Clearing a criminal record in Merced County

Merced County petitions are filed at the Ogletree Jr. Courthouse in Merced, our flat fee covers whatever the court charges to file, and you do not need to live here, or come to court, to clear a case from here.

Where a petition is filed in Merced County

Record-clearing petitions are filed in the county where you were convicted, which means Merced County petitions go to the Superior Court of California, County of Merced (court website).

What Merced County charges to file

Merced County does not publish a filing fee for a record-clearing petition that we were able to verify as of 2026-10-10. A good number of California counties charge nothing at all. Either way our fee is all-in, so if a fee applies we pay it.

Local notes for Merced County

• Merced County's name comes from the city of Merced, derived from the original Spanish name El Río de Nuestra Señora de la Merced ("River of Our Lady of Mercy".
• The Self-Help Center (Room 1400 of the Ogletree Jr. Courthouse, with a second location at the Los Banos Courthouse) does not list expungement/record clearing among its services.

Who else is involved

• The petition is served on the Merced County District Attorney, which has a statutory window to respond.
• The court publishes self-help information if you would rather do this yourself.

Cities we serve in Merced County

Merced, Los Banos, Atwater, Livingston, Gustine, and everywhere else in the county. Where you live does not matter — the petition goes to the court that handled the conviction.

Legal information on this page was last checked against primary sources in October 2026. California law changes; if you are reading this long after that date, confirm before you rely on it.