How to Apply for Expungement of Misdemeanor Charges in California

Are you trying to expunge misdemeanor charges in California? Learn how this process works (and why hiring a qualified expungement lawyer is a good idea).

Do you have misdemeanor charges in your past? If so, they could have a long-lasting effect on your life – but these effects don’t have to stick around forever. In some cases, people who have been convicted of misdemeanors are able to strike them from the record.

The key to doing this is understanding how the expungement process works in California. Here, you’ll learn all about misdemeanor expungement (and how hiring an expungement lawyer can help).

How Can Misdemeanor Charges Affect Your Life?

While misdemeanors aren’t as serious as felonies, these charges can still negatively affect your life. Making matters worse, these problems often go beyond immediate consequences like fines and jail time.

If one or more misdemeanor convictions are still on your record, you could run into issues while:

• Seeking employment. Potential employers running background checks could find your past misdemeanor convictions. Because of that, you might miss out on job opportunities.
• Getting education/professional licences. Your previous criminal activity could also prevent you from getting into some schools or pursuing jobs that require licenses (for example, medicine or law).
• Searching for housing. Finally, criminal background checks from landlords may interfere with your ability to find housing.

The California Expungement Process for Misdemeanor Charges

Fortunately, many California residents don’t have to live with consequences like these for the rest of their lives. To be eligible for misdemeanor dismissal, you’ll need to:

• Have no new cases pending, and
• Not be on probation/parole for any case

Assuming you meet both of these requirements, you can use form CR-180 (Petition for Dismissal) to ask the court to dismiss your misdemeanor charges. If you’re still on probation for your case, you’ll need to request early termination from probation under Penal Code Section 1203.3 before moving forward with this process. To do that, you can write a request to the court.

After you submit form CR-180, the court’s decision will vary based on your probation status:

• If you received early termination of probation or satisfied your probation’s terms and conditions, the court must grant your petition for dismissal.
• If you failed to satisfy your probation’s terms/conditions, the court is responsible for deciding how to proceed with your petition.
• If you weren’t given probation in your case at all, you’ll have to wait a year or longer from your conviction date before pursuing dismissal.

Other Details to Keep in Mind

By now, you should understand the basics of getting misdemeanor charges dismissed in California. Still, you’ll also want to remember that:

• Your conviction might have been dismissed already. There’s a possibility that the California Department of Justice (DOJ) automatically dismissed your charges under Penal Code Section 1203.425. In that case, you don’t have to request dismissal from the court. (Not sure whether or not your conviction was dismissed? In that case, you can ask the DOJ for your Record of Arrest and Prosecution sheet.)
• You may have an opportunity to reduce your conviction to an infraction. That’s true if your offense appears in Penal Code Section 19.8(a), anyway.
• You could be eligible to apply for a Certificate of Rehabilitation. This applies to people with misdemeanor convictions requiring them to register as sex offenders (as listed in Penal Code Section 290) that have been previously dismissed by a court under Penal Code Section 1203.4.

The Differences Between Misdemeanor and Felony Dismissal Court Cases

As is the case for misdemeanors, you can request dismissal of a felony conviction if you don’t have any new cases pending and aren’t on parole or probation. However, the process of dismissing felony cases differs from pursuing expungement for misdemeanor offenses.

There are four basic paths to dismissal for felony convictions. Here’s what you can expect while trying to expunge:

1. Felony convictions with probation or county jail sentences. Like misdemeanors, court approval of these convictions can vary based on your probation status. If your offense is a “wobbler” as defined in Penal Code Section 17(b), you can also ask for it to be reduced to a misdemeanor.
2. Felony convictions with county jail sentences under Penal Code Section 1170(h)(5). The court is free to decide whether or not to approve dismissal requests for these cases. If your case included mandatory supervision, you can request dismissal a year after completing your sentence; if it didn’t include this form of supervision, you’ll have to wait two years.
3. Felony convictions with state prison sentences. Before January 1, 2023, people with these convictions could only ask for dismissal if a legal change made their offense punishable by time in county jail instead (or if they were involved in a fire camp/institutional firehouse). From that date forward, the court can dismiss these cases two years after you complete your sentence (assuming your conviction did not require you to register as a sex offender). The court will have discretion to approve or deny your request.
4. Felony convictions if you participated in a fire camp/institutional firehouse. If you were involved in one of these programs while serving time in prison or jail, you can ask for dismissal under Penal Code Section 1203.4b (assuming your conviction was not related to certain serious offenses). The court will ultimately decide whether or not to grant your request.

The Benefits of Hiring an Expungement Lawyer

If you want to file to clean up a misdemeanor conviction, navigating California courts on your own can be confusing and time-consuming. Working with an experienced California expungement lawyer ensures your case is handled correctly and efficiently. That’s exactly what you get with Cyrus Tabibnia and the legal team at Tabibnia Law Firm.

With more than 20 years of experience in California expungement, we provide the guidance and information you need to have your petition properly filed. With our help, your petition will be filed as it should (and you’ll have 24/7 access to legal guidance along the way). Dial (866) 511-2659 or fill out our online contact form to take the first step!