California Arrest Records: Access, Sealing, and Employer Limits

California arrest records live on a document called a RAP sheet (record of arrest and prosecution), kept by the state Department of Justice and built from information sent in by police departments, sheriffs, prosecutors, and courts.¹ You can request your own copy, most employers can’t hold a no-conviction arrest against you, and several routes exist to seal arrests that didn’t end in a conviction.

What’s on Your RAP Sheet

Each arrest shows up as its own entry. The record identifies the arresting agency, the date and location, and the charges at booking. Because the information comes in through Live Scan fingerprinting, physical descriptors like height, weight, hair color, and eye color are tied to a permanent print record.²

An arrest record is not a conviction record. If charges were dropped, dismissed, or never filed, the arrest still appears unless you take steps to seal it. The DOJ is supposed to track down the outcome of every arrest that lacks a matching court disposition, but gaps are common, which is one reason reviewing your own record matters.¹

Who Can See Your California Arrest Record

Full RAP sheets are not public. Access is controlled by Penal Code 11105, which lists the entities authorized to receive criminal history data from the DOJ: courts, district attorneys, probation and parole officers, peace officers, and state agencies that need the information for licensing or employment duties set by statute.³ A private person cannot request someone else’s RAP sheet from the DOJ.

You do have the right to request your own. The DOJ explicitly allows individuals to obtain a copy of their criminal history to check it for accuracy and completeness, and Penal Code sections 11120 through 11127 give you a formal process to challenge errors.⁴⁵

Certain employers and licensing agencies can run authorized background checks, but each path has its own statutory basis rather than open-ended access.

What Employers Can and Can’t Do

California draws a hard line between arrests and convictions in hiring. Under Labor Code 432.7, no employer, public or private, can ask you to disclose an arrest that did not lead to a conviction, and they cannot use that information in any employment decision, including hiring, promotion, or firing.⁶ The same protection covers arrests that went through diversion and convictions later dismissed or sealed. One exception for active cases: an employer can ask about an arrest if you are currently out on bail or awaiting trial.

Two narrow carve-outs exist. Peace officer employers can access arrest information under Penal Code 13300, though even they cannot base an employment decision solely on an arrest report. Health facilities can ask applicants with direct patient access about arrests for certain sex offenses, and applicants with access to medications about arrests for certain drug offenses.⁶

The Fair Chance Act

California’s Fair Chance Act adds protection for conviction records specifically. Employers with five or more employees cannot ask about conviction history on a job application or at any point before making a conditional offer. Once they make the offer and review your record, they have to conduct an individualized assessment weighing the nature of the offense, how much time has passed, and the duties of the job before pulling the offer. If they decide to withdraw it, they must notify you in writing and give you at least five business days to respond, plus another five days if you dispute the accuracy of the report.⁷

Federal Rules on Arrest Records

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has taken the position that using arrest records as an automatic disqualifier violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, because the practice disproportionately affects certain racial and ethnic groups. Its guidance states that an arrest alone does not prove criminal conduct, so blanket exclusions based on arrest records are not job-related or consistent with business necessity.⁸ An employer can consider the actual conduct behind an arrest if it’s relevant to the position, but the arrest record itself is not enough.

When an employer uses a third-party background check company, federal law also requires a standalone written disclosure and your written consent before the check runs, and a copy of the report plus a chance to dispute before any adverse action is finalized.⁹

How to Get a Copy of Your Record

Getting your California RAP sheet means submitting fingerprints through Live Scan. The process has three parts.

Fill Out the Form

Download Form BCIA 8016, the Request for Live Scan Service, from the Attorney General’s website.¹⁰ Enter your full legal name, any aliases, date of birth, and physical descriptors. Under “Type of Application,” check “Record Review.” The mailing address you put on the form is where the DOJ sends the results.²

Get Fingerprinted and Pay

Bring the completed form to any certified Live Scan location. Many local police departments, sheriff’s offices, and private fingerprinting services offer it. The DOJ charges $25 for a personal record review.¹¹ The Live Scan operator charges its own rolling fee, usually $20 to $50, so total out-of-pocket typically lands between $45 and $75. If you cannot afford the $25 DOJ fee, you may qualify for a waiver through the Attorney General’s office; the waiver covers the DOJ charge only, not the operator’s rolling fee.¹²

Wait for Results

Normal DOJ turnaround is two to three days after your prints arrive, though more complex records can take up to two weeks.⁵ Results come by mail. A clean record returns a response saying no criminal history was found. Otherwise, the report lists each arrest, the charges, and whatever disposition information the DOJ has.

Fixing Errors on Your Record

Read every entry carefully. Missing dispositions are common; an arrest dismissed years ago can still look open if the court never reported the outcome. You can file a formal challenge with the DOJ under Penal Code sections 11120 through 11127.⁵ Attach documentation: court minute orders, dismissal paperwork, or certificates showing you completed a diversion program.

A missing disposition can make a dismissed case look like an open arrest on a background check. Correcting your record before you need it for a job or a housing application is easier than explaining discrepancies on a deadline.

Sealing an Arrest Record

California offers two main paths to seal an arrest, and they come with very different standards of proof.

Arrests That Did Not Lead to Conviction

Under Penal Code 851.91, you can petition the court to seal an arrest if no conviction resulted. That covers cases where the statute of limitations ran out without charges, charges were dismissed and cannot be refiled, you were acquitted, or a conviction was vacated on appeal with no option to retry.¹³

If you qualify, sealing is generally granted as a matter of right. The exceptions: you cannot seal an arrest for murder or another offense with no statute of limitations unless you were acquitted; people who evaded prosecution by fleeing or using a false identity are disqualified; and if the arrest involved domestic violence, child abuse, or elder abuse and your record shows a pattern of similar arrests or convictions, sealing is only available if the court finds it serves the interests of justice.¹³

Factual Innocence

Penal Code 851.8 offers a stronger remedy, complete sealing and eventual destruction of the records, but the burden is much higher. You have to show that no reasonable cause existed for the arrest in the first place. The petition goes first to the law enforcement agency that made the arrest, with a copy to the prosecutor. If both agree you are factually innocent, they seal the records and destroy them after three years.¹⁴

If the agency denies the petition or fails to respond within 60 days after the statute of limitations has run, you can take the petition to court. You carry the initial burden of proving no reasonable cause existed. If you meet that threshold, the burden shifts to the government to show reasonable cause did exist. This is where most factual innocence petitions get difficult, because “no reasonable cause” effectively means proving a negative. If charges were filed and later dismissed, you can petition the court that dismissed the case under the same standard.¹⁴

Automatic Record Relief

California now clears many eligible records without any filing on your part. Under Penal Code sections 851.93 and 1203.425, the DOJ reviews its databases monthly and automatically grants relief to people who qualify.¹⁵

For convictions, automatic relief reaches people who completed probation without revocation, finished a misdemeanor or infraction sentence at least one calendar year ago, or, as of July 1, 2024 under SB 731, completed all terms of a felony sentence with four years elapsed since supervision ended, provided no new felony conviction occurred during that period. Automatic felony relief does not extend to serious felonies, violent felonies, or offenses requiring sex offender registration. You also cannot be currently on supervision or have pending charges.¹⁶

Eligible arrests fall under Penal Code 851.93. If the DOJ’s automated review finds you eligible, relief is granted and your record is updated, which means the arrest or conviction will not appear on most employment and licensing background checks.

Federal Arrest Records

Your California RAP sheet covers only state-level encounters. For a federal arrest or a complete picture across jurisdictions, request an Identity History Summary from the FBI. The process is fingerprint-based; no name-only searches. You can submit electronically, including through participating U.S. Post Office locations, or mail a completed FD-1164 fingerprint card. The fee is $18.¹⁷

To challenge errors on an FBI record, contact the agency that submitted the data or write directly to the FBI’s CJIS Division in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The FBI maintains only what local and state agencies report to it, so you may also need to work with California’s DOJ or the specific arresting agency to fix the underlying record.

1
State of California – Department of Justice. Fingerprint Background Checks
2
California Department of Justice. Request for Live Scan Service
3
California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 11105
4
California Department of Justice. Criminal Records – Request Your Own
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California Department of Justice. Frequently Asked Questions – Criminal Records – Request Your Own
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California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 432.7
7
LegiScan. California AB 1008 – Fair Chance Act
8
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681b – Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports
10
State of California – Department of Justice. Forms for Applicant Agencies
11
California Department of Justice. Applicant Fingerprint Processing Fees
12
State of California – Department of Justice. Apply for a Fee Waiver
13
California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 851.91 – Arrests Not Resulting in Conviction
14
California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 851.8
15
State of California – Department of Justice. Automatic Record Relief – Penal Code Sections 851.93 and 1203.425
16
California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 1203.425
17
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions