NYC Cannabis Expungement Under MRTA

Last verified: April 2026

The Automatic Expungement Provision

Among the MRTA’s most consequential provisions, automatic expungement clears criminal records for the following old offenses:

• Penal Law § 221.05 — Unlawful possession of marihuana (small amounts)
• Penal Law § 221.10 — Criminal possession of marihuana in the fifth degree
• Penal Law § 221.15 — Criminal possession of marihuana in the fourth degree
• Penal Law § 221.20 — Criminal possession of marihuana in the third degree
• Penal Law § 221.35 — Criminal sale of marihuana in the fifth degree
• Penal Law § 221.40 — Criminal sale of marihuana in the fourth degree

These statutes covered possession up to 16 oz and sale up to 25 g — the bulk of pre-MRTA NYC cannabis convictions, including the explosion of Marihuana Possession in Public View (MPV) arrests during the stop-and-frisk era.

How the Process Works

The Office of Court Administration (OCA) was given a two-year window to complete the work. Backlogs caused some delays, but the bulk of eligible records have been expunged. The expungement is automatic — affected individuals do not need to file a petition or take any action to have the record cleared. The OCA processes the records and notifies state and local databases.

What Expungement Means

NY Attorney General Letitia James’s office has published consumer guidance: people whose convictions are expunged may answer “no” on most job applications about prior conviction history (with exceptions for police/peace-officer applications and gun licenses). The expungement removes the record from public databases and from most background-check sources.

Verification

Even though expungement is automatic, verification is wise. Affected individuals should:

1. Request a Certificate of Disposition from the court that handled the original case
2. Run a background-check report on yourself through the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services or via a third-party background-check service
3. Contact the Legal Aid Society’s Case Closed Project for assistance with verification or with motions to vacate

The Case Closed Project

The Legal Aid Society’s Case Closed Project — Anthony Posada, Supervising Attorney, Community Justice Unit — assists with cannabis-conviction expungements and motions to vacate. Contact: caseclosed@legal-aid.org or 212-298-3120.

For Non-Citizens — A Critical Caveat

Even after state-level expungement, cannabis-related convictions can produce continuing federal immigration consequences. Federal immigration authorities maintain their own records and can use them in admissibility, deportation, naturalization, and visa contexts even where the underlying state record has been expunged. Non-citizens with prior NY cannabis convictions should consult a New York immigration attorney before relying on state expungement for any consequential immigration decision.

The Pre-MRTA Disparity Context

The expungement provision was designed in part to address the documented racial disparity in pre-MRTA NYC cannabis enforcement. Per NYPD’s own 2018 reporting, NYC cannabis-possession arrests fell from 53,000 in 2010 to 19,000 in 2017, a 64 percent drop, and continued falling through legalization to under 1,000 a year by 2024. But the racial disparity ratio remained stark: even with 45% of NYC’s population white, white New Yorkers accounted for less than 5% of remaining cannabis arrests in recent years (per Drug Policy Alliance and ACLU analyses). The pre-2014 stop-and-frisk era’s Marihuana Possession in Public View (MPV) arrests were the single largest contributor to the disparity.

The 2014 De Blasio Policy Change

Mayor Bill de Blasio, in his first year, ordered NYPD to issue summonses rather than make arrests for low-level cannabis possession. Per NYPD’s own June 19, 2018 press release: “In 2017, the NYPD made 64 percent fewer arrests for possession from 2010, going from 53,000 to 19,000 arrests.” But even as arrest numbers dropped, the racial disparity ratio actually widened: in 2018 reporting, Black New Yorkers were 8 times more likely than white New Yorkers to be arrested for cannabis. The MRTA expungement covers convictions from this entire era.

Open Consumption & Other Persistent Enforcement

The MRTA repealed Article 221, expunged automatically the convictions for the older possession statutes, and ended cannabis arrests for amounts under 3 oz. Cannabis-arrest numbers collapsed citywide. But “open consumption” enforcement persists — particularly on the subway, in NYCHA housing, and around schools. A NYC violation for public smoking in a restricted area (e.g., a park) carries a fine of up to $25 or 20 hours of community service. These post-MRTA enforcement actions are not eligible for the MRTA expungement provision.

Other Resources

• The Bronx Defenders — bronxdefenders.org
• Brooklyn Defender Services — bds.org
• New York County Defender Services / Manhattan Defenders
• Queens Defenders, Staten Island Defenders
• NYC Bar Association cannabis-law referral panel
• Drug Policy Alliance, New York — Melissa Moore, NY State Director