for expungement of clean slate eligible records.' The petition route under 22 O.S. §§ 18 and 19 also remains the only available path for the categories § 18b does not reach, including the nonviolent felony and multiple-felony categories in paragraphs 9, 12, 13 and 14 of § 18(A), which cover both convictions and charges dismissed after a deferred judgment.