California Expungement, Sealing & Court Record Removal

When an arrest record is sealed under § 851.91, it is restricted from public access in the California DOJ criminal history database, law enforcement background checks return no record, and the person may legally assert that the arrest did not occur in most contexts. However, certain government agencies and licensing boards retain access to sealed arrest records.

Filing a § 851.91 petition requires submitting documentation to the superior court in the county where the arrest occurred. The petition must include your personal information, the date and circumstances of the arrest, and a statement that you meet the eligibility criteria. The court reviews the petition and may hold a hearing if the prosecution objects. Timeline: typically 2 to 4 months from filing to decision.

SB 731: California's Automatic Expungement Expansion (2023)

Senate Bill 731, signed by Governor Newsom in September 2022 and effective January 1, 2023, significantly expanded automatic expungement relief in California. Under SB 731:

• Individuals who completed a felony sentence (including prison time) and have had no new felony convictions for four years automatically qualify for a dismissal under an expanded version of § 1203.4 - without needing to file a petition.
• The California DOJ is required to automatically process these dismissals for eligible individuals.
• Drug convictions, property crimes, and many other felonies that were previously ineligible for § 1203.4 relief are now covered under SB 731's expanded automatic process.
• The automatic relief does not apply to serious or violent felonies listed in Penal Code § 667.5(c) or § 1192.7(c), sexual offenses requiring sex offender registration, or certain other excluded offenses.

SB 731 is a significant step forward in reintegration policy - but it faces the same digital limitation as all other California expungement forms: third-party websites are not part of the automatic relief process. If your record was previously published on CourtListener, Justia, or aggregator sites, it will remain there until you separately address each platform.

What Records Can Be Removed in California?

The table below summarizes what is and is not achievable across different record types and platforms in California:

Why Your California Record Still Shows Online After Expungement

This is the single most common question we receive from California clients: "I got my expungement six months ago - why does Google still show my case?" The answer lies in how third-party legal databases operate.

Sites like CourtListener, Justia, FindLaw, Casetext, and Unicourt are not operated by the California courts system. They are independent companies that scraped and indexed California court records - often years before your expungement - and built searchable databases from that data. When the California DOJ updates its records to reflect your dismissal, it does not send a data feed to CourtListener. When the superior court clerk seals your file, they do not email Justia. The platforms that indexed your data are legally independent entities operating under their own policies.

The result is a structural gap: your legal record says one thing; the internet says another. And because search engines like Google index these third-party sites, your name search often returns the original case data as the top result - even though the legal system has officially granted you relief.

Beyond legal databases, California residents face another layer of exposure from data broker aggregators like Spokeo, BeenVerified, TruthFinder, Intelius, and Whitepages. These services pull from court records, arrest logs, and news sources to build personal profiles. They often show arrest history, case numbers, and charge descriptions regardless of expungement status.

Which California Sites Show Your Court Records

Here are the primary platforms that commonly surface California court records in search results:

• courts.ca.gov and county superior court portals: The California Courts website links to individual county superior court case management systems. Many counties - including Los Angeles (L.A. Court Connect), San Diego (Smart Search), and Alameda - maintain searchable public case access portals. After sealing or expungement, these portals should restrict public access, but the timeline for updates varies by county.
• CourtListener (courtlistener.com): The Free Law Project's CourtListener database contains millions of federal and state court opinions and docket entries. California appellate and superior court filings are frequently indexed here. CourtListener accepts removal requests for expunged records with documentation.
• Justia (justia.com): One of the largest free legal information sites, Justia indexes California court opinions, including California Court of Appeal and California Supreme Court decisions. Lower court case data also appears. Justia has a content removal request process.
• FindLaw (findlaw.com): Owned by Thomson Reuters, FindLaw publishes California case law and has an established removal request process for individuals whose cases are expunged or sealed.
• Spokeo, BeenVerified, Intelius: Data aggregators that compile personal profiles including criminal history. California's CCPA provides a legal basis for opt-out and deletion requests to these platforms.
• Google News and local news sites: If your arrest or case was covered by local news, those articles may rank highly for your name. News outlets have their own editorial policies on removal, but some will de-index or remove content after expungement upon request.

How to File for Expungement in California: Step-by-Step

1. 1
   Confirm eligibility under Penal Code § 1203.4

   Verify you completed probation (or were granted early discharge), have no pending charges, and your offense is not among the excluded categories under § 1203.4(b). For prison-sentence felonies, check SB 731 automatic relief eligibility through the California DOJ's record management system.

2. 2
   Obtain your criminal history records

   Request a copy of your California criminal history from the California DOJ using the "Record Review" process (Form BCIA 8705). This costs $25 and ensures you have the correct case numbers and case details for your petition.

3. 3
   File the petition in the superior court of the conviction county

   Complete Judicial Council Form CR-180 (Petition for Dismissal) and, if applicable, Form CR-181 (Order for Dismissal). File with the clerk of the superior court in the county where you were convicted. Filing fees range from $120 to $400 depending on the county and offense type. Some counties offer fee waivers for low-income petitioners.

4. 4
   Serve the prosecutor and attend any hearing

   The district attorney's office is typically served with the petition. Many counties grant uncontested § 1203.4 petitions on the papers without a hearing, but some require a brief court appearance. If the DA objects, a hearing will be scheduled.

5. 5
   Receive the signed order and certified copies

   Once granted, the judge signs Form CR-181. Request several certified copies from the clerk - you will need these when submitting removal requests to CourtListener, Justia, FindLaw, and data broker platforms. Timeline from filing to signed order: 3 to 5 months in most California counties.

6. 6
   Submit online removal requests to each third-party platform

   With your certified expungement order in hand, submit documented removal requests to CourtListener, Justia, FindLaw, Casetext, Unicourt, Spokeo, BeenVerified, and any other platform showing your record. Each platform has its own process. Use your CCPA rights explicitly in requests to data brokers. Allow 2 to 8 weeks for responses.

7. 7
   Request Google de-indexing for remaining search results

   After source pages have been removed or restricted, submit a Google Personal Information Removal Tool request for any remaining search result URLs that still surface your records. Google typically processes these within 2 to 6 weeks.

Using California's CCPA to Remove Data Broker Records

California's Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which took effect in 2020 and was strengthened by CPRA in 2023, gives California residents powerful rights over their personal data held by covered businesses. Most data broker and background check sites that collect, process, and sell personal information about California residents are subject to CCPA.

Under CCPA, you have the right to:

• Know what personal information a business holds about you.
• Delete personal information a business has collected from or about you, subject to certain exceptions.
• Opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information.
• Non-retaliation for exercising your rights.

In the context of court record removal, CCPA deletion requests are most effective against data broker aggregators (Spokeo, BeenVerified, Whitepages, TruthFinder, etc.) and certain background check platforms. To exercise your rights, submit a written deletion request to the company's designated privacy contact, include your name, contact information, and a description of the records you want deleted. Reference California Civil Code § 1798.100 et seq. explicitly.

Be aware that some platforms assert exemptions for "publicly available" information or claim records originally published by government entities are outside CCPA's scope. These claims have varying legal validity, and enforcement through the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) is an option for non-compliant businesses. Professional services can navigate these disputes more effectively than individual requests in many cases.

Attorney vs. Reputation Management: Which Do You Need?

California clients frequently ask whether they should hire a criminal defense attorney, a reputation management company, or both. The honest answer is: it depends on where you are in the process.

You need a licensed California attorney if:

• You have not yet obtained your expungement or arrest seal and need guidance on eligibility and filing.
• The prosecutor is opposing your petition.
• You have a complex record with multiple convictions across multiple counties.
• Your offense may be subject to exclusion and you need legal analysis.
• You're navigating Proposition 47 reclassification or Proposition 57 parole consideration alongside expungement.

You need a reputation management company if:

• You already have your expungement order but your record still appears on Google.
• Third-party legal databases, news sites, or data brokers are showing your record and have not acted on your removal requests.
• You want systematic, managed outreach to all platforms rather than doing it yourself one platform at a time.
• Speed matters - you have a job offer, background check, or professional licensing situation pending.

The legal process handles what is in California's official system. Reputation management handles what is visible online. Most clients with a genuine online presence problem need both at different stages of the process.