Cleaning Up Your Criminal Record In California

HOW CAN I CLEAN UP MY CRIMINAL RECORD?

There are many ways of cleaning up your criminal record, and the process that you will need depends upon what happened in the criminal case that you are looking to have removed from your record.

The process will differ depending on the following factors:

whether you were an adult or juvenile
whether you were arrested
whether the case was charged
whether you were convicted, or the case was dismissed

Please read below to be directed to the proper resource for what you are looking for:

If you were a juvenile

In some states, all juvenile records are sealed automatically when you turn 18; California does not automatically seal all juvenile records, so if your case was resolved in juvenile court, then you may still need to request a sealing of your record. If you are looking to seal a juvenile record, click here to read more about what cases do not seal automatically and how you can get yours sealed.

If you were only arrested and no charges were filed

If you were only arrested, and never charged with a crime, then what you will need is a certificate of detention. Click here to read more about them.

If the case was charged but later dismissed

If you were charged as an adult and the case was dismissed, either outright by the court, or by successful completion of a diversion program, then what you will need is a sealing of your record, which you can read more about here.