

If the court seals the record, the whole case record cannot be opened without the judge’s permission.The court will typically decide in one of three ways: grant the motion and seal the record, grant the motion and limit inspection, or deny the motion. If no party objects within the response period, the court will make a decision on the motion to seal. The court has 30 days after the hearing is held to make a decision. If a party objects, the court will hold a hearing before making a decision. In Circuit Court, the party has 15 days to respond.In District Court, the party has 10 days to respond.The other parties may object to the motion within a certain period of time If the court does not issue a temporary order to seal, than the records become visible until the court rules on the motion to seal. After this time, the court may issue a temporary order to shield the record before a hearing and final decision.


To request to shield a Failure to Pay Rent case filed during the COVID-19 pandemic (MaJanuary 1, 2022), use form DC-CV-116.Ī party to a case, which includes the plaintiff, defendant, and a permitted intervening party, may ask the court to seal or otherwise limit inspection of a case record. The standard form (form CC-DC-053) is available on the Maryland Courts website. The motion can be used more than once for criminal, civil, and traffic cases. Case records include court papers, orders, notices, and other records on a case. This motion asks the court to seal a case record or to limit inspection of a portion of the record. Motion to Seal or Otherwise Limit Inspection of a Case Record Check the Maryland Rules for more information on automatically shielded civil and criminal records. For example, in criminal cases, the victim’s contact information is automatically shielded. Some case records do not require these motions/petitions because the records are not public. If you want more information about shielding or sealing records, please visit the Maryland Judiciary's website.Īsking the court to shield or seal your court records is not the same thing as expungement. Petition for Shielding Under the Maryland Second Chance ActĪ successful Petition for Shielding or a Motion to Seal offer ways to keep the public from seeing your court records.However, you can ask a Maryland court to keep the public from seeing records in your case. You can visit a Maryland court to look at court records or go online to see information about a case through the Maryland Judiciary Case Search. Generally speaking, Maryland court records and cases are open to the public. Motion to Seal or Otherwise Limit Inspection of a Case Record.
