PC 1203.4

Expungement under Penal Code 1203.4

This is the one most people mean when they say expungement. It is a dismissal, not an erasure, and the difference matters more than almost anything else on this page.

What it does

The court lets you withdraw your plea or sets aside the verdict, then dismisses the case, which releases you from most of the penalties of the conviction.

What it does not do

It does not destroy the record, does not restore firearm rights, and does not excuse you from disclosing the conviction when you apply for public office, a state or local licence, or a State Lottery contract.

Penal Code 1203.4 is the main record-clearing statute in California, and it is the one the word 'expungement' almost always refers to. It is worth understanding exactly what it is, because the name oversells it.

What actually happens when it is granted

If you pleaded guilty or no contest, the court lets you withdraw that plea and enters a not-guilty plea in its place. If you went to trial and lost, the court sets the verdict aside. Either way, the court then dismisses the case. From that point the conviction is a dismissed case rather than a live one, and you are released from most of the penalties that came with it.

What it is genuinely good for

Employment is the strongest case. A California employer with five or more employees may not ask about or consider a conviction that has been dismissed, and that bar names section 1203.4 specifically. Licensing is nearly as strong: a board may not deny a licence based on a conviction dismissed under 1203.4, although you have to be able to prove the dismissal if it does not appear on the Department of Justice report, which is one of the better reasons to have the court order in your hand.

What it cannot do, in plain terms

It does not restore firearm rights. The statute says so directly: a dismissal does not permit a person to own, possess or control a firearm, and does not prevent a conviction under the firearms chapter.
It does not relieve you of the duty to disclose the conviction when you are asked directly on an application for public office, for a state or local licence, or to contract with the California State Lottery.
It does not stop the conviction being used against you in a later criminal case, including as a prior.
It does not help with immigration. A 1203.4 dismissal is generally not effective to eliminate a conviction for federal immigration purposes.
It does not touch your DMV record if the case was a DUI.

Mandatory, discretionary, and what that means for you

If you completed probation, relief is mandatory: the court is required to grant it. If probation was violated or revoked, or the offence is one of the Vehicle Code offences the statute carves out, the judge decides in the interests of justice instead. Discretionary does not mean unlikely. It means the petition has to make a case, and what you have done since matters.

Check whether the State already did it

Since October 2024 the Department of Justice reviews California records every month and grants relief automatically under Penal Code 1203.425 for a large class of convictions, at no cost and with no petition. It does not tell anyone when it happens. Before you pay anybody for a 1203.4 petition, order your own Department of Justice record and look for a note reading 'relief granted'. If it is there, you may not need to file at all.

There are still real reasons to petition anyway: automatic relief does not reduce a felony to a misdemeanour, it produces no document you can hand to a landlord or a licensing board, and some statutes specifically require proof of a court dismissal. But you should know which situation you are in before you spend money, not after.

Who qualifies

You were convicted in a California court
You were granted probation, and you completed it
You are not currently serving a sentence on any case
You are not currently charged with an offence
The offence is not one of those the statute excludes

Who does not

Certain sex offences named in the statute, including convictions under Penal Code 286(c), 288, 287(c), 288.5 and 289(j)
Some Vehicle Code offences, where relief is discretionary rather than mandatory
Cases where you are still on probation — though the court can end probation early under PC 1203.3

The forms and how long it takes

Filed on CR-180, CR-181, MC-031.

CR-180 — Petition for Dismissal
CR-181 — Order for Dismissal
MC-031 — Attached Declaration

Most counties take two to four months from filing. The district attorney gets notice and a chance to object, and some courts set a hearing while others decide on the papers.

Our flat fee for this is $599, all in, with the court filing fee included. See what that covers.

Common questions

Will a 1203.4 dismissal show up on a background check?

On an ordinary employment background check, a dismissed conviction generally should not be reported, and a California employer with five or more employees may not consider one. On a fingerprint-based Department of Justice or FBI check, the case still appears, with the dismissal noted. Police and courts always see it.

Can I say I have never been convicted after an expungement?

In most ordinary job applications in California, yes, because the employer may not ask. There are three situations where you must still disclose: applying for public office, applying for a state or local licence, and contracting with the California State Lottery. The statute names those three specifically.

How long after probation ends can I file?

There is no waiting period once probation is complete. You can file the day it ends. If you are still on probation and have done everything the court asked, a judge can end it early under Penal Code 1203.3 and the dismissal can follow straight afterwards.

Does it restore my gun rights?

No. The statute is explicit that it does not. If gun rights are the goal, the routes that can work are the expiry of a ten-year misdemeanour prohibition, a reduction to a misdemeanour in some cases, or a full Governor's pardon based on a Certificate of Rehabilitation. Anyone who sells you an expungement as a firearms fix is misleading you.

What if the judge says no?

A denial is not always final. Discretionary petitions are sometimes denied because the showing was thin rather than because the case was hopeless, and they can often be brought again later with better support. A denial for a statutory reason, such as the offence being excluded, is different.

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.