Criminal Record Expungement Attorneys In Sandton
Criminal Record Expungement under Section 271B of the CPA
A decade-old conviction keeps surfacing in police clearances, visa applications and employment vetting – and every rejected background check is the record working against you long after the sentence ended. Section 271B of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 provides a statutory route to have qualifying convictions expunged and a certificate of expungement issued.
Our Sandton practice assesses expungement eligibility, prepares the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development application, and tracks it to the certificate – for clients across Sandton and greater Johannesburg.
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What Qualifies for Expungement under Section 271B
Expungement is a statutory, administrative process. It either fits your conviction or it does not – and the answer is in the Act.
An expungement assessment works through these gates:
- Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, s271B
- ten years since the conviction
- no subsequent convictions in that period
- sentence of a fine only, or imprisonment fully suspended
- certain offences excluded
- certificate of expungement from the DG, DOJ&CD
Section 271B, inserted by the Judicial Matters Amendment Act, allows the Director-General of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development to expunge a conviction where ten years have passed since the conviction date, no further convictions were recorded in that period, and the sentence was a fine, or imprisonment that was wholly suspended, or correctional supervision under the old Correctional Services Act. Certain offences – including sexual offences against children and mentally impaired persons – are excluded outright.
Once expunged, the conviction is deemed never to have happened for purposes of a criminal record check, and the criminal record centre is directed to destroy or archive the record. But expungement is not available for every old conviction: sentences of direct imprisonment actually served fall outside the s271B route, where a presidential pardon under the Constitution is the remaining remedy. The distinction decides which application you should be preparing.
What an Expungement Attorney Does
The work is verification before submission: obtaining the conviction details from the SAPS criminal record centre and the sentencing court, confirming the sentence type against the Act’s requirements, and excluding disqualifying offence categories before anything is lodged.
The application with supporting documents goes to the DOJ&CD’s expungement unit; once approved, the certificate of expungement follows and the record centre acts on it. Where s271B does not fit, the honest answer is a pardon assessment, not a doomed application.
Ten years, a fine or suspended sentence, and a clean decade since. Meet all three, or section 271B cannot help you.
Expungement vs Presidential Pardon
Expungement (s271B)
A statutory administrative process through the Director-General of the DOJ&CD for convictions that meet the ten-year and sentence-type requirements.
No discretion on sympathy: qualify and the conviction is expunged; fail a requirement and no application will fix it.
Presidential Pardon
An exercise of the President’s power of pardon under the Constitution for convictions outside the expungement framework – imprisonment served, excluded offences.
Discretionary, motivation-heavy and slow; it is the remaining route where the Act’s door is closed.
| Issue | Expungement | Pardon |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Criminal Procedure Act, s271B | Constitution; presidential discretion |
| Who decides | Director-General, DOJ&CD | The President |
| Qualifying convictions | Fine or fully suspended sentence; ten years clean | Any conviction, in principle |
| Nature of decision | Statutory; meets the requirements or not | Discretionary; merit-based motivation |
| Typical timeline | Administrative processing, often months | Long and unpredictable; hedged by design |
The Expungement Process, Step by Step
From record check to certificate.
Record and eligibility check
The conviction, sentence and dates are verified against the s271B requirements – ten years elapsed, no subsequent convictions, qualifying sentence type.
Supporting documents obtained
Fingerprint clearance from the SAPS criminal record centre, proof of the sentence, and any court confirmations required by the DOJ&CD.
Application prepared and lodged
The prescribed expungement application with annexures goes to the Director-General’s expungement unit at the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
Departmental processing
The DOJ&CD verifies the record with the criminal record centre and the sentencing court before deciding.
Certificate of expungement issued
On approval, the certificate is issued and the SAPS record is expunged so the conviction no longer reflects on clearances.
Verification and follow-up
A fresh police clearance confirms the record is gone, and any agency still showing the old entry is pointed to the certificate.
Which Courts Serve Sandton Clients
Sandton matters run through the Johannesburg North machinery:
- Randburg Magistrates’ and Regional Courts – the district seats for Sandton rolls, bail and first appearances.
- Johannesburg Magistrates’ and Regional Courts – the sentencing courts whose conviction records must be confirmed for the DOJ&CD application.
- High Court, Gauteng Division – the most serious prosecutions and appeals.
Otrebski Attorneys practises from 5th Street, Sandhurst – minutes from the courts that hear Sandton matters.
How to Choose an Expungement Attorney in Sandton
This is document work with statutory gates. Choose on precision, not promises.
- Statutory fluency.Ask them to state the s271B requirements before engaging – the three gates should come back in one breath.
- Verification-first practice.The conviction details are checked against the SAPS record before anything is lodged.
- No record-removal guarantees.No one outside the DOJ&CD can promise a certificate; the guarantee is the scam’s signature.
- Pardon-route honesty.Where expungement cannot apply, the attorney should say so and discuss the pardon route instead.
- Written fixed-fee scope.A flat fee for a defined statutory process is the market norm; insist it be in writing.
What Expungement Costs
As a market guide, a straightforward s271B expungement application commonly runs R5,000–R15,000 in professional fees, plus disbursements for fingerprint clearances and record confirmations; matters needing court record reconstruction fall higher.
Fees for a statutory process should be scoped and quoted in writing before payment. Anything marketed as instant record removal is not this process.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
The mistakes that cost time and money.
The s271B Gates, Pass or Fail
Each requirement the Act imposes
| Gate | Passes on | Fails on |
|---|---|---|
| Time elapsed | Ten years since the conviction date | Applying before the decade has run |
| Record since | No further convictions in that period | Any later conviction inside the window |
| Sentence type | A fine, wholly suspended imprisonment, or old-order correctional supervision | Direct imprisonment actually served |
| Offence category | Offences the Act does not exclude | Sexual offences against children and mentally impaired persons |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which convictions qualify for expungement in South Africa?
Under section 271B of the Criminal Procedure Act, convictions where ten years have passed, no further convictions occurred in that period, and the sentence was a fine, wholly suspended imprisonment or old-order correctional supervision. Certain offences, including sexual offences against children, are excluded.
Does an expunged conviction still show on a police clearance?
Once the certificate of expungement is issued and processed, the conviction is deemed not to have existed for criminal record checks. A fresh clearance confirms the record no longer reflects.
How long does expungement take?
Processing rests with the DOJ&CD and the SAPS criminal record centre; realistic runs are measured in months, not weeks. We quote conservatively and follow up in writing.
Can a conviction from the Randburg or Johannesburg courts be expunged?
Yes – expungement is national and not tied to the sentencing court. Our Sandton office obtains the conviction confirmations from the Johannesburg North courts that sentenced you.
What if I served actual imprisonment?
That conviction does not qualify under s271B. The remaining route is an application for a presidential pardon, which is discretionary and rests on a full motivation rather than statutory entitlement.
Can expungement be done for a drunk driving conviction?
Yes, if the sentence was a fine or wholly suspended imprisonment, ten years have passed since conviction, and the record has stayed clean in that period. Direct imprisonment served falls outside the Act.
Will my employer be told about the expungement?
No – the process runs between you, the DOJ&CD and the criminal record centre. Disclosure to anyone is your decision, not the department’s.
The decade is served. Clear the record.
Otrebski Attorneys practises from Office 9th Floor, The Spaces, 5th Street, Sandhurst, Sandton – with transparent billing and no hidden costs.
Call 060 500 3098
Office hours: Monday to Friday, 08h00 – 17h00 · send a message
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