Can a DUI be dismissed?
In most cases, yes. A DUI conviction is dismissed under the same provision as any other — Penal Code section 1203.4 — where probation was completed, or discharged early, or where the court grants relief in its discretion and in the interest of justice.
The usual DUI sentence involves a period of probation, which means the ordinary route applies: finish the probation, satisfy the conditions, and petition once the period has terminated. At the point of petitioning you must not be serving a sentence, on probation, or charged with another offence.
See Penal Code 1203.4 for how the section works generally.
The part that catches DUI clients out.
A dismissal is a criminal remedy. It does not clean up your driving record, and those are two different records held by two different bodies.
The DMV keeps its own record of the DUI, and that record is what governs your licence and what your insurer sees. A 1203.4 dismissal does not remove it. Nor does the dismissal stop the conviction counting as a prior if there is a later DUI — the priors that make a fourth offence chargeable as a felony still count. See felony DUI.
So the honest summary is: a dismissed DUI helps meaningfully with private employment and with how the conviction reads on a background check. It does not give you your driving history back, and it does not reset the clock on priors.
Here is what a dismissal under 1203.4 does not do, and this is the part most pages skip. It does not erase the case from existence. The record of the arrest and the case remains; what changes is that the conviction is set aside and the accusation dismissed, and you can lawfully answer most private employment questions accordingly.
It does not restore firearm rights on its own. It does not remove a sex offender registration requirement. It does not stop the conviction being used as a prior in a later criminal case, and it does not bind every state licensing body. Some applications — government positions, certain licences, and some professional boards — can still require disclosure.
None of that makes it not worth doing. It makes it worth doing with an accurate picture of what you are getting.
When it's worth doing.
If you work anywhere a background check applies. This is the clearest case and usually the reason people call.
If the conviction is a wobbler that was filed as a felony. Reduction under Penal Code 17(b) may be available first, and taken together the two remedies do more than either alone.
If you are waiting on automatic relief. Some convictions now qualify for relief without a petition at all. See automatic record relief before paying anyone to file something you may not need.
How I handle these.
- Pull the record first. Not the version you remember — the actual disposition. Half the questions people ask me about eligibility are answered by the record itself.
- Check whether relief has already happened. Automatic relief means some people are paying to file something they do not need.
- Work out which remedy, or which combination. Reduction, dismissal and sealing do different things, and the right answer depends on what you actually need it for.
- File it properly. These are petitions with requirements, and the avoidable failures are procedural rather than substantive.
- Tell you plainly what it will and won't change. Before you decide, not after.
Where I handle these.
Across ten Northern California counties, from offices in Sacramento at 701 E Street and Roseville at 970 Reserve Drive, Suite 116. Licensed since 1999, State Bar number 203402. Record relief petitions are filed in the county where the conviction happened, so the county matters here.
Questions I hear most.
Can a DUI be expunged in California?
In most cases the conviction can be dismissed under Penal Code 1203.4, on the same terms as other convictions — completed probation, early discharge, or the court's discretion in the interest of justice.
Will it come off my driving record?
No. The DMV record is separate from the criminal record and a 1203.4 dismissal does not remove it. That is the single most common disappointment on this topic.
Will it stop the DUI counting as a prior?
No. A dismissed DUI can still count as a prior in a later case, including toward the fourth-offence felony under Vehicle Code 23550.
How long do I have to wait?
Until the probation period has terminated, and you must not then be serving a sentence, on probation, or charged with another offence. Early discharge from probation can bring that date forward.
Is it worth it if it doesn't clear my driving record?
For most people, yes — because the thing costing them work is the criminal conviction showing on a background check, not the DMV history. But it depends on what you actually need it for, which is worth a conversation rather than an assumption.
The statutes on this page
Statutory text checked against the California Legislative Information site on 6 August 2026. Record relief law in California has changed repeatedly in recent years — if you are reading this well after that date, ask rather than relying on it.
I treat my clients the way I would want an attorney to treat my mother, if she met with one. Call (916) 277-8299. The consultation is free.
