Adult-Use Cannabis Act: Automatic Expungements of MN BCA Records Complete

Criminal history records that qualify for automatic expungement under the Adult-Use Cannabis Act are no longer visible to the public in the Minnesota Criminal History System. 

According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has sealed 57,780 records in CHS nearly three months ahead of schedule. The Minnesota Judicial Branch determined that 213 records should not be expunged.

Since the Adult-Use Cannabis Act became law on August 1st, 2023, the BCA completed extensive coding changes to the system so that qualifying records could be sealed from public view.

The BCA says they will soon provide a by-agency list of records expunged in the CHS to local criminal justice agencies, so that they can expunge related records in their own systems. Additionally, mostly felony level Adult-Use Cannabis Act-related records qualify for review by the independent Cannabis Expungement Board, which will consider whether resentencing or expungement are appropriate under the law. Because each record must be considered individually, this process could take several years to complete.

People can request copies of their own records held in the BCA system at any time, including after records are expunged. Other access to expunged records in the CHS requires a court order.