A division of
A division of
A division of
This page is archival.
It references a service that we offered as a contractor hired by the Attorney General for the State of Ohio pursuant to O.R.C. 109.38.
The program ended and the contract expired in October of 2018.
However, if tihs service was referred to you by a an Ohio court or non-profit organziation in the state of Ohio, we will provide the service to you for the original price of $45.
Please call (877) 573-7273 for more information to place and order.
After you have had your criminal record expunged or sealed by the court, private background check companies, many of which only update their records once a year, could still be reporting your criminal record to potential employers or landlords for up to a year or more.
The Ohio legislature passed a law (O.R.C. 109.38) which authorizes a third-party, The Law Firm of Higbee & Associates, to promptly instruct background check companies to remove your sealed or expunged record, instead of the year or more that it could take. If you do not want background check companies to be instructed to promptly remove your expunged or sealed record, you can opt out of the service by signing the notice form stating so.
While clearing your record with the court is a necessary first step towards ensuring your record no longer appears on a background check, private background check companies also maintain criminal records they obtain from the court through public record searches.
Unfortunately, many of these companies do not regularly update their information. These companies are not legally required to update their databases on any specific schedule. This results in criminal records continuing to appear on background checks even after the court has ordered a case sealed or expunged.
However, if these private companies are notified that the court has expunged, sealed, or otherwise updated the case, they are required to update their information in a timely manner. Unless this proactive step is taken to request they update their information, it could take months or even years for the information to be updated or removed. The Expedited Record Update Service helps ensure that outdated and damaging information will not show up on background checks performed by private companies.
Once the court grants their petition, the court clerk will forward notice to the Law Firm of Higbee & Associates (RecordGone Division), who will then distribute the granted court order to the private databases. In the unfortunate event where a petitioner’s request for expungement or record sealing is denied, then the program fee is returned to the petitioner by the court clerk.
The Law Firm of Higbee & Associates is the parent company of Recordgone, the division which handles the record clearance cases. Founded in 2007 by attorney Mathew Higbee, the firm specializes in multiple areas of law including expungement, record sealing, and record clearance updates. We practice in 19 states, including Ohio, and have spent many years providing services similar to what this program offers.
The State of Ohio recognizes the problem of inaccurate record keeping by private background check databases. In order to remedy the situation for its citizens who receive an expungement order or record sealing order, the legislature established a program in which a third party vendor will receive court orders and notify private background check databases. The Ohio Attorney General was tasked with selecting the vendor, and after a competitive process, Recordgone was selected to execute the program with the courts.
The Expedited Record Update Service will dramatically speed up the process of having your criminal record updated or removed from private background check companies that are commonly used by employers, landlords, and financial and educational institutions. This is the best way to update the most companies in one single step to ensure that your record has been updated to accurately reflect the court's order. Make sure you the court clerk knows you want this program benefit when you file your petition for expungement or record sealing.
Courts do not proactively notify background check companies each time a record is sealed or expunged. Many background check companies only purchase data from the court once a year (sometimes even less frequently), this means that your sealed or expunged criminal record may continue to appear on background checks provided by those companies until they purchase updated records from the court. This service will notify the background check companies and help insure insure that information about your recently expunged or sealed criminal record will not be appear on your background check.
Yes. Go to our Ohio expedited record update service page and provide your name and case number. Our system will tell you if we have received your order, if it is in process, or if the process has been completed. It does take time between when an order is granted and when the court submits it to us, so there may be minor delays between when your order is granted by the judge and when the status is available on our website.
Not necessarily. Expedited Record Update Service removes or updates your criminal record that is held by private background check companies that are regularly used when a background check investigation is conducted. This service will dramatically reduce the chances that your expunged or sealed record will appear on a background check.
If you applied for an expungement or sealing with the court, the court is required to offer you the program under ORC 109.38. At the time you would have the option to pay the court clerk $45 to receive the program once your case is granted. Should you decide you do not want your newly sealed or expunged record updated with private background check databases, then you may opt out and not pay the $45 fee to the court.
If you declined/opted-out of the service with the court or if it was not yet offered when you received your granted order, you may sign-up for our private service here: Expedited Record Clearance Update Service
Contact our firm and we can set you up with our firm’s Expedited Record Clearance Update service. If you have a copy of the granted order in hand, then we can provide the service at the special Ohio rate of $45. If you no longer have a copy of the granted order, please contact us and we can discuss how to proceed with the service.
Here is the form which should be provided by the courts to be completed when you submit your expungement or sealing application - PDF - Information About The Expedited Record Update Service & Notice of Right To Opt Out.
Read the full law, O.R.C. 109.38, regarding this service.