Criminal record deletion fees in Utah will quadruple on July 1
Legal experts recommend filing an application as soon as possible.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Noella Sudbury, Founder and CEO of Rasa, meets with other leaders and supporters of Utah’s Clean Slate Law on Thursday, February 10, 2022 at the State Capitol expiring July 1, 2023 and quadruples the deletion fees.
The fees for deleting a criminal record in Utah will be more than four times higher starting July 1.
As of 2022, due to a pilot program developed by Rep. Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, having criminal records removed from the government register cost only $65 per application. The program eliminated costly fees for obtaining a certificate from the Bureau of Criminal Identification, a mandatory part of the process.
But this program was only planned for a period of one year. Dunnigan supported a measure during this year’s legislature to reinstate the program for another five years, but withdrew his bill to avoid competing with another bill by R-Clearfield MP Karianne Lisonbee. It would have set criteria for the waiver of fees. However, Lisonbee also withdrew her bill.
Now that deeds and court record filing fees are being put back into practice, cancellation costs will increase to $280 per case beginning July 1.
“This is a devastating loss for people with criminal records,” said Noella Sudbury, founder and CEO of Rasa, a company that helps people find out if they’re eligible for erasure and is committed to making erasure more accessible close.
According to Rasa, one in four Utah residents has a criminal record and more than a fifth of those previously incarcerated are unemployed. Deleting a record can increase the chances of someone getting a job and hopefully avoiding a return to prison, Sudbury said.
“It’s a political discussion about how much punishment is enough,” Sudbury said. “How much should people pay after paying off their debt to society? How much should they pay to get on with their lives?”
After the fees were reduced in 2022, the number of cancellation requests has tripled in the past year, Sudbury said. She fears that figure will fall significantly as prices rise on Saturday.
She said she spoke to representatives who appeared optimistic about finding a solution during an interim meeting. But if you’ve thought about deleting your file, do it now and as soon as possible, Sudbury said.
To get started, you can visit rasa-legal.com to verify your eligibility.
“It will be a tragic blow,” she said. “We are really disappointed.”
