Your Mass. Driving Record Can’t be Sealed or Expunged.

My law office often gets inquiries from individuals who are attempting to seal their driving records or driver histories. Unfortunately, in Massachusetts, this is impossible. Many candidates for public safety employment as police officers or firefighters as well as CDL drivers have been denied employment due to automobile law violations and other more serious infractions such as operating after suspension, leaving the scene of an accident, operating to endanger, or operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs. All of these violations will appear on your Massachusetts driving record and they may disqualify you from employment. Also, certain non-driving offenses will also appear on your record, such as those related to drug possession including distribution, trafficking, and possession with intent to distribute. These drug convictions appear on your record because MassDOT is required to suspend your license if you are convicted of a drug crime, even though it has nothing to do with driving.

When selecting candidates for public safety positions, including those of correction officer, employers can obtain motor vehicle driver histories from several databases. These records are exempt from the Massachusetts sealing statutes, G.L. c. 276 § 100 A-C. This means that the prospective public safety employer will see your driving record, even if the corresponding criminal record has been sealed and you’re allowed to answer “no record,” under the Mass. law on sealed records.

Driving record entries showing “Complaint Fraud License / Identificaton” or “Comp. Fraud Lic/ID.” may also prevent you from being hired. Pursuant to G.L. c. 90 § 24B, giving MassDOT false information to obtain a driver’s license or identification card is a felony, which carries an automatic license suspension and a potential penalty of 5 years incarceration in state prison. Unfortunately, even if you are not criminally charged or prosecuted, these entries may still be shown on your driving record and accessible to potential future employers.

In summary, once events are listed on your Massachusetts driving record, absent actual errors, they cannot be erased, expunged, deleted, or sealed.