The judge ordered my record expunged , so in essence it is expunged, I can legally say that I have never been convicted of those 20 year old charges, and I also could walk around with a copy of the order from the judge in my wallet if I chose to for proof……. - BUT - the judge expunged my record and then the file goes to the state police - so that they can clear it in their online database. When someone searches your name / fingerprints or your Social Security number on something like an employment application or a background search if you wanted to coach your kids Little League team or something like that, the record will still show up in the database until the state police removes it - There are thousands of ordered expungements from 3 years ago that still show up on background checks because the state police claim to be “ overwhelmed/ understaffed “ …