Can I Request to Have the Disciplinary Decision Sealed or Expunged From My Record

A disciplinary sanction on your nursing record can hold you back. Even in a landscape in which many communities like qualified nurses, an unvarnished demerit on your nursing license can be a “red flag” that costs you job opportunities, promotions, and the dreams that you had when you entered the profession.

There may be a remedy for these problems—two remedies, to be specific. If you are able to seal your record in a way that conceals a disciplinary decision, or can have the decision (and related sanctions) expunged permanently from the record, you may free yourself from the weight of a tainted nursing record.

Sealing portions of a nursing record is not always possible. The opportunity for expungement is not guaranteed, either. However, when one or both of these actions are available to a nurse, they are almost always worth pursuing.

The LLF National Law Firm Professional License Defense Team is familiar with state nursing boards’ unique policies and procedures. Regardless of which state you practice in, we have the statutory knowledge, relevant resources, and a personalized plan for securing any record-sealing or expungement you are eligible for.

Call the LLF National Law Firm Professional License Defense Team today at 888-535-3686 or contact us online.

What Is a “Disciplinary Decision” In the Nursing Context?

When we say “disciplinary decision,” this can mean any punitive decision from a state nursing board that negatively affects your license, professional reputation, or both. Such disciplinary decisions include:

• A public reprimand (sometimes known as a censure)

• Probation

• Denial of licensure or a request for license renewal

• Fines

• A cease-and-desist order

• Suspension (including summary suspension or emergency suspension)

• Temporary (reinstatable) or permanent (non-reinstatable) revocation of a nursing license

• Voluntary surrender of a nursing license

Such outcomes can be imposed on a nurse unwillingly. In other cases, a nurse might agree to accept one or more of these sanctions through a consent agreement. Whether you voluntarily accepted sanctions or fought unsuccessfully against them, sealing aspects of your nursing record or expunging such sanctions should be on your professional priority list.

The Many Motivations for Sealing or Expunging Blemishes from Your Nursing Record

Discipline on your nursing record can feel like an albatross weighing down your professional ambitions. Sealing or expunging disciplinary decisions from your record can be the first step in shedding that albatross because:

• Employers and state licensing boards generally consult your nursing record before making pivotal decisions: If you are seeking licensure in another state or applying for employment, expect licensing boards and prospective employers to check nursing databases in any states in which you currently or formerly held a license. If this state-level record contains one or more adverse disciplinary decisions, those demerits may prevent you from achieving licensure or employment. 

• Amending the state-level record may be the first step towards amending national databases: The Arizona Board of Nursing explains that the state board reports disciplinary actions to the national Nursys database. Nursys then reports the discipline to another national repository, the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). If you want to remove disciplinary records from those national databases (though it’s not always possible), you will follow the same order: amend the state-level record first, then address the national databases.

• Expungement and sealing can provide some closure to a difficult professional circumstance: A blemished nursing record can feel like a glaring item on your mental To-Do List that never gets checked off. When you seal or expunge the record, you can finally cross this long-lingering source of worry off your cognitive checklist.

In some sense, your official nursing record is your reputation. Because employers and licensing boards consider a nurse’s reputation before accepting that nurse into their ranks, unfavorable disciplinary decisions on your nursing record can cause tangible harm to your career and quality of life.

What Is the Difference Between “Sealing” and “Expunging” Decisions from a Nursing Record?

As a Nurse, Am I Able to Request the Sealing of My Record or Expungement of Adverse Disciplinary Decisions?

Here is the big reveal to the question, “Can I have my nursing record sealed or expunged to conceal or remove an unfavorable disciplinary decision?”:

It depends on state statutes and procedures, as well as your unique personal circumstances. 

State nursing boards make and follow their own rules, as proven by the fact that:

• The Kentucky Board of Nursing (KBON) has legal authority to expunge records, which means both physical and electronic records are “destroyed” or “removed” so that no search of KBON records reveals disciplinary decisions that have been expunged

• Conversely, in California, a disciplinary decision becomes a “permanent part of the nurse’s record and is subject to public disclosure,” suggesting that expungement and sealing are generally not possible

If you are a nurse with discipline on your record in California (or any other state whose policies appear similar to California’s), you should still speak with our Professional License Defense Team. These statutes are not always as they first seem.

Even if you do not have the option to seal or expunge discipline from your nursing record, we provide personalized advice to nurses seeking to overcome past sanctions.

What Factors Determine Whether I Can Seal or Expunge Disciplinary Decisions Within My Nursing Record?

As we evaluate whether sealing or expunging details of your nursing record could be a viable strategy for you, we will consider:

• What your state’s statutes say about the nursing board amending nurses’ records

• How you resolved the original case, as any disciplinary agreement you signed could affect your rights to seal or expunge the disciplinary decision

• The nature and severity of the discipline against you, as this can affect whether the decision is eligible for sealing or expungement

• The amount of time that has passed since the original decision, as expungement and record-sealing are generally allowed only after a waiting period

• How the nurse has conducted themselves since the original decision

• Any conflicts of interest or poor perceptions that might arise from sealing or expunging a record

Another critical factor is how convincing your argument for sealing or expunging the record is. When you allow the LLF National Law Firm Professional License Defense Team to lead your effort for sealing or expungement, you can be certain that our case will be compelling.

If a State Board Seals or Expunges My Record, Will It Still Exist in Any National Databases?

It is not a given that, if your nursing record is sealed or expunged at the state level, national databases will follow suit. The two primary national databases that nurses should be concerned with are:

1. The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), maintained by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)

2. The Nursys database, maintained by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN)

Both of these resources are nationwide repositories that store information about nurses, including details on their disciplinary records. Some of the facts you should know about these databases, as they relate to sealing and expunging nursing records, are:

• If a state nursing board seals or expunges a disciplinary decision, that board may file a Revision-to-Action Report with the NPDB—the Revision-to-Action Report does not replace the original documentation of the decision, but is instead “a separate action that pertains to the previous action.

• Because state boards of nursing report information to Nursys, the state board will also need to reach out to the NCSBN about altering any records related to expunged or sealed disciplinary decisions

When you need to alter information in one or both of these national databases, you are reliant on your state’s board of nursing to do so. This shows why seeking a sealing of expungement of your nursing record with your state board of nursing is so important. You (or your representative from our Professional License Defense Team) will need to convince your state nursing board to seal or expunge a record before you have hope of national databases updating their records accordingly—you cannot change the national record until you have effected change at the state level.

If the State or National Record Still Shows the Original Disciplinary Decision, Is It Really Worth Updating Those Records?

No, there is no guarantee that national databases will update their records, even if you secure a sealing or expungement with your state nursing board. Even if the Nursys or NPDB databases are updated, the update will likely be an addendum. Proof of the original disciplinary decision will almost certainly remain.

So, you might be asking, why go through the trouble of trying to update these national databases—or even expunge the state nursing board’s records—if the original decision will remain in Nursys or NPDB?

The LLF National Law Firm always fights to correct the record, to the most significant degree that we can, because:

• When a prospective employer or licensing board sees that your state record has been sealed or expunged, they may correctly surmise that you have taken corrective actions (and proven yourself a trustworthy nurse) since the disciplinary decision first took effect

• Context can be the difference-maker in licensing and hiring decisions, and updates to Nursys and the NPDB can provide such critical context to your record

• Nurses have a right to have the most accurate, up-to-date record, even if that record remains imperfect

There is also the matter of principle. If you have successfully petitioned for the sealing or expungement of your record, the national database of nurse records should reflect that. Accuracy is critically important in the medical field, and your nursing record should never be unnecessarily inaccurate.

While it is never guaranteed that a state nursing board will file a Correction Report with the NPBD or request that Nursys amend its records, we will do everything in our power to convince them to do so.

Nursing Boards Fall Beneath Courts of Law. Therefore, Judicial Relief May Result in Changes to Your Record.

Who governs the nursing board in your state? The courts, of course. When we believe that nursing boards have not ruled fairly on matters of record sealing and expungement, we naturally turn to the courts for judicial relief.

Without getting too far into the legal weeds, know that nurses seeking amendments to their professional records may be able to:

• File a petition for judicial review: Pennsylvania’s Administrative Law and Procedure entitles professionals to petition for judicial review, which may be appropriate when a nursing board’s ruling is legally flawed or unfair

• Petition for Mandamus relief, which is a court order commanding a government agency (like a nursing board) to perform a legal duty—Florida is among the states whose statutes afford the opportunity for Mandamus relief

• Pursue various other legal channels that could lead to the alteration of your nursing record

The typical nurse has not heard of terms like “Mandamus relief” and may not know precisely what “injunctive relief” means. They don’t need to know these terms, as they are most focused on keeping patients safe rather than studying legal terminology.

That said, the legal details matter when you are seeking to seal or expunge your nursing record. You should not hesitate to engage the legal team with a long, successful history of helping dedicated professionals clean up and protect their reputations.

The LLF National Law Firm is the team every nurse should turn to in times of need.

Should I Engage the LLF National Law Firm Professional License Defense Team to Protect My Nursing License and Professional Reputation?

Absolutely. Nurses who are facing disciplinary matters of any kind—including trying to rid themselves of the stale odor of past disciplinary decisions—should not hesitate to engage the LLF National Law Firm.

Our Professional License Defense Team has nationwide experience dealing with nursing boards in matters of record-sealing and expungement. We know how to proceed when nursing boards fail to enact fair and just decisions, including the decision to help nurses move past years-old mistakes.

We also understand how nursing records take on a national scope, thanks to Nursys and NPDB. Our efforts to correct the record will reflect the national nature of nurse licensing, as we want to get you a truly impactful resolution—not a half measure.

Let us fight to protect your nursing record and professional reputation. We won’t let you down. Call the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team today at 888-535-3686 or contact us online.