Eligibility
You are eligible to seal your juvenile record if:
- You are 18 years of age or older OR at least five years have passed since your last arrest, discharge from probation, closure of case, or citation to appear;
- You have not been convicted in criminal (adult) court of a felony or a misdemeanor involving "moral turpitude" (including fraud, theft, sex, drug-related offenses, and offenses involving great bodily injury) since your last arrest or discharge from probation;
- The court is satisfied that you have been rehabilitated;
- Your case started and ended in juvenile court; and
- You do not have an open civil suit regarding the case on your juvenile record.
You are not eligible to have your juvenile record(s) sealed if:
- The juvenile court found that you committed a serious and violent offense when you were 14 or older;
- You were transferred to and convicted in adult criminal court; or
- You do not meet the above requirements.
Update 2015
A new law was passed that may allow you to dismiss your juvenile case if you committed a serious or violent offense. If a judge believes it is in your best interest and you meet the dismissal criteria, your case will be categorized as "dismissed" and you will then be eligible to seal your juvenile record.
Note: If you were charged with these offenses, but adjudicated of lesser offenses, you may still be able to have your records sealed.
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707(b) offenses
There are 29 offenses listed under California Welfare and Institutions Code § 707(b) that are considered serious or violent in nature. If a person commits one of these offenses at age 14 or older, he or she will no longer be eligible to seal his or her juvenile record. These offenses include:
- Murder.
- Arson, as provided in subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 451 of the Penal Code.
- Robbery.
- Rape with force, violence, or threat of great bodily harm.
- Sodomy by force, violence, duress, menace, or threat of great bodily harm.
- A lewd or lascivious act as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 288 of the Penal Code.
- Oral copulation by force, violence, duress, menace, or threat of great bodily harm.
- An offense specified in subdivision (a) of Section 289 of the Penal Code.
- Kidnapping for ransom.
- Kidnapping for purposes of robbery.
- Kidnapping with bodily harm.
- Attempted murder.
- Assault with a firearm or destructive device.
- Assault by any means of force likely to produce great bodily injury.
- Discharge of a firearm into an inhabited or occupied building.
- An offense described in Section 1203.09 of the Penal Code.
- An offense described in Section 12022.5 or 12022.53 of the Penal Code.
- A felony offense in which the minor personally used a weapon described in any provision listed in Section 16590 of the Penal Code.
- A felony offense described in Section 136.1 or 137 of the Penal Code.
- Manufacturing, compounding, or selling one-half ounce or more of a salt or solution of a controlled substance specified in subdivision (e) of Section 11055 of the Health and Safety Code.
- A violent felony, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 of the Penal Code, which also would constitute a felony violation of subdivision (b) of Section 186.22 of the Penal Code.
- Escape, by the use of force or violence, from a county juvenile hall, home, ranch, camp, or forestry camp in violation of subdivision (b) of Section 871 if great bodily injury is intentionally inflicted upon an employee of the juvenile facility during the commission of the escape.
- Torture as described in Sections 206 and 206.1 of the Penal Code.
- Aggravated mayhem, as described in Section 205 of the Penal Code.
- Carjacking, as described in Section 215 of the Penal Code, while armed with a dangerous or deadly weapon.
- Kidnapping for purposes of sexual assault, as punishable in subdivision (b) of Section 209 of the Penal Code.
- Kidnapping as punishable in Section 209.5 of the Penal Code.
- The offense described in subdivision (c) of Section 26100 of the Penal Code.
- The offense described in Section 18745 of the Penal Code.