Legal Guidance for Real-World Decisions

For many Californians, a criminal record can continue to affect employment, housing, licensing, and everyday opportunities long after a case is over. That is why people often ask about “expungement.” In California, however, the term can be misleading: true expungement—meaning a complete erasure of the record—generally does not exist. Instead, California provides several forms of record relief, most commonly a court dismissal under Penal Code section 1203.4 and related statute