What Crimes Can and Can’t Be Expunged in California

Under California Penal Code 1203.4 and related statutes, most misdemeanors and felonies can be expunged in California as long as you completed probation and aren’t currently facing new charges; the crimes that can’t be expunged are a short, specific list — certain sex offenses involving minors or force, child pornography offenses, felony unlawful sex with a minor when the defendant is 21 or older, some Vehicle Code misdemeanors, and infractions.¹ Eligibility turns more on what happened after your conviction than on how serious the offense was.

One thing to know up front: California doesn’t literally erase the record. Under PC 1203.4, the court lets you withdraw your plea (or sets aside the guilty verdict) and dismisses the case. Your record then shows the conviction followed by a dismissal.¹ Most private employers can’t ask about or use a dismissed conviction in hiring.² Law enforcement still sees it, and prosecutors can still use the prior against you if you pick up a new case.

Crimes That Can Be Expunged

The vast majority of California offenses qualify. If you were convicted of a misdemeanor or felony and finished your sentence or probation without lasting problems, the odds are you can petition for dismissal. Common examples include:

Drug possession and other drug-related offenses
Theft crimes such as petty theft, grand theft, and burglary
DUI convictions
Assault and battery
Fraud, forgery, and other white-collar offenses
Domestic violence misdemeanors and felonies
Weapons offenses, though firearm rights are handled separately

Eligibility depends on your post-conviction conduct and sentence status, not the label on the crime. Someone convicted of a serious felony who completed probation cleanly has a path that a person convicted of an excluded sex offense does not, regardless of which sounds worse on paper.

Crimes That Cannot Be Expunged

Penal Code 1203.4(b) spells out the offenses that are off-limits, and the list is narrower than most people expect:¹

Certain sex offenses involving minors or force: lewd acts with a child under 14 (PC 288), forcible sodomy (PC 286(c)), forcible oral copulation (PC 287(c)), continuous sexual abuse of a child (PC 288.5), and forcible sexual penetration (PC 289(j))
Child pornography offenses under PC 311.1, 311.2, 311.3, and 311.11
Felony unlawful sex with a minor when the defendant is 21 or older and the minor is under 16 (felony PC 261.5(d))
Certain Vehicle Code misdemeanors covered by Vehicle Code 42002.1
Infractions

People often assume murder, voluntary manslaughter, or kidnapping appear on the ineligible list. They don’t. Those offenses usually carried state prison sentences, which historically placed them outside the reach of standard PC 1203.4 dismissal, but that changed in 2023.

State Prison Convictions After SB 731

Before 2023, a felony conviction resulting in state prison time was largely out of reach for expungement. Senate Bill 731 expanded PC 1203.41 and opened a discretionary path for people who served state prison time.³

Under current law, you can petition for dismissal two years after completing your sentence, provided the conviction did not require sex offender registration under PC 290.⁴ The court decides whether to grant the petition, so supporting documentation showing rehabilitation matters. Many violent and serious felonies are now potentially eligible, with the sole statutory exclusion being sex offenses requiring registration. The more serious the underlying offense, the more work it takes to persuade the judge.

Eligibility Requirements Beyond the Offense

Even when the crime qualifies, you have to meet all of these conditions to petition for dismissal:

You completed probation in full, including fines, restitution, and any court-ordered programs. Early termination of probation also counts.⁴
You are not currently serving a sentence, on probation or parole for another offense, or facing new criminal charges.¹
If you were convicted of a misdemeanor and not placed on probation, you can petition one year after judgment under PC 1203.4a, so long as you completed the sentence and stayed law-abiding.

Probation violations don’t automatically disqualify you. If you didn’t complete probation cleanly, the dismissal shifts from mandatory to discretionary, and the court decides whether granting relief serves the interests of justice.¹

Reducing a Wobbler Felony First

Some California offenses are “wobblers,” meaning the prosecutor could have charged them as a felony or a misdemeanor. If yours was charged as a felony, you can ask the court to reduce it to a misdemeanor under Penal Code 17(b) before or at the same time you file for dismissal.⁵

A misdemeanor carries fewer collateral consequences than a felony, even after dismissal. Reduction under PC 17(b) is available when the court originally granted probation rather than imposing a state prison sentence. If you have a wobbler conviction and plan to seek dismissal, asking for reduction at the same time is almost always worth doing.

Proposition 47 Reclassification

Proposition 47, passed in 2014, reclassified several felonies as misdemeanors. If you have an older felony conviction for one of these offenses, you may be able to have it reclassified and then dismissed:⁶

Shoplifting where the value does not exceed $950
Petty theft of property worth $950 or less
Forgery of a check, bond, or similar instrument for $950 or less
Writing a bad check for $950 or less
Receiving stolen property worth $950 or less
Personal-use drug possession under Health and Safety Code sections 11350, 11357(a), and 11377

If you already finished your sentence, you can apply to reclassify the felony as a misdemeanor. If you’re still serving, you can petition for resentencing. People with prior convictions for certain super-strike offenses or sex offenses requiring registration are not eligible for Prop 47 relief.⁶ The original petition deadline was November 4, 2022, but courts can still accept late petitions on a showing of good cause.

Automatic Record Clearance

You might not need to file anything. Since 2023, with full rollout continuing into 2024, the California Department of Justice reviews criminal records monthly and grants automatic conviction relief to people who qualify under Penal Code 1203.425.⁷

Automatic relief applies if all of the following are true:

You are not required to register as a sex offender
You have no active probation, parole, or community supervision
You are not currently serving a sentence or facing pending charges
Your conviction occurred on or after January 1, 1973

Timing depends on the type of case. Probation cases receive relief once you appear to have completed probation without revocation. Misdemeanors without probation clear one year after judgment. Felonies (other than probation completions) clear four years after all terms of incarceration, supervision, and parole are complete, with no new felony conviction during that period.⁷

One important limit: automatic felony relief does not reach serious felonies (as defined in PC 1192.7), violent felonies (as defined in PC 667.5), or offenses requiring sex offender registration.³ If your felony falls into one of those categories, you’ll need to petition manually.

What a Dismissal Does Not Fix

Even when your case qualifies and you win the petition, some consequences survive. Knowing them ahead of time keeps you from expecting more than the law delivers.

Firearm Rights

A California dismissal does not restore gun rights. PC 1203.4 says so directly: any firearm prohibition tied to the conviction remains in full effect after dismissal.¹ Felony convictions and certain misdemeanors (including domestic violence) trigger state and federal firearm bans that a dismissal alone won’t remove. Restoring firearm rights after a felony generally requires a Governor’s pardon or, in limited cases, a Certificate of Rehabilitation.

Immigration Consequences

Federal immigration law uses its own definition of “conviction” and largely ignores state rehabilitative dismissals. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a conviction exists whenever there was a guilty plea or admission plus some form of punishment, even if the state later dismisses the case.⁸ A standard PC 1203.4 expungement generally won’t stop deportation or fix inadmissibility. The relief that carries weight in immigration court is a vacatur based on a legal defect like an involuntary plea or ineffective counsel. Talk to an immigration attorney before filing if immigration is your main concern.

International Travel

A dismissed conviction can still block entry into other countries. Canada is the most common problem: a single DUI can prevent entry, and Canadian and U.S. authorities share criminal history data. Some countries specifically ask about expunged or sealed records and will deny admission anyway. Check the entry rules for your destination before assuming a dismissal will clear the way.

Certain Disclosures Remain Required

Employment protections under Labor Code 432.7 are strong, but they don’t cover everything. You still have to disclose a dismissed conviction when applying for public office, seeking a state or local professional license, or contracting with the California State Lottery Commission.¹ Law enforcement and certain government positions will also still see the record.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1203.4 – Dismissal of Accusation or Information
2
California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 432.7
3
California Legislative Information. Senate Bill 731
4
California Courts. Record Cleaning – Felony Convictions and Proposition 47
5
California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 17 – Classification of Offenses
6
California Courts. Proposition 47 Frequently Asked Questions
7
California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 1203.425
8
Legal Information Institute. 8 USC 1101(a)(48) – Definition of Conviction