The California pardon list is not a searchable database. The Governor’s office publishes an annual Executive Report on Pardons, Commutations of Sentence, and Reprieves that names every person granted clemency the prior year, and that report, posted on the Governor’s official website, is the closest thing the state keeps to a public pardon list.1Office of the Governor of California. Executive Report on Pardons, Commutations of Sentence, and Reprieves
Where to Find the Annual Report
Each year’s report is submitted to the state legislature and posted publicly. It covers every clemency decision the Governor made during the prior calendar year and includes a summary of the original offense, conviction details, and the Governor’s reasoning for granting or denying the petition. Older reports going back more than a decade are archived through the California Agency Reports portal.2California Agency Reports. Report Section 12017 of the Government Code
If you are checking the list because you were pardoned or are considering applying, know this: your name and case summary will appear in the report, and the report is available to anyone who looks for it, including employers and reporters. There is no confidential pardon.
What It Means to Be on the List
A full and unconditional Governor’s pardon is a formal recognition that the person has been rehabilitated, and it restores civil and political rights that the felony conviction had taken away.3California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Investigations – Board of Parole Hearings The rights restored include:
- The right to serve on a California jury, which a felony conviction otherwise blocks.
- Eligibility to hold state public office.
- Eligibility to apply for state-regulated professional licenses, including those in healthcare and real estate, that would otherwise be automatically barred.
- The right to own and possess firearms under California law. Federal firearm restrictions can still apply independently, so a state pardon does not by itself guarantee lawful possession.
- For some registerable sex offenses, relief from the duty to register as a sex offender under California law.
For non-citizens, a full and unconditional state pardon may also eliminate the conviction as a ground for removal or as a bar to naturalization, though the effect depends on the specific offense and how federal immigration authorities classify it. Not every pardon eliminates every immigration consequence, and anyone in that situation should work with an immigration attorney.
What a Pardon Does Not Do
A pardon is not an expungement. The criminal record still exists, and the conviction still shows up on background checks. The pardon appears alongside the conviction as a signal of rehabilitation, but the underlying record stays intact. Anyone trying to clear a record entirely is looking at a different remedy, dismissal under California Penal Code section 1203.4, which has its own eligibility rules.
Private employers and landlords are not required to disregard a pardoned conviction. The pardon carries official weight, but private parties can still weigh the underlying offense however they choose, and practical impact varies by industry.
Military enlistment is another limit. Applicants with a state pardon must still disclose the underlying offense and typically need a moral conduct waiver. FBI background checks may retain the conviction regardless of what the state record shows.
One more boundary matters when reading the list: the Governor can only pardon convictions under California state law.4Stanislaus County Superior Court. Certificate of Rehabilitation and Pardon Instruction Packet Federal convictions and convictions from other states are not on, and cannot appear on, a California pardon list. Those require clemency from the respective authority.
How People Get on the List
The list is short because the process is slow and demanding. California law creates two routes to a Governor’s pardon, and the applicant’s circumstances dictate which one applies.
Most California residents with felony convictions pursue a Certificate of Rehabilitation by petitioning the Superior Court in the county where they live. The petitioner must have lived continuously in California for at least five years before filing, and Penal Code section 4852.03 adds a further waiting period that scales with the seriousness of the offense.5Judicial Branch of California. Certificate of Rehabilitation When the court grants the certificate, it is automatically forwarded to the Governor as an application for a pardon.6California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Petition for Certificate of Rehabilitation and Pardon
A Direct Pardon is the required route for applicants who live outside California, whose conviction was a misdemeanor, or who were convicted of certain serious sex offenses excluded from the Certificate of Rehabilitation process.7Shasta County, CA. Shasta County Public Defender – Eligibility Direct Pardon applicants send the official application form straight to the Governor’s office.
Either way, the case goes to the Board of Parole Hearings for investigation.8California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Board of Parole Hearings Investigators pull criminal history, court documents, police reports, and prison records, and they may contact the original prosecutor, the sentencing judge, and law enforcement.3California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Investigations – Board of Parole Hearings For Direct Pardons, the full Board reviews the case and sends its recommendation to the Governor.
There is one additional constitutional step that keeps certain names off the list without extra review. If the applicant has two or more felony convictions, the California Constitution bars the Governor from issuing a pardon without a favorable recommendation from the California Supreme Court. The Governor then makes the final decision, weighing the Board’s recommendation, victim impact, and public safety.