What a record actually stops you doing
Not the general answer — the specific one, for the specific thing you are trying to do. Some of these pages say a dismissal will not help, because for some of these things it will not.
Getting your own recordRequest your state summary criminal history from the California Department of Justice. You are fingerprinted at a Live Scan locati…Renting a homeA dismissed or sealed conviction should not be reported by a tenant-screening company, and several California cities limit what a …Travelling to CanadaCanada decides who it admits under its own law and is not bound by a California court's dismissal. A DUI in particular is treated …VotingIn California you can vote with a felony conviction. Since 2021, people on parole can vote. The only people who cannot are those c…College and financial aidA drug conviction no longer makes you ineligible for federal student aid. The FAFSA question about drug convictions was removed. A…Volunteering and coachingA dismissal helps with most volunteer roles. It helps least with roles involving children in licensed settings, because California…Adoption and fosteringA dismissal may not be enough. California's resource family approval process applies its own criminal background standard, a limit…Federal jobs and clearanceA California dismissal does not hide a conviction from federal hiring or clearance adjudication. Both ask about it directly, both …Professional licensingA California licensing board may not deny a licence on the basis of a conviction dismissed under Penal Code 1203.4, 1203.4a, 1203.…
Find out where you actually stand
The check is free, takes about two minutes, and needs no account and no card. If your record cannot be cleared yet, it tells you that and why.