Kentucky expungement guide · Updated October 2026
DUI and the ten-year rule
Yes, a Kentucky DUI can be expunged. The waiting period is just longer than people expect, and it runs from a different date.
Why DUI is different
Kentucky's misdemeanor expungement statute, KRS 431.078, will not clear an offense that can still be used to enhance a later charge until that enhancement period has run. A prior DUI makes a new DUI a second, third, or fourth offense if it falls inside a ten-year window, so a DUI cannot be expunged until it is ten years old.
Before April 2016 the window was five years. The Brianna Taylor Act extended it to ten. Any DUI older than that is already past the window anyway.
Which date counts
The ten years is measured from the date the offense occurred, not the conviction date. That is in KRS 189A.010(10) itself. So a DUI from a stop in March 2018 that was resolved in court in 2019 becomes eligible in March 2028, provided you also finished the sentence at least five years earlier and have stayed clear of new convictions.
Felony DUI
A fourth-offense DUI is a Class D felony, but KRS 431.073 excludes any violation of KRS 189A.010 from felony expungement. A pardon is the only path.
What you can do in the meantime
Other cases on your record, including misdemeanors and dismissed charges, can be expunged on their own schedule. Nothing requires you to wait on the DUI to clean up the rest.
Questions people ask
Can a DUI be expunged in Kentucky?
A misdemeanor DUI can be expunged, but not until ten years after the offense date, because Kentucky uses a ten-year window to enhance later DUIs and the expungement statute will not clear an offense that could still enhance.
Is the ten years measured from the arrest or the conviction?
From the date the offense occurred, under KRS 189A.010(10). Not the court date.
Can a felony DUI be expunged?
No. KRS 431.073 specifically excludes DUI from felony expungement, so a fourth-offense DUI cannot be cleared except by a full pardon.
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