Connecticut Eviction Record Sealing — How to Clear It (2026)

✓ Law Verified August 2026

A Connecticut eviction record can block apartment applications for years — often regardless of how the case actually ended. This guide answers the question directly for Connecticut: whether a sealing law exists here, exactly how to use it if it does, and the real alternatives if it does not. Verified against official Connecticut sources as of August 2026.

How the Connecticut Sealing Law Works

Step by Step: Sealing Your Connecticut Eviction Record

NONE — nothing to file. The removal is done by the Judicial Branch on its own.

Practical steps for a tenant: (1) get your case ended in a qualifying way — ask the landlord to withdraw the case, ask the court to dismiss it, or win at trial; (2) 30 days after the case ends, check https://civilinquiry.jud.ct.gov to confirm the case no longer appears; (3) if it still appears, contact the housing clerk in the judicial district that heard the case and cite Conn. Gen.

Stat. Sec. 47a-26j. If you have a default judgment against you, you would instead file a Motion to Open or Set Aside the Judgment under Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 47a-26i in the same housing court — that is a separate remedy from sealing and it is not guaranteed.

What sealing actually does: Qualifying cases are taken off the Connecticut Judicial Branch’s public website, so they no longer turn up in the public case look-up. Section 47a-26j also bars the Judicial Branch from including a removed record in any sale or transfer of bulk case data to commercial purchasers, and bars commercial purchasers — including tenant screening companies — from disclosing a removed record.

This is removal from public view, not destruction: the physical case file still exists at the courthouse and court staff and certain government users can still access it. Also relevant to screening: Connecticut law bars a landlord from refusing to rent to an applicant solely because of a prior or pending summary process action.

If a screening company still reports a removed case, you may be able to dispute it under both the federal FCRA and Section 47a-26j.

Why A Connecticut Eviction Record Follows You — and For How Long

An eviction case becomes a public court record the day it is filed — even if you won, even if it was dismissed, even if you moved out voluntarily before the hearing. Tenant screening companies copy these records in bulk and resell them to landlords, which is how a Connecticut eviction record from years ago can quietly sink a rental application today.

Under federal reporting rules these records generally stop appearing on screening reports after seven years, but the public court file itself can remain searchable far longer unless it is sealed.

That is why the filing itself, not just the outcome, is what matters — and why sealing laws are spreading state by state. Most landlords never read the court file; they read the one-line summary a screening company sells them. Getting the Connecticut eviction record sealed, corrected, or accurately described is what changes that one line.

Check Your Connecticut Eviction Record First

Before filing anything, find out what your Connecticut eviction record really looks like to a landlord. Search the online case index for the court where the eviction was filed, and request your file from the major tenant screening companies — you are entitled to it.

Tenants are often surprised in both directions: some discover the case they worry about was never reported, others find a case they had forgotten, or one that is not even theirs.

Knowing exactly what appears, and how it is described, tells you whether to pursue sealing, a dispute, or both.

Screening reports are also where errors live. A dismissed case reported as an eviction, an old address matched to the wrong person, or a paid judgment still shown as owing are all fixable — and fixing the report is sometimes faster than any court process in Connecticut.

Your Federal Rights Against Tenant Screening Companies

Tenant screening companies are consumer reporting agencies under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681 and following. If you are denied housing, charged a higher deposit, or given worse terms because of a screening report, the landlord must give you an adverse action notice naming the screening company. You then have 60 days to demand a FREE copy of that report from the company.

Review it for eviction cases that are wrong, that belong to someone else, that were withdrawn or dismissed, or that are more than 7 years old (the FCRA 7-year reporting limit for most civil judgments and non-conviction items). Dispute in writing, directly to the screening company, attaching proof — a certified copy of the withdrawal, dismissal, or judgment for the defendant from the housing clerk.

The company must complete a reinvestigation within 30 days (extended to 45 days if you send extra documents during the 30-day window), must forward your dispute to the furnisher within 5 business days, must delete or correct anything it cannot verify, and must give you the written results plus a free corrected report.

You can also ask that a corrected report be sent to anyone who pulled it in the last 2 years. Send disputes by certified mail and keep copies.

If the company will not fix it, you can complain to the CFPB at https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint and to the Connecticut Attorney General at https://portal.ct.gov/ag, and the FCRA allows private suits for willful or negligent noncompliance.

Timing matters more than tenants expect. If you are apartment-hunting right now, start the screening-report disputes today — they run on federal deadlines and cost nothing — while any Connecticut court process moves in parallel. If the move is months away, that is enough time for most sealing petitions, vacated judgments, or corrected reports to finish before a landlord ever pulls your Connecticut eviction record.

Worth watching in Connecticut: No county pilot programs — Section 47a-26j is statewide and applies in every Connecticut judicial district housing session.

Connecticut was one of 14 states where legislators introduced bills in the 2025 session to strengthen or expand eviction record sealing; no expansion of Section 47a-26j passed in 2025 or in the 2026 session, so the July 1, 2024 rules are still the operative law as of August 20, 2026. Specific 2025 and 2026 CT sealing bill numbers: UNVERIFIED.

Separately, S.B. 257 in the 2026 session (“An Act Concerning Evictions for Cause”) would have extended just cause eviction protection to tenants in buildings with 5 or more units after 12 months of tenancy; it did not receive a vote. Note for older cases: the Judicial Branch’s case display policy, revised 7/1/2024, expressly cites Section 47a-26j as the reason certain eviction cases are removed 30 days after disposition.

Official Connecticut Sources & Resources

• Connecticut Courts Self-Help: jud.ct.gov/webforms/default.aspx?load_catg=Housing
• Connecticut Statute: cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_832.htm
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: hud.gov
• Cornell Legal Information Institute: law.cornell.edu/wex

Taking Control of Your Connecticut Eviction Record

A Connecticut eviction record is not a life sentence — it is a document, and documents can be sealed, corrected, or accurately explained. The tenants who struggle longest are usually the ones who never look at what their Connecticut eviction record actually says, so start by pulling the court file and your screening reports.

Whether Connecticut offers sealing or only the federal dispute route, acting on the Connecticut eviction record beats hoping landlords will not check — they almost always do. A short, honest cover letter to a prospective landlord explaining the circumstances can also do real work while the record process runs.

This Connecticut eviction record guide was last verified against official sources in August 2026. Sealing laws are changing fast — new states pass them every year, so re-check before relying on this page.

More Connecticut Tenant Rights Guides

• Connecticut Tenant Rights
• Connecticut Eviction Process
• Connecticut Security Deposit Law
• Connecticut Rent Increase Laws
• Connecticut Repairs & Habitability
• Breaking a Lease in Connecticut
• Eviction Timeline Calculator
• All 50 States

Disclaimer: This guide is informational only and is not legal advice. Landlord-tenant laws change and vary by city and county within a state. Verify current rules with your state, your local court, or a free legal-aid office before acting. If you are facing eviction, contact a local tenant attorney or legal-aid organization right away.