Clear Your California Criminal Record — Get Your Future Back.
An old conviction shouldn’t cost you the next job, the next apartment, or the next chance. PC 1203.4 expungement gives qualified Californians a clean slate — and Jimmy can tell you in 15 minutes whether you qualify.
Free 15-Minute Evaluation · Confidential · Direct Attorney Response
Do You Qualify?
Find out in four questions.
Most people who are eligible for expungement don’t know it. Answer these four questions to see where you stand.
Likely eligible
Based on your answers, you may qualify for expungement under PC 1203.4. The next step is a free 15-minute evaluation with Jimmy to confirm eligibility and walk through the process.
Talk to Jimmy — Free EvaluationPossibly eligible — felony with complications
Felony expungements are more complex but many qualify under PC 1203.4. Some felonies can also be reduced to misdemeanors first under PC 17(b), which strengthens the expungement. Jimmy can assess your specific conviction in a free evaluation.
Get a Free AssessmentMay face barriers — let’s review your options
Incomplete or violated probation creates a hurdle, but it is not always a permanent bar. Courts can sometimes grant early termination of probation as a first step. Jimmy can review whether that path is available in your case.
Talk to Jimmy About Your OptionsState prison — a different process
PC 1203.4 expungement is not available for state prison sentences, but other relief may apply — including a Certificate of Rehabilitation or Governor’s Pardon. Jimmy can walk you through what options exist for your situation.
Find Out What Options You HaveWhat Changes — And What Doesn’t
What expungement actually does for you under California law.
Expungement under PC 1203.4 is a real and meaningful legal remedy — but it helps to understand exactly what it does and doesn’t change, so expectations are accurate going in.
What happens when a conviction is expunged
The court reopens your case. Your guilty plea or verdict is withdrawn and a plea of not guilty is entered. The case is then dismissed. This is a court order — not an erasure, but a dismissal of record.
Employment background checks
For most private employment, an expunged conviction does not need to be disclosed. Under California law, you can lawfully answer “no” when an employer asks whether you have been convicted of a crime — if that conviction has been expunged. This is the most significant practical benefit for the majority of people who pursue expungement.
Professional licensing
Many California licensing boards — nursing, real estate, contracting, teaching — require disclosure of expunged convictions. An expungement still materially helps in these contexts: licensing boards are required to consider the expungement as a factor in their decision, and a dismissed case is evaluated very differently from a live conviction.
Immigration
Expungement does not eliminate a conviction for federal immigration purposes. If immigration status is a concern, this needs to be part of the conversation with your attorney before filing.
Gun rights
Expungement alone does not restore firearm rights lost due to a felony conviction. For wobbler offenses — charges that can be either a felony or misdemeanor — a PC 17(b) motion to reduce the felony to a misdemeanor is often the more powerful first step, and can be combined with expungement.
What stays on record
An expunged conviction may still appear in certain government background checks — law enforcement records, applications for public office, and some professional licensing applications. The expungement shows as a dismissal, which is meaningfully different from a conviction, but it does not create a blank record for every purpose.
What’s Actually at Stake
An old record has a long reach. Expungement shortens it.
The clients who pursue expungement are not in crisis. They are moving forward — applying for a better job, going back to school, changing careers, buying a home, starting a business, or simply wanting to stop explaining something that happened years ago every time an opportunity arises.
A criminal record follows a person into every background check, every rental application, every professional license review, and every job interview where the employer goes looking. Expungement does not undo the past — but it gives the law’s formal recognition that the case is closed, the terms were completed, and the matter is dismissed.
For a working parent applying for a promotion, that distinction is the difference between getting the interview and not. For a career changer pursuing a professional license, it is the difference between a difficult conversation and a disqualification. For someone who made a mistake at 22 and is now 34, it is the difference between carrying that mistake indefinitely and putting it to rest.
The process is straightforward for most people who qualify. The evaluation is free. The question is whether an old conviction is worth continuing to carry when it doesn’t have to be.
How It Works
A straightforward process for most qualifying cases.
Expungement is not a trial. For most qualifying cases it is a petition process — paperwork filed with the court, a review by the judge, and in most cases a ruling without a contested hearing. Here is how it typically moves.
Eligibility Confirmation
Jimmy reviews your conviction record, probation history, and current status to confirm you qualify under PC 1203.4 and identify whether any preliminary steps — such as a PC 17(b) reduction for wobbler felonies — would strengthen your petition.
Petition Preparation
The petition and supporting documents are prepared and filed with the court where the original conviction occurred. Accuracy and completeness at this stage matter — errors in the filing can delay the process or require refiling.
Court Review
The court reviews the petition. In most uncontested cases, the judge rules on the paperwork without requiring your appearance. Some cases require a brief hearing, particularly for felony expungements or cases with probation complications.
Order of Dismissal
When granted, the court issues an order dismissing the case under PC 1203.4. You receive documentation of the dismissal that can be used in background check disputes and professional licensing applications.
Find Out If You Qualify
Free 15-minute evaluation. Direct answer from Jimmy.
The evaluation is free, takes about 15 minutes, and gives you a direct answer on whether you qualify and what the process looks like for your specific conviction. No obligation. No intake form routed to a paralegal. Jimmy takes the call.
Free Expungement Evaluation
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Free Evaluation · Confidential · No Obligation · Direct Attorney Response