Oklahoma Misdemeanors

A misdemeanor is a criminal offense less serious than a felony. Instead of using lettered "classes" as many states do, Oklahoma defines a misdemeanor as any offense that attracts a maximum sentence that is less than a year in a county jail. The default sentence, if a misdemeanor statute does not specify a penalty, is up to $500 in fines and/or a year in the county jail.

In contrast, many municipal ordinance violations are punished in municipal court and may only result in a fine. Felonies, on the other hand, are much more serious and therefore attract jail time for more than a year.

What Is a Misdemeanor in Oklahoma?

Under Oklahoma’s penal code, there are felonies and misdemeanors. Offenders who commit misdemeanors are sent to a county jail (if they are given a jail term) rather than to a state prison. Typical examples include petit theft, simple assault/battery, low-level drug possession (depending on facts or date), and many first-offense impaired-driving cases.

A first-offense DUI that is filed in state district court is a misdemeanor that carries a sentence of 10 days to 1 year in jail and up to a $1,000 fine, with assessment or treatment requirements and separate driver-license consequences. A repeat offender or an offender who has committed the crime with “aggravated conduct” can be charged with a felony.

Note: Oklahoma law does not use the term “infraction.” Minor conduct may be prosecuted as municipal ordinance violations (sometimes fine-only) in a city’s municipal court.

Misdemeanor Penalties in Oklahoma

Oklahoma relies on offense-specific laws plus a general default rule when deciding on penalties for misdemeanors:

• General default (if a statute is silent): Offenders get a jail term of a year or less in county jail and/or $500 or less in fines.
• Offense-specific examples: • DUI (47 O.S. §11-902, first offense in state court): If convicted, offenders can be sentenced to 10 days–1 year or $1,000 or less in fines. They may also need to go through evaluation/treatment and may face administrative sanctions through the DPS/IDAP. • Municipal courts of record (many city ordinances): This may attract a fine of 1,200 or less and/or 6 months or less in jail

Courts may also impose suspended or deferred probation, restitution, community service, no-contact orders, and other program conditions authorized by law. If offenders are sent to jail, they serve their term in a county or regional jail, not in DOC custody.

Misdemeanor Court Process in Oklahoma

• Oklahoma District Courts, in all 77 counties, hear misdemeanors and DUI charges under state law, and all felonies.
• Municipal Courts hear city ordinance cases and some Class-B-type misdemeanors under city law. Municipal courts of record may also try cases and impose the penalties authorized for such courts.

In misdemeanor prosecutions, the jury consists of six persons, while in felonies, there are 12. Some cases that only attract fines may be bench-tried.

Typically, the misdemeanor process goes as follows:

1. Citation or arrest: The process typically starts with a citation or arrest and the filing of a complaint in the proper court.
2. Initial appearance or arraignment: The defendant is made aware of their rights, counsel eligibility, and release conditions.
3. Pre-trial: During this stage, the discovery, motions, and plea negotiations are done. Where available, problem-solving documents are also reviewed.
4. Trial: It could be a bench or a six-person jury.
5. Sentencing: The court imposes any jail term, fine, suspended or deferred probation, treatment, and collateral requirements (e.g., DUI education/interlock) authorized by law.

Misdemeanor Records in Major Oklahoma Cities

Oklahoma offers broad, public online access:

• Statewide District-Court Dockets (OSCN): The Oklahoma State Courts Network hosts free docket lookups for district courts statewide (criminal, traffic, etc.) and also supports online e-payments in participating counties.
• On-Demand Court Records (ODCR): Some courts publish dockets through ODCR, a separate statewide index and payment portal used by various counties/municipalities.
• Oklahoma City (Oklahoma County): • OKC Municipal Court provides a platform where you can look up tickets and make online payments for many traffic, criminal, and parking matters, and a separate “search all cases” page. The Municipal Court Clerk also lets individuals get certified copies and non-posted documents. • Oklahoma County District Court routes its tickets and fines through the County Court Clerk or OSCN e-Payments when available.
• Tulsa (Tulsa County). •Tulsa Municipal Court posts public information on warrants and provides an online Court ePay tool for eligible municipal tickets or fines. • Tulsa County District Court directs users to the OSCN e-Payments platform so that they can make criminal and traffic payments. You can find the contact information of the clerks on the court’s website.
• Norman (Cleveland County). • In Norman Municipal Court, you can search for citations online and make payments with phone pay after hours.

You can find certain information, such as party names, case numbers, charges with statute citations, settings, Register of Actions, dispositions, sentence terms, and balances. The clerk’s file is the official record. Sealed or expunged items are not publicly available.

How to Search for Misdemeanor Records in Oklahoma

1. Start on OSCN: Use the search tool to find information by name or case number across district courts. Certain cases that are eligible support OSCN e-Payments.
2. Check ODCR if needed: Some municipal or district courts keep their records through ODCR. You may search by court and name or case, and pay eligible balances online.
3. Go to the city portal for municipal cases: • OKC: You can conduct a ticket lookup or payment. • Tulsa: You can use Court ePay to find certain records. • Norman: You can carry out municipal online payment or search.
4. Certified copies: Contact the district-court clerk (in state cases) or municipal court clerk (in city cases). Many sites provide in-person, mail, and online options.

How Long Does a Misdemeanor Stay on Your Record in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma provides two principal expungement pathways under Title 22:

1) Full record expungement (22 O.S. §18 & §19)

A person convicted of a misdemeanor may ask the court for expungement five years after completion of the last misdemeanor sentence, if the person has no felony conviction, no pending charges, and has settled all their court debts. Multiple misdemeanor convictions are treated as one if they come from the same transaction or occurrence; otherwise, the five-year clock runs from the end of the most recent misdemeanor sentence.

Non-convictions and other categories: Section 18 also allows expungement in numerous situations (e.g., acquittal, dismissal, reversal, pardons, and specified felony categories). The petition has to be filed in the proper district court under §19, with notice to the prosecutor, arresting agency, and OSBI. The court approves sealing if the harm to privacy or unjustified negative effects outweigh the public interest.

Effect: Court and arrest records are sealed from public view by a permitted §18 and §19 expungement. By law, when your record is sealed, judges and police would only have restricted access to it.

2) Deferred-sentence (“991c”) expungement

A §991c expungement can remove a person's name from the public record if a case ends with a deferred sentence and the court later dismisses the case. It is less straightforward than a full §18/§19 expungement because the OSBI arrest record generally remains unless separately expunged.

Without court-ordered expungement, a misdemeanor can remain publicly accessible indefinitely in Oklahoma’s online systems. Many misdemeanor convictions can be expunged after five years if the legal criteria are met; however, dismissed or acquitted matters can be expunged much sooner.