California Penal Code section 1203.41 lets you petition a court to dismiss a felony conviction after you finish a county jail sentence under realignment or a state prison sentence, provided the offense did not require sex offender registration. If the judge grants the petition, you withdraw your plea, the case is dismissed, and you gain real protections in hiring and professional licensing. You do not, however, get your firearm rights back, escape immigration consequences, or prevent the conviction from being used against you in a future criminal case.
Who Qualifies
Two groups can use this statute. The first is people sentenced to county jail for a felony under Penal Code 1170(h), the sentencing framework created by the 2011 public safety realignment.1California Department of Justice. 2011 Public Safety Realignment The second is people who served a state prison sentence for a felony, as long as the conviction did not require sex offender registration.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.41
If you were placed on probation instead, this is not your statute. Probation dismissals run through Penal Code 1203.4. Section 1203.41 is for people who did custody time rather than probation.
Beyond the sentence type, three conditions must be true at the moment you file. You cannot be serving a sentence for any offense. You cannot be on parole, probation, or mandatory supervision. And you cannot have criminal charges pending anywhere.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.41 An open misdemeanor in another county is enough to stop the petition. Check before you file.
Even if every box is checked, the decision is discretionary. The statute lets the court grant relief “in the interest of justice,” so the judge weighs your conduct since the conviction and your rehabilitation. A technically eligible petition can still be denied.
How Long You Have To Wait
The waiting period runs from the day you completed your sentence, and it depends on how the sentence was structured.
- Split sentence with mandatory supervision under 1170(h)(5)(B): one year after the full sentence, including the supervision portion, is complete.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.41
- Straight county jail sentence under 1170(h)(5)(A) with no supervision: two years.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.41
- State prison sentence: two years.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.41
How To File
The petition uses Judicial Council Form CR-180, “Petition for Dismissal.” You submit it together with Form CR-181, the proposed “Order for Dismissal,” which the judge signs if the petition is granted.3California Courts. Petition for Dismissal (CR-180) The same form is used for several dismissal statutes, so check the box that identifies Penal Code 1203.41 as your legal basis.
You will need the original case number, the conviction date, the offense code, and the courthouse that handled sentencing. Those details appear on your sentencing minutes or judgment paperwork; if you no longer have them, the court’s records department or online case portal can supply the information.
File the completed forms with the criminal clerk’s office in the courthouse where you were sentenced. California courts generally do not charge a filing fee for these petitions.4Sacramento Superior Court. Petition Information and Instruction Packet You must also serve a copy on the District Attorney’s office that prosecuted the case, then file proof of service using Form CR-106.5Judicial Council of California. CR-106 Proof of Service – Criminal Record Clearing The DA can object. For felony petitions, courts typically set a hearing roughly 90 days out.
What Changes After a Dismissal
Employment
California Labor Code 432.7 bars employers from asking about or considering any conviction that has been judicially dismissed, and prohibits them from seeking that information out. The rule covers hiring, promotion, and termination.6California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 432.7 On most standard private employment applications, you can answer “no” to whether you have been convicted of a felony.
The Fair Chance Act, Government Code 12952, adds another layer for employers with five or more employees: they cannot consider a dismissed conviction at any stage of hiring, including after a conditional offer.7California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12952 Exceptions exist for jobs where a background check is required by law, criminal justice agency positions, and certain federally regulated roles.
Professional Licensing
State licensing boards cannot deny an application based on a conviction dismissed under 1203.41, or on the acts underlying it. Business and Professions Code 480(c) applies this protection across state-regulated professions.8California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 480
You still have to disclose the conviction when a licensing application asks directly. The statute preserves that disclosure duty on any questionnaire or application for licensure by a state or local agency.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.41 The board cannot use it against you, but you cannot hide it either.
Voting and Jury Service
Voting rights in California come back when you finish your prison or jail sentence and any period of parole, so most people eligible under 1203.41 already have them by the time they file. Since Senate Bill 310 took effect in January 2020, a felony conviction no longer disqualifies you from jury service in California; only current incarceration does.9LegiScan. Bill Text CA SB310
What a Dismissal Does Not Do
Firearms
The dismissal does not restore firearm rights. Penal Code 29800 continues to prohibit a person convicted of a felony from possessing a firearm, and a 1203.41 dismissal creates no exception.10California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 29800 Federal law under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) also bars firearm possession by anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year in prison.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts Federal law has an exception for convictions “expunged, or set aside” with civil rights restored, but California dismissals under 1203.41 generally do not satisfy that standard because the state continues to enforce its own firearm prohibition.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 921 – Definitions
Immigration
Federal immigration authorities do not recognize a 1203.41 dismissal as eliminating a conviction. The Board of Immigration Appeals treats state rehabilitative relief of this kind as leaving the conviction intact for federal purposes. If the underlying offense triggers deportability, inadmissibility, or a bar to naturalization, the dismissal does not change that. A conviction generally has to be vacated for a legal defect in the underlying proceedings, not for rehabilitation, to matter to immigration law. If you are not a U.S. citizen, talk to an immigration attorney before filing.
Future Criminal Cases
If you pick up a new case, the dismissed conviction can still be pleaded and proved and has “the same effect as if the accusation or information had not been dismissed.”2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.41 It can count as a prior strike, enhance sentencing, and shape plea negotiations. Inside the courtroom, nothing has changed.
Sex Offender Registration
A dismissal does not lift a Penal Code 290 registration duty. For state prison felonies, registration requirements block relief under 1203.41 outright.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.41 Registration relief runs through a separate tiered petition under section 290.
Public Office and Background Records
You must still disclose the conviction when directly asked on a questionnaire or application for public office.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.41 And the conviction does not disappear from your criminal history. Your Department of Justice record continues to show it, with a notation that it was dismissed under 1203.41. Law enforcement and authorized government agencies see both the original conviction and the dismissal. Private employers and landlords running commercial background checks should see the dismissal notation, which is what triggers the Labor Code and Fair Chance Act protections.
International Travel
Other countries set their own inadmissibility rules and may not treat a California dismissal as curing a felony record. Canada, for example, does not automatically recognize foreign dismissals; entry with a felony history usually requires deemed rehabilitation, individual rehabilitation, or a temporary resident permit.13Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Overcome Criminal Convictions Check the rules for any country you plan to enter.
How This Differs From Automatic Clearance
Penal Code 1203.425 directs the Department of Justice to identify eligible convictions and grant relief automatically, without a petition. If your case has not yet moved through that backlog, or you were denied automatic relief, you can still file your own petition under 1203.41. The two statutes operate independently.14California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.425 Filing yourself is often the faster route.