The startup Rasa Legal is utilizing artificial intelligence to streamline the criminal record expungement process, helping thousands of individuals overcome employment barriers and secure stable, long-term career opportunities.

Key Points

• Rasa Legal’s AI-powered app determines expungement eligibility in three minutes and has helped clear records for 34,000 people since 2022.
• The technology has reduced the time required for lawyers to file expungement petitions by more than 50%, significantly increasing legal service capacity.
• Over 70 million U.S. adults have criminal records, with an estimated 20 million people eligible for record clearance who have not yet pursued it.
• Research indicates that individuals who clear their criminal records see an average wage increase of 22% within one year.
• Rasa Legal currently operates in Utah, Arizona, and Pennsylvania, with plans to expand despite the lack of a unified national expungement database.

Why it Matters

Automating the complex, state-specific legal paperwork for expungement addresses a critical "second chance gap" that prevents millions of qualified individuals from obtaining housing and employment. By lowering costs and increasing efficiency, this technology helps mitigate the economic impact of the criminal justice system while supporting workforce participation.