Record Clearing

Clearing an old case

Record Clearing and Expungement in Los Angeles

Maybe it came up on a background check for a job you really wanted. Maybe you're applying for an apartment, a professional license, or a volunteer spot at your kid's school, and you've realized that something from years ago is still sitting on your record. Or maybe you were arrested once, nobody ever filed charges, and you're surprised to learn the arrest is still there at all.

Here's the good news, followed by the honest version of it. California gives people several ways to clear an old case, and many people with an old conviction or arrest qualify for at least one of them. But California doesn't have true expungement, the kind that makes a record disappear. What it has instead is a set of different tools, each with its own rules, each doing a different job: one dismisses a conviction, another reduces a felony to a misdemeanor, another seals an arrest that never led to a conviction, and some relief now happens automatically without anyone filing anything.

The hard part usually isn't the paperwork. It's figuring out which of those tools fits your record, in what order to use them, and what each one will and won't change for the thing you actually care about.

Your options

Which Kind of Record Relief Fits Your Case?

The right route depends on how your case ended: whether you were convicted, what the sentence was, whether you finished probation, and whether charges were ever filed at all. Here are the main options, and the situations each one is built for.

Dismissal of a conviction (what most people call expungement)

If you were convicted and completed probation, Penal Code section 1203.4 (opens in new window) lets the court withdraw your plea and dismiss the case. Related sections cover people who never got probation (section 1203.4a, after a year for most misdemeanors and infractions) and people who served a felony sentence in county jail or state prison (sections 1203.41 and 1203.42, after a waiting period).

A dismissal doesn't erase the conviction, but it changes who can see it and who can hold it against you, which for most people means employers.

What a 1203.4 dismissal actually does →

Reducing a felony to a misdemeanor

Some California crimes can be charged either way. If yours was one of those "wobblers" and you weren't sentenced to state prison or county jail under the realignment law, the court may be able to reduce it to a misdemeanor under Penal Code section 17(b) (opens in new window), often in the same request as a dismissal.

How wobblers work →

Sealing an arrest that didn't lead to a conviction

If you were arrested and never charged before the deadline to file charges ran out, had the charges dismissed for good, or were acquitted, Penal Code section 851.91 (opens in new window) lets you ask the court to seal the arrest. For most arrests that qualify, sealing is a matter of right rather than the judge's discretion.

How arrest sealing works →

Checking whether Clean Slate already cleared it

The California Department of Justice now reviews its records monthly and grants relief automatically to many eligible arrests and convictions, but it doesn't tell you when it does. Before anyone files anything, it's worth finding out whether that already happened.

How to check for automatic relief →

A certificate of rehabilitation and pardon

For most California felony convictions, and for certain sex offenses that require registration (a list of serious sex offenses is excluded entirely), a certificate of rehabilitation is a court's formal finding that you've been rehabilitated. It also works as an application for a governor's pardon. It's a longer process with residency and waiting requirements, and it's usually the last step rather than the first.

Certificates of rehabilitation and pardons →

DUI convictions

A DUI can usually be dismissed under section 1203.4 once probation is finished, but for a DUI the judge has discretion to say no, and a dismissed DUI still counts as a prior if there's ever another one.

Can a DUI be expunged? →

Expectations

What Clearing Your Record Can and Can't Change

The single biggest reason people end up disappointed with record clearing is that nobody told them, before they filed, what it would actually do. So here's the short version.

What usually changes. Under Labor Code section 432.7, most California employers can't ask about, look for, or use a conviction that's been dismissed or an arrest that's been sealed when they decide whether to hire, promote, or fire you. There are exceptions, including some jobs where the law requires a background check, but for the typical private job the difference is real. A dismissal also can't, by itself, be used to deny you a license from most boards under the Business and Professions Code, although you may have to disclose it and prove it was dismissed.

What doesn't change. The conviction still exists. It can still be used against you as a prior if you're ever charged again. A dismissal doesn't restore firearm rights the conviction took away, and it doesn't end a duty to register as a sex offender. You still have to disclose it if you're asked directly on an application to be a peace officer or to hold public office, or on an application for a state or local license. And for anyone who isn't a U.S. citizen, a state dismissal generally doesn't change how federal immigration law treats the conviction.

None of that is a reason not to do it. For most people, the employment change alone is worth it. It just means you should go in knowing what you're getting.

How it works

How the Record-Clearing Process Works

Get your actual record first.

Memory is a bad guide to a criminal record. People forget cases, misremember how they ended, or don't know that a case they thought was over is still open. Your record from the California Department of Justice shows every arrest and conviction the state has on file, and it's where automatic relief, if it was granted, shows up as a note next to the entry.

Match each entry to the right remedy.

Two cases on the same record can call for two different tools: a dismissal for the conviction, sealing for the arrest that went nowhere. Sometimes the order matters too, because one form of relief can set up the next.

File in the court that handled the case.

Most petitions are filed in the superior court where the case was decided. For a dismissal, the Judicial Council's form CR-180 is the petition and CR-181 is the order the judge signs, and the same filing can ask for a felony reduction where one is available.

Respond if the prosecutor objects.

In some cases the court decides on the paperwork. In others there's a hearing, especially where the relief is up to the judge's discretion or the prosecutor opposes it. That's where how the petition was prepared matters most.

Confirm the records were actually updated.

An order is only useful if the Department of Justice and the court records reflect it. Checking afterward, and following up when they don't, is part of the job.

How we help

How We Help Clear Records

Knarik Boyadzhyan is a former Deputy Public Defender. Record clearing is often less about one form and more about the whole record: reading it carefully, catching the case nobody remembered, choosing the remedies that actually serve your goal, and preparing the petition so a judge has a clear reason to grant it.

We start by looking at your record and asking what you're trying to accomplish, whether that's a job, a license, housing, or simply being done with it, and then we tell you plainly which options fit, what each will change, and what it won't.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions About Expungement and Record Clearing

If your question is not answered here, call (310) 877-7770 to discuss your situation.

Most convictions can be dismissed under Penal Code section 1203.4 or its related sections once you've finished probation or your sentence, as long as you're not currently serving a sentence, on probation, or charged with a new crime. Some offenses are excluded, including certain sex offenses against children, and for some, including DUI, the judge has discretion. Arrests that didn't lead to a conviction are handled separately, by sealing.

Yes. The court forms are public, and courts have self-help resources for people filing on their own. Where a lawyer tends to make a difference is in reading the full record, choosing the right remedy for each entry, handling a prosecutor's objection, and making the case for relief when it's up to the judge's discretion.

There's no seven-year rule. Whether and when a felony can be dismissed depends on the sentence. After probation, you can usually petition once probation is finished. After a county jail or state prison sentence, section 1203.41 has its own waiting periods. Separately, many felonies now qualify for automatic relief four years after the sentence and supervision end if there's no new felony conviction in that time, though serious, violent, and registrable felonies are excluded from that track.

Not entirely. The case stays on your state record with a note showing it was dismissed or relieved, and law enforcement can still see it. What changes is who else may see it and use it: most private employers can't consider a dismissed conviction, and courts are restricted from disclosing relieved convictions to the public.

For most private jobs in California, no, and the employer generally isn't allowed to ask. The exceptions include applications to be a peace officer, to hold public office, and for state or local licenses, plus certain jobs where the law requires a background check.

Knarik Boyadzhyan speaking on the phone in the firm's Encino office.

Consultation

Talk to Knarik Boyadzhyan About Clearing Your Record

Boyadzhyan Legal Shield helps people throughout Los Angeles County clear old convictions and arrests from the firm's office in Encino. If something on your record is getting in the way, we can look at it with you and explain which options fit. Initial consultations are free and confidential, with no obligation to hire the firm.

Request Consultation Call (310) 877-7770

This page is general legal information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. California statute references link to the official California Legislative Information site.