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In this guide
By Onah Attorneys Inc • Updated July 2026 • Legal information, not a substitute for advice on your specific matter.
A criminal record does not have to be forever. Sections 271B–271D of the Criminal Procedure Act allow qualifying convictions to be expunged — permanently erased from the SAPS Criminal Record Centre — once ten years have passed. Thousands qualify and never apply, losing jobs and visas to a record the law would delete. Here is exactly who qualifies and how the process works.
Who qualifies
The core requirements: 10 years have passed since the conviction; the sentence was non-custodial or within limits — a fine not exceeding R20,000, corporal punishment, or imprisonment that was wholly suspended or converted; and no new conviction with a fine over R20,000 or imprisonment during those 10 years. Certain convictions never expunge: sexual offences against children or mentally disabled persons, and offences that put you on protective registers.
Step 1: Get your SAPS record
Apply for your criminal record (SAPS 69 / Police Clearance Certificate) at any police station with fingerprints — it shows exactly what convictions and sentences are recorded, which determines qualification. Records are frequently wrong or outdated; what SAPS shows is what matters, not what you remember.
Step 2: The application to DG Justice
The prescribed application form, certified ID, the police clearance and supporting documents go to the Director-General: Justice and Constitutional Development. Where the record qualifies, the DG issues a certificate of expungement directing the head of the Criminal Record Centre to erase the record. There is no hearing — it is a paper process that rewards complete, correct applications.
Step 3: Verification
After the certificate issues, the record must actually be erased — and this is where applicants stop too early. A fresh police clearance after 3–6 months confirms deletion. If the conviction still shows, escalation to the Criminal Record Centre with the certificate forces correction.
Timelines and common failures
Realistic end-to-end: 6–12 months. The common failures: applying before the full 10 years (automatic rejection), wrong sentence category (imprisonment not wholly suspended), incomplete certification, and records that show old arrests without outcomes — which need rectification, a different process we also run.
Special cases
Apartheid-era political convictions and certain dagga (cannabis) possession convictions following the Constitutional Court’s Prince judgment have dedicated expungement routes. Juvenile records under the Child Justice Act follow their own, more generous regime.
Frequently asked questions
Can employment background checks see expunged records?
No — lawful checks query the Criminal Record Centre, and expunged means erased there. Court archives are separate public records but are not what screening companies query.
Do I need a lawyer to expunge?
The form is public — but sentence-category analysis, record rectification and stalled applications are where attorneys earn their fee. Most rejections we see were avoidable.
What does expungement cost?
No government fee for the application itself; costs are the police clearance, certification and professional fees if represented — we quote fixed.
My case was withdrawn but still shows — expungement?
No — that’s rectification of the record (no conviction exists). Different process, faster, and we force SAPS to correct it.
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