California automatic record relief is a state process in which the Department of Justice reviews its criminal history databases each month and attaches a notation to eligible arrests and convictions that restricts who can see them. The relief is granted without a petition, a lawyer, or a court appearance, under Penal Code 1203.425 for convictions and Penal Code 851.93 for arrests.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203-4252California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 851-93 The system began processing records in July 2022 and expanded on October 1, 2024 to cover additional felonies. What it actually accomplishes is narrower than the name suggests.
What the Relief Changes and What It Does Not
Your record is not deleted. It is not sealed in the ordinary sense, and it is not expunged. The arrest or conviction remains in the DOJ’s database. What changes is a notation added to the entry, and that notation controls whether the DOJ will share the record when someone runs a background check.3State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Automatic Record Relief – Penal Code sections 851.93 and 1203.425
In practical terms, a private employer running a DOJ fingerprint check will not see a conviction with a relief notation. Law enforcement still sees everything. Several government hiring and licensing categories also continue to receive the full record under Penal Code 11105, including education positions and peace officer applications.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 11105 If you’re applying in those fields, automatic relief will not hide the conviction from the hiring agency.
The statute does describe the relief as including dismissal of the conviction, so the legal effect is real. Just don’t picture the record disappearing from every database in the state. It’s a restriction on who gets to look.
Who Qualifies for Conviction Relief
Under Penal Code 1203.425, eligibility depends on the offense, the sentence, and the time elapsed since you finished it. The conviction must have occurred on or after January 1, 1973. There are three tracks.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203-425
- Probation completed without revocation: you qualify once the probation term shown in DOJ records has elapsed.
- Infraction or misdemeanor with no probation sentence: you qualify once the sentence is complete and at least one year has passed since the date of judgment.
- Felony with no probation sentence (or probation revoked): you qualify after finishing all incarceration, parole, mandatory supervision, and post-release community supervision, plus four additional years with no new felony conviction.
Three baseline conditions apply to every track. You cannot be required to register under the Sex Offender Registration Act. You cannot have an active record in the DOJ’s Supervised Release File. And DOJ records must not show you serving a sentence or facing pending charges.
The four-year felony clock is where people most often misread the rule. It does not start at sentencing or at prison release. It starts when your last form of supervision for that conviction ends. A new felony conviction during the four years resets it.
Who Qualifies for Arrest Relief
Arrests that did not result in a conviction are handled under Penal Code 851.93 on the same monthly cycle. The waiting period scales with the severity of the alleged offense.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 851-93
- Misdemeanor arrest with charges dismissed: eligible as soon as the dismissal is recorded.
- Misdemeanor arrest with no charges filed: eligible one year after the arrest date, provided no conviction resulted.
- Standard felony arrest with no charges filed: eligible three years after the arrest date.
- Felony arrest for an offense carrying eight or more years in prison, no charges filed: eligible six years after the arrest date.
- Completed diversion program: eligible once the program finishes, regardless of charge level.
If charges were filed and you were acquitted, you qualify regardless of which waiting tier would otherwise apply.
Convictions That Are Permanently Excluded
Three categories of felonies will never receive automatic relief. Serious felonies as defined in Penal Code 1192.7(c), which include murder, robbery, first-degree burglary, arson, kidnapping, and any felony where the defendant personally used a firearm, are excluded.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203-425 Violent felonies under Penal Code 667.5(c), which overlap with the serious felony list and add offenses like carjacking and continuous sexual abuse of a child, are also excluded.5California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 667.5 Any felony requiring sex offender registration is permanently ineligible.
Current legal status also matters. If you’re serving a sentence for any offense, on active supervision, or facing pending charges, the automated system skips your record until those conditions clear. Once they do and the required time has passed, the record should be picked up in a later monthly review.
How to Check Whether Your Record Received Relief
Request a copy of your state criminal history from the DOJ through a Live Scan fingerprinting provider. The DOJ charges a $25 processing fee, and a fee waiver is available for low-income individuals and people receiving public assistance.6State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Apply for a Fee Waiver The Live Scan operator will add a separate rolling fee that varies by location.
On the RAP sheet, read the disposition section for each listed arrest or conviction. A notation stating that conviction relief or arrest relief has been granted means the record is restricted from most private employer disclosure. Match the notation to the arrest date and charge to confirm it covers the specific case you care about.
If a record that should qualify has no notation, submit a Claim of Alleged Inaccuracy or Incompleteness form (BCIA 8706) to the DOJ.3State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Automatic Record Relief – Penal Code sections 851.93 and 1203.425 This is how you flag records the automated system missed because of incomplete court data. Include court minutes, proof of probation completion, discharge papers, and any other documentation you can gather. The DOJ needs to verify the missing information before it can grant relief manually.
Missing data is the most common reason eligible people haven’t received relief. The automated system can only act on what the DOJ’s electronic records contain. If a court never transmitted a disposition, or coded it incorrectly, the system can’t identify you as eligible.
What Employers Can and Cannot Do After Relief
Once relief is granted, California Labor Code 432.7 bars employers from asking about or considering the conviction in any employment decision. The statute specifically names convictions dismissed under Penal Code 1203.425 among those employers cannot inquire about, on an application or in an interview, and they cannot seek the information from an outside source either.7California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 432.7
You have a private right of action if an employer violates this. The remedy is actual damages or $200, whichever is greater, plus costs and attorney’s fees. For intentional violations, it rises to treble actual damages or $500, plus costs and fees, and the violation is a misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to $500.
The exceptions sit in Penal Code 11105. Fingerprint checks for education, law enforcement, and certain other government-regulated positions will still return the conviction along with the relief notation. Whether the hiring agency can consider it depends on the licensing or employment statute governing that field.
Why a Private Background Check May Still Show Your Record
The DOJ’s notation only controls what the DOJ discloses. Many private employers don’t use DOJ fingerprint checks. They hire commercial background screening companies that pull from courthouse databases, county records, and other public sources, which may never reflect the relief notation.3State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Automatic Record Relief – Penal Code sections 851.93 and 1203.425 This is where automatic relief most often fails in practice.
The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires background screening companies to follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy. A screening company that keeps reporting a dismissed conviction after you dispute it may be failing that standard.8Federal Trade Commission. Fair Credit Reporting Act You can dispute the item directly with the company. They have 30 days to investigate and must either verify, correct, or delete the entry, with written notice of the results within five business days of completing the reinvestigation. If they can’t verify accuracy, they must remove it. When an inaccurate report costs you a job offer, FCRA remedies include actual damages, statutory damages, and attorney’s fees.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports
Federal Consequences the State Relief Doesn’t Fix
California’s automatic relief doesn’t bind federal agencies, and this catches people off guard in three places.
Immigration
For immigration purposes, a conviction dismissed or expunged under a state rehabilitative statute is still a conviction. The Board of Immigration Appeals treats state actions that set aside guilty pleas through rehabilitative programs as leaving the underlying conviction intact.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Manual – Volume 12 – Citizenship and Naturalization – Part F – Good Moral Character – Chapter 2 – Adjudicative Factors A controlled substance offense or a crime involving moral turpitude will come up in naturalization or adjustment proceedings regardless of the relief notation. Plan on disclosing it.
Federal Security Clearances
Standard Form 86, the questionnaire for national security positions, requires disclosure of criminal history even if the record was sealed, expunged, or dismissed.11U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Standard Form 86 (SF-86) Questionnaire for National Security The narrow exception covers certain federal Controlled Substances Act convictions expunged under 21 U.S.C. 844 or 18 U.S.C. 3607. California’s automatic relief doesn’t fit that exception. Omitting a conviction on the SF-86 is usually treated as worse than the conviction itself.
Federal Firearms Law
Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing firearms.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Under 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(20), a conviction that has been expunged or set aside, or for which civil rights have been restored, is not treated as a conviction for federal firearms purposes, unless the relief itself prohibits firearms possession.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 921 – Definitions Whether California’s automatic relief qualifies as a set aside under that federal definition is unsettled enough that you should talk to an attorney before buying or possessing a firearm. Guessing wrong is a federal felony.
When to File a 1203.4 Petition Instead
If your conviction doesn’t qualify for the automatic process, or you need relief faster than the automated timeline allows, Penal Code 1203.4 offers a petition-based alternative. You ask the court to let you withdraw your guilty or no-contest plea and dismiss the charges. The petition requires at least 15 days’ notice to the prosecuting attorney.14California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203-4
For people who completed probation successfully, the court generally must grant the petition. For everyone else, it’s discretionary and turns on the interests of justice. Unpaid restitution cannot be used to deny the petition. The same baseline rule applies as with automatic relief: you can’t be serving a sentence, on probation, or charged with a new offense when you file.
The petition route has one meaningful advantage. Because a judge decides it, the process can reach cases the automated system can’t handle because of incomplete DOJ records. You present the documentation directly to the court and come away with a judicial order the DOJ must honor.