Written by the Removal Lab team.
Your old court case is the first thing people see when they search your name, years after it ended? Court record removal is possible for some copies of a record and Removal Lab can tell you for free which ones can come down and which cannot.
We are not a law firm and we cannot change an official court file. What we can do is map every place your case appears online, check each one against the site’s policy and Google’s rules and file the requests that fit. The check is confidential. On qualifying cases there is no upfront payment. If a page is one that Google and the site will keep, we tell you plainly.
How court record removal works
A court record online usually lives in three places at once. Each has a different decision maker. Court record removal only works when you deal with them in the right order.
| Where the record appears | Who decides | What can change |
|---|---|---|
| The official court or government record | The court or the government body that holds it, under local law | Only a legal process such as sealing, expungement or a record suspension can change access |
| Copies on court record aggregator sites | The site owner, under its own removal policy | Some sites remove or hide pages, often only with a court order |
| Google search results | Google, under its own policies | Google may remove some results. It also refreshes results once a page changes |
Why Google usually keeps government pages
Google’s Results about you help page says it generally keeps results from pages it considers valuable to the public. It names government or educational websites, online newspapers and business websites. So a court’s own page about your case is unlikely to leave Google through a personal information request. Court record removal usually focuses on the copies elsewhere.
Sealing, expungement and record suspensions in plain terms
These are legal processes, not website requests. They are run by courts or government bodies, the names change from place to place and the rules are detailed. We do not give legal advice. Here is what official sources say in general terms.
In Canada, the Parole Board of Canada says a record suspension lets a person have their record set aside in the Canadian Police Information Centre database, so a search there will not show the record. It also says a record suspension does not erase a criminal record, that sexual offences continue to be flagged in vulnerable sector checks and that it is no promise of entry or a visa to another country. The Board can order, refuse to order and revoke record suspensions under the Criminal Records Act.
In the United States the rules are set state by state. California’s court self help site, for example, says true expungement does not exist in California, that there may still be other options and that the law on cleaning your record is complicated. It suggests getting legal help. In the UK, GOV.UK says whether you must tell an employer about a conviction or caution depends on whether they ask, when you got it, the sentence and the type of check. It also says Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules.
The practical point for court record removal is this. A legal order is the strongest document you can ever hand to a website. If you may qualify, speak to a lawyer or the court’s self help service first.
Court record aggregator sites and their removal policies
Many sites copy court data and publish it in searchable form. Their policies differ and change. For court record removal, these sites are often where the real work is. We only list sites whose current policies we have read for this page. For any other site, look for a removal, privacy or opt out page before you write to them.
| Site | What its policy says | How to ask |
|---|---|---|
| judyrecords | Removal requests are accepted if the record has been sealed or expunged by a court order. A separate route handles removal from search engine results | Email removal@judyrecords.com with the links and supporting documents. For search engine results, email suppression@judyrecords.com with the links and a one or two sentence reason |
| UniCourt | Its privacy policy says court records published by courts are not personal information. It offers a request to redact a court record appearing in online search engines | Use the request link in UniCourt’s privacy policy |
If a site asks you to pay to take your record down, stop before you pay. Google has a specific policy for that, explained below. Our pages on mugshot removal and what mugshot removal really costs cover the same problem for booking photos.
How to get a court record removed from Google
This is the order we follow for court record removal. You can follow it yourself.
- List every result. Search your name with and without your middle name and town. Copy each URL into one list.
- Sort the list. Mark each URL as an official court or government page, an aggregator copy, a news story or something else.
- Use any legal order first. If your record was sealed, expunged or suspended, send the order to each aggregator that accepts it, such as judyrecords.
- Check for pay to remove sites. Google says it may remove links from search results when you are the subject of the content, the site is not a business review site and the site requires payment to remove the content. Start that request through Google’s content removal form, give the URLs and explain how the site is exploitative.
- Check for personal details. If a page shows your home address, ID numbers or bank details, Google’s personal information policy may apply. See how to remove personal information from Google.
- Refresh Google. Once a site removes or changes a page, ask Google to refresh it with the Refresh outdated content tool.
- Check again. Court record removal is rarely one and done. Search your name again after a few weeks, because new copies can appear on new sites.
Refreshing Google after a court record comes down
After court record removal at the source, Google does not always notice straight away that a page has gone. Its Refresh outdated content tool is for exactly this. Google says it applies when a page or image no longer exists or is significantly different, including when important sensitive content has been deleted. You need to be signed in to a Google Account. You do not need to own the site.
To use it, select Request refresh, enter the URL of the page on the Page tab and select Submit. Requests show as Pending, Approved, Denied, Expired or Cancelled. If the page is gone, Google says it stops appearing. If the page still exists but has changed, its snippet is removed until Google revisits it. Google is clear the tool only updates its own results and does not remove anything from the web.
For results that include contact details, Google’s Results about you tool can also remove a result only for searches that contain your name. Google calls this a query based removal. It can help when a page stays public but should not be tied to your name.
What evidence helps court record removal
| Situation | Evidence that helps |
|---|---|
| Record sealed or expunged | A copy of the court order, plus the exact links on each site |
| Record suspension in Canada | The Parole Board of Canada decision, plus the links |
| Site demands payment to remove | A screenshot of the fee or the removal offer, with the page URL |
| Page shows ID numbers or contact details | The URL and a screenshot cropped to the details, kept private |
| Wrong person with the same name | Proof of your date of birth or location that does not match the case, shared only with the site |
| Page already deleted but still in Google | The URL and a note on what has changed, for the refresh tool |
Keep originals safe and send copies. Court record removal requests should share the least personal data needed to prove the point.
What court record removal cannot do
No website request changes the official record. Only the court or the law can do that. Google says it may decline to remove content that is important or newsworthy. It also generally keeps results from government websites and online newspapers. A news story about your case is a separate matter, covered on our news article removal page.
Court record removal also cannot force a site with no removal policy to act. Some will not. Our page on what we cannot remove explains these limits honestly.
How long court record removal takes
Each layer moves at its own speed. Courts and government bodies set their own timelines for sealing or record suspensions. We will not guess them. The aggregator sites above do not publish a timeline. Google says refresh requests stay pending while they are processed, which can take a few days. It also says approved Results about you removals may take a few hours to disappear. Anyone who promises a fixed court record removal date is guessing.
What to do if a site or Google says no
A refused court record removal request still leaves you options.
- Ask about a legal order. A sealing, expungement or suspension order changes what many sites will do.
- Ask for name only removal. For pages with your contact details, Google’s query based removal may hide the result for searches of your name.
- Work on the rest of the page. See Google search result removal and how to remove your name from Google.
- Check images too. Booking photos and screenshots of court documents may appear in Google Images. See how to remove images from Google.
- Watch for complaint sites. If your case was also discussed on a complaint site, our complaint site removal page covers it.
How Removal Lab works
- Send the link. WhatsApp, email or the two field form. Two minutes, no long questionnaire.
- Free policy check. A specialist reads it against the platform rules and tells you honestly whether it qualifies.
- We build and file the case. The right policy, the right channel, the evidence attached. We handle the appeal too.
- Pay only when it is gone. No upfront payment on qualifying cases. If the platform says no, you owe nothing.
What we will never do
- Promise a removal. The platform decides, not us.
- Post fake reviews or pay anyone to delete a review.
- Pressure, threaten or try to identify a reviewer.
- Charge an upfront fee on a case that does not qualify.
Want to know which copies of your court record can come down?
Send the links. A specialist checks each one and replies within one business day. Free, confidential and no upfront payment on qualifying cases.
Frequently asked questions
Can Google remove a court record from search results?
Google generally keeps results from pages it considers valuable to the public, such as government websites. It may remove a result that breaks its policies, such as a page showing ID numbers or a site that charges for removal.
Does sealing a record remove it from other websites?
Not by itself. Copies on other websites stay until each site removes them. Some sites, such as judyrecords, accept removal requests with a court order that sealed or expunged the record.
What is a record suspension in Canada?
The Parole Board of Canada says a record suspension sets a criminal record aside in the Canadian Police Information Centre database. It does not erase the record.
What if a site charges me to remove my court record?
Google says it may remove links from search results for sites that require payment to remove content about you, as long as you are the subject and the site is not a business review site.
How long does court record removal take?
It depends on each layer. Courts and aggregator sites do not publish one timeline, while Google says refresh requests can take a few days to process.
What does court record removal cost with Removal Lab?
The check is free and confidential. On qualifying cases there is no upfront payment and you pay only when a result is removed. See pricing.
Sources: Google Search Help: Find and remove personal info in Google Search results, Google Search Help: Remove my private info, Google Search Help: Content about me on sites with exploitative removal practices, Search Console Help: Refresh Outdated Content tool, Parole Board of Canada: Record suspension fact sheet, California Courts Self Help: Clean your record, GOV.UK: Telling an employer about a criminal record, judyrecords: Info and removal and UniCourt Privacy Policy. Removal Lab does not work for any court, government body, aggregator site or Google. Every decision is made by the platform.