My record was expunged but it's still on my background check

This is not a mistake in your paperwork and your expungement did not fail. Screening companies buy court records in bulk and cache them, often years before your order issued. Nobody notifies them, so they keep selling the old version until you serve them formally.

Difficulty

◷Moderate

Time

30–60 days per agency

Cost

Free to do yourself

Steps

7

1. 01Get a certified copy of the expungement or sealing orderFrom the court that issued it. This single document is what makes everything else work, and an uncertified copy is easier for an agency to wave away.
2. 02Request your file from every major screening companyUnder FCRA § 609 you may demand a complete copy of your file. It is free once a year and free any time you have been denied employment because of a report. Do Checkr, Sterling, HireRight, First Advantage and Accurate Background at minimum.
3. 03Identify exactly which agencies are reporting the recordYou cannot dispute what you have not confirmed. Different agencies hold different databases, and a record cleared at one may be live at another.
4. 04Send a written dispute under FCRA § 611In writing, to each agency reporting it. State that the record has been expunged or sealed, attach the certified order, and state that continued reporting violates FCRA § 607(b), which requires procedures preventing the reporting of expunged or sealed records. Request written confirmation of deletion.
5. 05Track the 30-day clockThe agency must reinvestigate and resolve within 30 days. Anything inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable must be deleted. Diary the deadline.
6. 06If they keep reporting it, you may have a claimScreening companies commonly argue they did not know a record had been sealed. Serving them the order destroys that defence. Continued reporting after notice is an FCRA violation carrying statutory damages and attorney's fees — at that point speak to a consumer-rights attorney.
7. 07Re-check in 90 days, and then keep checkingAgencies re-buy court bulk data continuously. A record deleted in March can be back by September. This is the step almost everyone skips.