Need Your Record Cleared in the Inland Empire?

Many people are. If you were granted probation and completed it, or were released from probation early, you can usually ask the court to dismiss the conviction under PC 1203.4. If you violated probation, the judge can still grant it in the interest of justice. If you were convicted of a misdemeanor or infraction and not given probation, you can usually apply one year after sentencing (PC 1203.4a).

You generally can’t be serving a sentence, on probation, or facing new charges when you apply. Unpaid restitution can’t be the reason for a denial. A few offenses are excluded, including certain sex offenses involving children.

The court lets you withdraw your plea, or sets aside the guilty verdict, and dismisses the case. You are then released from most penalties and disabilities of the conviction (PC 1203.4). Your criminal record will show the case as dismissed.

Courts generally can’t release information about a dismissed conviction to the public, only to you and criminal justice agencies (PC 1203.425). Most employers can’t ask about it or consider it, and most state licensing boards can’t deny a license because of it (Bus. and Prof. Code 480). Some important limits still apply, as explained below.

Often you don’t. Your attorney can file the petition and appear for you, and many petitions are decided without you being there (PC 1203.4). The prosecutor must get at least 15 days’ notice and can object.

Timing depends on the court and the type of relief. A straightforward dismissal commonly takes a few months from filing, while felony reductions, prison cases and certificates of rehabilitation can take longer. Automatic relief through the California Department of Justice happens on its own schedule. We gather your court records, confirm what you qualify for, and file the right petition for each case.

You may still qualify, but the decision is up to the judge. For a felony county jail sentence under PC 1170(h), you can apply one year after finishing a split sentence with mandatory supervision, or two years after finishing a straight jail term (PC 1203.41). The same section now covers state prison sentences, two years after you finish, unless the offense requires sex offender registration. You can’t be on parole or supervision, or facing new charges.

Older cases sentenced before 2011 Realignment may qualify under PC 1203.42. A certificate of rehabilitation (PC 4852.01), available for most felonies about seven years after release, is another option, and it recommends that the Governor grant a full pardon.

In many cases. If your felony was a wobbler, a crime that can be charged either way, and you were granted probation, the judge can reduce it to a misdemeanor for all purposes under PC 17(b), at sentencing or later on your request. This is often done together with an expungement, and unpaid restitution can’t be the reason to deny it.

Some older felony convictions for drug possession, and for theft, shoplifting, forgery or bad checks of $950 or less, can be changed to misdemeanors under Proposition 47 once your sentence is done (PC 1170.18). A PC 17(b) reduction can also restore California gun rights in some cases; a Proposition 47 change does not.

For many cases, yes. The California Department of Justice now grants relief automatically, without a petition, for many misdemeanors and completed probation cases (PC 1203.425). Senate Bill 731 expanded this to many felonies once four years have passed since you finished your sentence and supervision with no new felony conviction. Serious and violent felonies and offenses that require sex offender registration are excluded. Arrests that did not lead to a conviction can also be cleared automatically (PC 851.93).

But the system depends on complete electronic records, and it does not reduce felonies, so many people still need to file a petition.

Usually, yes. If the charges were dismissed, you were acquitted, or the time to file charges has run out, you can petition to seal the arrest, and if you qualify, sealing is generally a matter of right (PC 851.91). Arrests that ended in successful diversion can also be sealed (PC 851.87, 851.90). Once sealed, the arrest is generally treated as if it never happened.

If the evidence shows there was no reasonable cause to arrest you at all, you can ask for a finding of factual innocence, which seals and later destroys the records (PC 851.8). That petition usually must be filed within two years of the arrest or the filing of charges, unless there is good cause.

Yes. If you completed juvenile probation or an informal supervision program, the court generally must dismiss the case and seal the records automatically (WIC 786). If your case was not sealed, you can petition once you turn 18, or five years after the case ended (WIC 781).

The judge will seal the records if you have no adult felony or misdemeanor conviction involving moral turpitude since then and you have shown rehabilitation. Some serious offenses committed at age 14 or older have extra limits. Once sealed, the case is treated as if it never happened, and you can generally answer questions about it that way.

It is not a full erasure. After a dismissal under PC 1203.4 or a similar section:

• You still can’t own or possess a gun if the conviction barred it
• Your DMV record, and any license suspension, stay the same (VC 13555)
• The conviction still counts as a prior, or a strike, if you are charged with a new crime
• You must still disclose it if directly asked on an application for public office, a state or local license, or a peace officer job
• Federal immigration law usually still treats it as a conviction

For immigration problems, a different motion, such as vacating the conviction for legal error (PC 1473.7), may be needed.

Usually not. Most employers can’t ask about, look for or use a conviction that was dismissed or sealed, or an arrest that didn’t lead to a conviction (Lab. Code 432.7). Under the Fair Chance Act, employers with five or more employees also can’t ask about any conviction until after a conditional job offer, and if they plan to deny you a job because of one, they must give you written notice and at least five business days to respond (Gov. Code 12952).

Exceptions include peace officer jobs, jobs where the law requires a background check, and applications for public office or state licenses, where a direct question must still be answered truthfully.