California Expungement Under PC 1203.4: Who Qualifies and How to File

California expungement under Penal Code 1203.4 is available to most people who finished probation without a new conviction, and to some who served a short jail sentence instead. The court reopens the case, lets you withdraw your plea, and dismisses the charge. Your public record then shows a dismissal rather than a conviction, which unlocks strong employment protections but leaves firearm restrictions, immigration exposure, prior-conviction use, and licensing disclosures untouched.

Who Qualifies

The cleanest path is completing every term of probation without a violation. Fines paid, restitution satisfied, community service done, every condition met. When that is true, the statute says the court “shall” grant the dismissal, so the judge has no discretion to refuse.¹

If you had a probation violation but eventually finished your term, you can still petition. The relief becomes discretionary. The judge weighs your overall conduct, rehabilitation, and whether dismissal serves the interests of justice. People who were discharged from probation early also qualify to file.

Three conditions block a petition no matter how well you did on probation: you cannot be serving a sentence for another offense, you cannot be on probation for a separate matter, and you cannot have pending criminal charges. The court checks all three before considering the merits.¹

If you were never placed on probation and served a straight jail sentence instead, a companion statute, Penal Code 1203.4a, covers you. You generally have to wait at least one year from the judgment, and the same rule about no current criminal involvement applies.

Offenses That Cannot Be Dismissed

Certain convictions are permanently ineligible under PC 1203.4, no matter how well you performed on probation:

Lewd acts with a child (PC 288), continuous sexual abuse of a child (PC 288.5), and felony unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor (PC 261.5(d)).
Sodomy by force (PC 286(c)), oral copulation by force (PC 287(c)), and sexual penetration by force (PC 289(j)).
Child pornography offenses under PC 311.1, 311.2, 311.3, and 311.11.
Vehicle Code 42002.1 offenses and point-count violations described in Vehicle Code 12810.
Infractions, including traffic infractions.

The court has no authority to override these exclusions.¹ Filing on an ineligible offense is wasted effort.

Check for Automatic Relief First

Before preparing a petition, find out whether the state has already cleared the case for you. Starting in October 2024, the California Department of Justice began reviewing criminal records monthly and granting dismissals automatically to eligible people, with no petition or court appearance.²

You qualify for automatic relief if you are not required to register as a sex offender, have no active supervision record, are not currently serving a sentence or facing charges, and meet the timing rules. For probation cases, the DOJ looks for completion without revocation. For misdemeanors without probation, at least one year must have passed since the judgment. For felonies outside the probation track, four years must have passed since supervision ended without a new felony conviction in that window.²

Automatic relief does not reach serious felonies, violent felonies, or offenses requesting sex offender registration. Those still require the standard petition, assuming the offense is not on the excluded list. You can pull your criminal record from the DOJ to see whether automatic relief has already been applied.

Still on Probation? Ask to End It Early

You cannot petition for dismissal while you are still on probation. California law does let you ask the court to end probation early, and if the judge agrees, you can turn around and file for dismissal immediately.

The request requires a hearing in open court. The prosecutor gets at least two days’ written notice and can oppose. If there is an outstanding restitution order, expect the prosecutor to ask that the request wait until restitution is paid. Victims who requested notifications also have to be told. Judges tend to be receptive when fines are paid, programs are complete, and you have stayed out of trouble for a real portion of the term.

How to File

Pull Your Criminal Record

Accurate paperwork starts with an accurate record. Request your own state RAP sheet by submitting Live Scan fingerprints. Fill out Form BCIA 8016RR, check “Record Review,” and take it to any Live Scan site, which most local police and sheriff’s offices operate. The DOJ processing fee is $25, plus the Live Scan site’s rolling fee. Fee waivers may be available.³ Your RAP sheet gives you the exact case number, conviction date, and code section for each offense, which you need to fill out the petition correctly.

Complete the Forms

The petition is Judicial Council Form CR-180.⁴ It asks whether the offense was a felony or misdemeanor, the date of the plea, and whether probation was granted. Check the right boxes: completing probation cleanly puts you under the mandatory-relief provision, while a violation puts you in discretionary territory. Getting this wrong invites an opposition from the prosecutor.

You also prepare Form CR-181, the Order for Dismissal, which the judge signs if the petition is granted. Fill in the top with your information and case details, and leave the findings and order sections for the court. The felony or misdemeanor designation must match your sentencing documents, or the clerk will kick the filing back.

If your conviction is a wobbler (a crime that could have been charged as either a felony or misdemeanor), the CR-180 lets you ask for a reduction to a misdemeanor under Penal Code 17(b) at the same time.⁵ Reducing first means the dismissed record shows a misdemeanor rather than a felony, which matters for employment and licensing.

File, Serve, and Appear if Required

Take the completed forms to the superior court clerk in the county where you were convicted. Filing fees vary widely. Many counties charge nothing, while others charge from about $30 to over $200 depending on the county and whether the offense was a felony or misdemeanor. If the fee is unaffordable, file Form FW-001 with the petition.

You then serve a copy on the District Attorney or City Prosecutor who handled the original case, giving the prosecution a chance to review and object. File a Proof of Service to confirm legal notice. Skip this step and the court will not hear the petition.

Some counties decide petitions on paper without requiring your presence. Others set a hearing where you or your attorney appear. If the paperwork and statute line up, the judge signs the CR-181 and the clerk updates the record to show a dismissal.

What the Dismissal Actually Does

The main practical payoff is in hiring. California Labor Code 432.7 bars public and private employers from asking about a conviction that has been dismissed under PC 1203.4, whether on the application, in interviews, or anywhere else in the process. They cannot use a dismissed conviction in hiring, promotion, termination, or any other employment decision.⁶ Under California’s Fair Chance Act, applicants are instructed to answer “no” to conviction questions once the case has been dismissed or expunged.

The employment shield has real exceptions. An employer can still ask about a dismissed conviction when federal or state law requires the inquiry for the specific position, when the job involves firearm possession, or when the law prohibits people with that specific conviction from holding the position. Law enforcement, school positions with student contact, and certain healthcare roles commonly fall into these exceptions.⁶

What the Dismissal Does Not Change

PC 1203.4 is not a true expungement in the way people usually picture that word. Several consequences survive.

Firearm Rights

Dismissal does not restore the right to own or possess firearms. The statute says so directly.¹ If the conviction triggered a ban, whether the 10-year ban for certain misdemeanors or the lifetime ban for felonies, that ban continues. Federal law does not recognize a California dismissal for firearm eligibility either, so the federal prohibition under 18 U.S.C. 922(g) also remains. Restoring firearm rights requires something else, such as a gubernatorial pardon or a certificate of rehabilitation, depending on the offense.

Immigration

If you are not a U.S. citizen, PC 1203.4 offers essentially no protection in immigration proceedings. Federal authorities treat the underlying conviction as intact. The USCIS Policy Manual states that a state court action to dismiss or remove a conviction under a rehabilitative statute “has no effect on removing the underlying conviction for immigration purposes.”⁷ The narrow exception is a conviction vacated because of a real legal defect, such as a constitutional error or a statutory flaw affecting the finding of guilt. A rehabilitative dismissal does not count. If immigration is your main reason for filing, talk to an immigration attorney first.

Use as a Prior Conviction

A dismissed conviction still counts as a prior if you are charged with a new crime. The statute is explicit: in any future prosecution, the prior “may be pleaded and proved and shall have the same effect as if probation had not been granted or the accusation or information dismissed.”¹ A dismissed DUI still counts within the 10-year lookback on a new DUI arrest.

Licensing and Public Office

You still have to disclose a dismissed conviction when applying for public office, seeking a license from any state or local agency, or contracting with the California State Lottery Commission. The dismissal order itself has to inform you of these ongoing disclosure obligations.¹ Boards for nursing, real estate, contracting, and law can all see the conviction during review. A dismissal can help your case with the board, but it does not hide the record from them. The dismissal also does not restore eligibility for public office if the conviction disqualified you, and it does not end any unexpired criminal protective order tied to the case.

1
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.4
2
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.425
3
State of California – Department of Justice. Record Review
4
California Courts. Petition for Dismissal (CR-180)
5
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 17
6
California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 432.7
7
USCIS Policy Manual. Volume 12 – Citizenship and Naturalization, Part F – Good Moral Character, Chapter 2 – Adjudicative Factors