The relief you may already have.
Penal Code section 1203.425 provides for automatic conviction record relief. Under the section, commencing 1 October 2024 and subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, the Department of Justice reviews the statewide criminal justice databases on a monthly basis and identifies people whose convictions meet the statutory criteria.
No petition. No filing fee. No attorney required. The section does the work.
I am telling you this on a page where I would rather be selling you a petition, because it is true and because you will find out eventually. If your conviction qualifies, the relief may already have happened or be due to happen without you.
The section was amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 444.
Who it excludes.
The statutory conditions are specific, and several of them exclude people who most want relief. Among the criteria, a person is eligible only if they are not required to register under the Sex Offender Registration Act and do not have an active record for local, state or federal supervision in the Supervised Release File, alongside further conditions based on the information in the department's record.
Two practical consequences. If you are still on supervision, this is not your route yet. And because the process runs on what is in the state's database, a record with errors in it can fail to be picked up when it should have been.
Related: Penal Code 851.93 deals with automatic sealing of certain arrest records, and was also amended by AB 134 in 2023.
When you still need to petition.
If you are excluded by the criteria. The petition routes under 1203.4 and its neighbours remain open regardless.
If you need a reduction rather than a dismissal. Automatic relief does not reduce a felony to a misdemeanour. That is Penal Code 17(b), and it requires an application.
If the record is wrong. An automatic process operating on inaccurate data produces an inaccurate outcome, and correcting it is its own piece of work.
If you need it evidenced now. A pending automatic process is not much use to someone with a job offer conditional on a background check this month.
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.
Is my record cleared automatically?
It may be. Section 1203.425 has the Department of Justice reviewing the statewide databases monthly, commencing 1 October 2024 and subject to budget appropriation, to identify convictions meeting the criteria.
Do I still need a lawyer?
If you qualify for automatic relief, possibly not for that. I would rather tell you that than take a fee for filing something the state is already doing.
Why would I be excluded?
The criteria exclude people required to register under the Sex Offender Registration Act and those with an active supervision record, among other conditions.
How do I find out if it happened?
By obtaining your own state summary criminal history record. If it has not been applied and you think it should have been, that is worth looking into — the process runs on the database, and databases have errors.
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.
