In California, who can see your criminal record depends on who is asking. Police, courts, prosecutors, probation and parole officers, and the attorney representing you in a criminal case can pull your full state summary criminal history whenever their work requires it. Government agencies and licensing boards get a narrower view, and only when a specific statute authorizes the check. Private employers and the background check companies they hire see less still, and what they are allowed to consider is tightly limited by state law.
The system that holds these records is called Criminal Offender Record Information, or CORI. It tracks arrests, charges, dispositions, sentences, and custody information for everyone who passes through California’s criminal justice system. Access is split into tiers.
Full Access: Right-to-Know Users
Under Penal Code 11105, courts, peace officers, district attorneys, probation officers, and parole officers have right-to-know access to state summary criminal history information. They can pull your full record, including arrests that never led to a charge, whenever they need it for their official duties.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 11105
Public defenders and attorneys of record have the same ability when they are representing someone in a criminal case, juvenile delinquency proceeding, or parole revocation hearing. Local criminal justice agencies maintain their own parallel records under Penal Code 13300, and the same categories of officials can access them.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 13300
Limited Access: Agencies and Licensing Bodies
State and local government agencies, public utilities, and licensing bodies operate on a need-to-know basis. They can receive criminal history data only when a specific statute or regulation requires a background check tied to particular criminal conduct. This typically covers agencies screening people who will work with children, elderly adults, or dependent adults, and licensing boards that are required by law to look at applicants’ records.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 11105
These authorized agencies usually see only conviction-level information, not arrests that went nowhere. Private organizations generally cannot access state summary data at all unless a statute expressly authorizes it for a specific purpose like licensing or certification.
What Private Employers and Background Check Companies Can See
Most people asking about their record are worried about a job. California stacks several laws on top of each other to limit what a private employer can learn and act on.
The Fair Chance Act
Employers with five or more employees cannot ask about conviction history on a job application or at any point before making a conditional offer of employment. No check boxes about felonies, no interview questions about past convictions, and no background checks until the employer has decided the applicant is otherwise qualified and extended a conditional offer.3California Civil Rights Department. Fair Chance Act4California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12952
Even after a conviction turns up on a post-offer background check, the employer cannot simply walk away. They must conduct an individualized assessment weighing the nature and seriousness of the offense, the time that has passed since the offense and sentence completion, and the nature of the job. If they still plan to rescind, they have to send written notice, include the background report, and give you at least five business days to respond before making a final decision.4California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12952
Jobs in law enforcement, positions requiring access to controlled substances, and roles where state or federal law mandates criminal history screening are carved out and follow their own rules.
Arrests That Didn’t Lead to a Conviction
No California employer, public or private, regardless of size, can ask about or consider an arrest that did not result in a conviction. The same bar covers participation in a diversion program and convictions that have been dismissed or sealed under Penal Code 1203.4, 1203.4a, 1203.425, 1203.45, or 1210.1. Employers cannot seek this information from any source or use it in hiring, promotion, termination, or apprenticeship decisions.5California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 432.7
The one exception: an employer can ask about an arrest if you are currently out on bail or released on your own recognizance in a pending case.
If an employer breaks these rules, you can sue for actual damages or $200, whichever is greater, plus costs and attorney fees. If the violation was intentional, that becomes triple actual damages or $500, whichever is greater, and the violation is also a misdemeanor carrying a fine up to $500.5California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 432.7
The Seven-Year Cap on Background Reports
When a background check runs through a commercial screening company, California’s Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act kicks in. Under Civil Code 1786.18, the report cannot include records of arrest, charges, or conviction that are more than seven years old, measured from the date of disposition, release, or parole.6California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1786.18
This cap does not apply to law enforcement or government agencies pulling records directly from the DOJ, and some positions in healthcare, education, and financial services are exempt from the reporting restriction.
What Actually Appears on Your Record
A state summary criminal history is more than a conviction list. It includes arrests, pretrial proceedings, charges, dispositions, sentencing, incarceration, and release information.7Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 22 100220.03 – Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) Law enforcement and courts see the whole thing. Most other authorized agencies see only conviction entries.
Dismissals and record relief do not erase anything from the state summary. They add a notation.
Dismissals Under Penal Code 1203.4
If you completed probation successfully, you can petition the court to withdraw your plea and have the case dismissed. Once dismissed, you are released from most penalties connected to the conviction. But the conviction stays on your California and FBI criminal history records with a notation that it was dismissed under Penal Code 1203.4.8California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.49County of San Diego. Expungement (PC1203.4/1203.4a)
You still have to disclose the conviction when applying for public office, a state or local license, or a contract with the California State Lottery Commission. If you are later charged with another crime, the prior can be used against you as if the dismissal never happened.
Automatic Record Relief
Since October 2024, the California Department of Justice reviews its databases monthly and grants conviction relief automatically to people who qualify. No petition, no lawyer. To qualify you cannot be required to register as a sex offender, cannot be on supervised release, and cannot appear to be serving a sentence or facing pending charges. Eligible categories include misdemeanors and infractions where at least one year has passed since judgment, completed probation sentences without revocation, and certain felonies where four years have passed since completing supervision. Serious felonies, violent felonies, and sex offenses requiring registration are excluded.10California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.425
Automatic relief is not expungement or sealing. The arrest and conviction stay on your state summary. The DOJ adds a notation, courts limit public access to the case file, and the underlying data remains visible to law enforcement and certain authorized agencies.11California Department of Justice. Automatic Record Relief – Penal Code Sections 851.93 and 1203.425
How to See Your Own Record
You can request your own state summary criminal history from the California Department of Justice. Submit the Request for Live Scan Service form (BCIA 8016RR) along with digital fingerprints.12California Department of Justice. Request for Live Scan Service (Record Review or Foreign Adoption) You will need your full name, date of birth, Social Security number, and a valid government-issued photo ID.
The DOJ charges a $25 processing fee for a personal record review.13California Department of Justice. Criminal Records – Request Your Own On top of that, the Live Scan site charges a rolling fee, usually $20 to $40, for capturing and transmitting the fingerprints. Live Scan services are at private mailing centers, local law enforcement offices, and fingerprinting businesses throughout the state. The DOJ typically processes requests in two to three days, though some take up to two weeks. Results are mailed to the address on the form.14California Department of Justice. Frequently Asked Questions – Criminal Records – Request Your Own
Fixing Errors on Your Record
If your state summary has inaccurate or incomplete information, you can challenge it with the DOJ under Penal Code 11120 through 11127. The DOJ includes form BCIA 8706, “Claim of Alleged Inaccuracy or Incompleteness,” when it mails you your record. Submit the form with supporting documentation, such as certified court records showing a different disposition.14California Department of Justice. Frequently Asked Questions – Criminal Records – Request Your Own
The DOJ will review and send a written response. If the challenge succeeds, you get an amended record. If the DOJ denies it, you can request an administrative hearing. Errors in the state summary tend to cascade into third-party background reports, so cleaning them up at the source matters.
Penalties for Sharing Your Record Without Authorization
Anyone authorized by law to receive criminal record information who knowingly passes it to an unauthorized person commits a misdemeanor under Penal Code 11142.15California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 11142 That reaches government employees, agency staff, and anyone else in the chain of access who hands CORI data to someone who has no right to see it. Combined with the civil remedies in Labor Code 432.7 for improper employer use, the system gives you something to work with if your record ends up in the wrong hands.