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How Do I Seal My Juvenile Record in California?

If you completed your probation, it should have automatically been sealed. If you didn’t, then you’ll have to petition the Court.   

Once a juvenile offender — that is, a person who committed an offense when she was 17 or younger — successfully completes probation, the Juvenile Court is required to dismiss the juvenile’s petition; seal all of the Court’s records regarding that petition; and order the police, the Probation Department, and the Department of Justice to seal all of their records regarding the petition as well.[i]

Not only that, but each agency must inform the Juvenile Court that it has complied with the Court’s order and has actually sealed the records.[ii] Finally, the Court must give notice to the juvenile and her attorney that the Court issued all of these orders.[iii] (Note: The Court’s order to seal the records will also include a date by which the records must be physically destroyed.[iv])

Once a juvenile’s record is sealed, she can lawfully state to prospective employers, colleges, or anyone else that she has never been arrested, prosecuted, or found culpable of the sealed offense.[v]

But What If I Didn’t Complete My Juvenile Probation?

If you did not complete your juvenile probation, then you must petition the Juvenile Court to seal your record.[vi] Generally, you will not be able to petition the Juvenile Court until you reach the age of 23.[vii]

Once you petition the Juvenile Court, the Court will hold a hearing to see if you have been rehabilitated to the Court’s satisfaction.[viii] This means that, at minimum, you have not since been convicted of any felony or of a misdemeanor crime involving “moral turpitude.[ix]” If you prevail at the hearing, your record will be sealed,[x] but it won’t be destroyed until you turn 38 years old.[xi]

Serious Crimes Can Never Be Sealed – Even If Committed When You Were a Juvenile

Prospective employers do not have access to sealed juvenile records. And juveniles who have had their records sealed do not have to disclose their prior arrests and adverse adjudications, even if asked.[xii]

The only exception to this rule is if

  1. the offense that the juvenile committed is listed in Welfare and Institutions Code section 707(b); and
  2. the juvenile was 14 or older when she committed the offense.[xiii]

In that case, the juvenile’s record cannot be sealed, even if the juvenile successfully completed her probation.[xiv] 707(b) offenses are much more serious and include crimes such as arson,[xv] robbery,[xvi] kidnapping,[xvii] and assault by means likely to cause great bodily injury[xviii].

Essentially, as long as the underlying offense was not enumerated in Welfare and Institutions Code section 707(b), then all records of this juvenile incident will be sealed by the Juvenile Court.

Conclusion

Completing your juvenile probation should have triggered the automatic sealing of your juvenile record. If you failed to complete your probation, you can still seal your juvenile record — but you’ll have to wait at least 5 years (and stay out of trouble during that time) to do so.

Note: An adverse juvenile adjudication is different from an adult conviction. There is a separate process — known as expungement — for removing adult convictions form your record.

[i] Welfare and Institutions Code 786(a).

[ii] Welfare and Institutions Code §786(a).

[iii] Welfare and Institutions Code §786(a).

[iv] Welfare and Institutions Code §786(a).

[v] Welfare and Institutions Code §786(b).

[vi] Welfare & Institutions Code §781(a)(1)(A).

[vii] Technically, a person is eligible to petition the Juvenile Court to seal a juvenile adjudication for which she did not complete probation once: (1) she turns 18; and (2) at least 5 years have passed since the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court has terminated. Welfare and Institutions Code §781(a)(1)(A). In most instances, jurisdiction will terminate upon the juvenile reaching the age of 18. However, the Juvenile Court has discretion to maintain jurisdiction until the juvenile turns 21. See Welfare and Institutions Code §303(a).

[viii] Welfare and Institutions Code §781(a)(1)(A).

[ix] Welfare and Institutions Code §781(a)(1)(A). “Moral turpitude” is a legal term that means that when a person committed a crime, he knew — at that moment— that what he was doing was wrong yet still chose to do it anyway. Crimes involving moral turpitude include robbery (People v. Stewart (1985) 171 Cal.3d 59, 66); receiving stolen property (People v. Rodriguez (1986), 177 Cal.3d 174, 179); felony hit & run (People v. Bautista (1990 ) 217 Cal.3d 1, 7; and grand theft (People v. Boyd (1985) 167 Cal.3d 36, 45).

[x] Welfare and Institutions Code §§781(a)(1)(A), (B).

[xi] Welfare and Institutions Code §781(d).

[xii] Welfare and Institutions Code §786(b).

[xiii] Welfare and Institutions Code §§786(d), 781(a)(1)(D), 707(b).

[xiv] Welfare and Institutions Code §§786(d), 781(a)(1)(D), 707(b).

[xv] Welfare and Institutions Code §§707(b)(2).

[xvi] Welfare and Institutions Code §§707(b)(3).

[xvii] Welfare and Institutions Code §§707(b)(9), (10), (11), (26), (27).

[xviii] Welfare and Institutions Code §707(b)(14).

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