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A Maryland DUI PBJ is a court disposition, not a simple “no record” result

Maryland Courts describes probation before judgment (PBJ) as a resolution in which the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty, but final entry of judgment is suspended. That means a background-check question cannot be answered reliably by translating PBJ into either “conviction” or “nothing happened” without knowing what record product and legal purpose are involved.

For a DUI, first verify the actual case disposition in the court record. Then determine whether the requester is using public court information, an MVA driving record, or an authorized CJIS criminal-history check.

Different background-check products can show different slices of the event

Product Official custodian What to verify
Public Maryland court case information Maryland Judiciary Charge, PBJ disposition, later expungement/shielding status, and case documents that remain public.
Driving record Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration Driver-history consequences; the Judiciary specifically separates MVA driving records from court-certified citation records.
Fingerprint criminal-history check Maryland CJIS Central Repository Authorized criminal-history product; access and content rules differ from public court search.

PBJ expungement is possible only when the statutory conditions are met

Maryland Criminal Procedure § 10-105 allows some PBJ records to be expunged, but the DUI/DWI timing and exclusions must be read precisely. For a PBJ under Transportation § 21-902(a) or (b), a petition may not be filed within 15 years after the date the person was discharged from probation. The court’s current expungement brochure states the same 15-year-after-discharge rule for those alcohol-related PBJs.

That filing clock is different from the later-offense restriction. Under § 10-105(e)(4)(ii), a petition based on a § 21-902(a) or (b) PBJ is not available if, within 15 years after the entry of the PBJ, the person was convicted of a disqualifying crime or received another PBJ for a § 21-902 offense.

The statute also excludes PBJ-based expungement under § 10-105(a)(3) for charges under Transportation § 21-902(c), (d), (h), or (i). Transportation § 21-902 shows that subsections (c) and (d) cover drug-related impairment categories, while (h) and (i) address specified repeat-offender situations. Do not assume every “DUI PBJ” is an alcohol-related (a)/(b) case or that passage of time alone makes the record eligible.

Do not promise expungement

Eligibility depends on the exact charge subsection, PBJ date, probation discharge date, later record, pending proceedings, and other statutory conditions. Verify the court record and any expungement order instead of treating PBJ as automatically cleared.

For an official Maryland criminal-history check, use the CJIS route

Individual review

CJIS provides a fingerprint-based individual background-check route; the state publishes current fees and instructions.

Employment or licensing

The employer or licensing agency must use the authorized CJIS process and provide the required authorization information.

Public Case Search

Useful for court-case status, but it is not the same product as the CJIS fingerprint repository response.

Expected processing

For an out-of-state individual fingerprint-card submission, the current CJIS page says the response can be expected within 10–15 days after receipt; in-state routes use authorized fingerprinting locations.

Resolve a DUI PBJ record in a defensible order

  1. 01
    Get the exact Maryland case

    Use the full name, court, case number and disposition date.

  2. 02
    Confirm PBJ wording

    Read the docket or court document instead of relying on a third-party label.

  3. 03
    Check for later record relief

    If expungement is claimed, verify the court order or current official case status.

  4. 04
    Match the check to its purpose

    Use MVA, Judiciary, or CJIS according to whether the question is driving history, court history, or authorized criminal-history screening.

  5. 05
    Dispute mismatched data at the source

    When a screening report conflicts with the official record, keep the court/CJIS documentation needed to challenge the report.

Documents to keep when a PBJ matters to a background check

  • ✓
    Case number and disposition

    Save the official case identifier and PBJ date.

  • ✓
    Final court document

    Keep the disposition/order showing what the court actually entered.

  • ✓
    Expungement order if granted

    A screening company may need proof that the official record was changed.

  • ✓
    Product name and date checked

    Record whether the result came from Case Search, MVA, CJIS, or a private consumer report so conflicting results can be reconciled.

Related Record Guides

Sources

Official sources