Maybe the case happened 10, 20 or even 30 years ago. You no longer have the paperwork, you don't remember the case number, and an online court search isn't turning anything up.
That does not necessarily mean the criminal record disappeared.
The goal is to identify what happened in the old case and then determine whether you need an expungement, arrest sealing, record correction, felony reduction, warrant resolution or some other relief.
Start with the court. If you know approximately where and when the case occurred, search the Superior Court records or contact the criminal clerk.
If you cannot locate enough information there, requesting your own California Department of Justice criminal history can help identify old arrests, charges and dispositions.
If the old case occurred in Orange County, I usually start by determining whether it can still be located through the Orange County Superior Court.
Helpful information includes:
Do not assume that an unsuccessful online search means the case never existed.
Older criminal records may be archived or stored somewhere other than the courthouse itself. California Courts warns that retrieving older records can take significantly longer than obtaining a current file.
Depending on the type of case and applicable record-retention rules, portions of an old court file may also eventually have been destroyed.
A Superior Court record concerns the particular criminal case handled by that court.
Depending on availability, it may include the complaint, plea, sentencing information, minute orders, probation proceedings and dismissal orders.
California DOJ maintains a statewide criminal-history repository based on information submitted by criminal justice agencies.
This personal criminal-history report is commonly called a RAP sheet — a record of arrests and prosecutions.
When the court search does not provide enough information, the next step may be a personal California DOJ Record Review.
California residents currently obtain their own DOJ criminal-history record by submitting fingerprints through Live Scan.
The current DOJ form is:
Request for Live Scan Service — Record Review
The form tells the Live Scan operator that you are requesting your own California criminal-history record for review.
California residents currently use Form BCIA 8016RR for a personal Record Review.
The operator electronically captures your fingerprints and submits them to California DOJ.
DOJ currently lists a $25 processing fee for a personal Record Review.
The Live Scan operator ordinarily charges an additional fingerprint rolling fee.
DOJ processes the fingerprints and provides you with your California criminal-history information.
Look for dates, arresting agencies, charges, court references and dispositions that can help identify the old case.
This is the type of record I am talking about.
A RAP sheet is much more useful for this purpose than simply Googling your name or relying on a commercial background-check website.
Depending on what agencies previously reported, the DOJ record may contain:
Those clues can sometimes give us exactly what we need to go back to the proper courthouse and locate the underlying case.
California's criminal-history system depends on law-enforcement agencies and courts transmitting accurate information to DOJ.
Sometimes disposition information is missing or incomplete.
California DOJ has a formal process for challenging inaccurate or incomplete information on a personal criminal-history record.
In this video, Orange County criminal defense attorney Hieu Vu explains what to do when an old criminal case is difficult to locate and you need the information to begin the record-clearing process.
Once the record arrives, the most useful information may be surprisingly basic:
Which agency arrested you and which court handled the prosecution?
What offense was originally alleged and what offense, if any, resulted in conviction?
Conviction, dismissal, diversion, acquittal, no filing, warrant or another disposition?
If the case resulted in an eligible conviction, one possible remedy is a dismissal under Penal Code §1203.4, commonly referred to as a California expungement.
If you were arrested but not convicted, California's arrest-sealing laws, including Penal Code §851.91, may apply depending on how the matter ended and your eligibility.
Occasionally, someone begins looking for an old case because they want an expungement and discovers something unexpected:
There may even be an outstanding warrant from a missed court date years ago.
In that situation, the immediate task is generally not expungement. The underlying case or warrant needs to be addressed first.
Read my guide to old Orange County warrants.
You can still obtain your California criminal-history record.
California DOJ currently provides a different procedure for applicants living outside California or outside the United States.
Instead of using a California Live Scan location, out-of-state applicants generally use manual fingerprint cards and the DOJ procedure for requesting a State Summary Criminal History Record.
Useful for figuring out what exists in your statewide California criminal history and identifying old arrests or cases you no longer remember.
If you need an official certified judgment, minute order, disposition or other court document, you generally obtain that from the court that handled the case.
A successful Penal Code §1203.4 dismissal can provide important benefits, but it does not make the underlying criminal history disappear from every government database.
The legal effect of record relief can also differ depending on why the record is being reviewed.
Issues involving professional licensing, government employment, immigration, firearms and future criminal proceedings may require additional analysis.
Start with the Superior Court that handled the case. If you no longer know the court or case number, a personal California DOJ criminal-history Record Review may help identify the old arrest and disposition.
Older court records may be archived or stored off site and may take longer to retrieve. In some situations, old court records may have been destroyed under applicable retention rules.
It is a criminal-history summary maintained by the California Department of Justice based on information reported by criminal justice agencies.
California residents currently request a personal Record Review using DOJ Form BCIA 8016RR and fingerprints submitted through an authorized Live Scan provider.
California DOJ currently lists a $25 DOJ processing fee. A Live Scan provider generally charges an additional fingerprint rolling fee.
California DOJ provides a process for challenging inaccurate or incomplete criminal-history information. In some cases, the underlying court disposition may first need to be confirmed or corrected.
Yes. Court record retention and California DOJ criminal-history retention are different systems. The fact that a courthouse no longer has a complete file does not necessarily mean the statewide criminal-history entry disappeared.
Age by itself does not necessarily prevent record relief. Eligibility depends on the offense, sentence and procedural history of the case.
No. Penal Code §1203.4 generally concerns eligible convictions. Penal Code §851.91 can apply to certain arrests that did not result in conviction.
Yes. California DOJ provides a manual fingerprint-card procedure for people who no longer live in California.
No. A RAP sheet is a statewide criminal-history summary. Certified case documents generally come from the court that handled the case.
An outstanding warrant generally needs to be addressed before treating the matter as a routine expungement or record-clearing case.
The first step is figuring out exactly what happened.
Once we identify the old arrest, case number, courthouse, charges and final disposition, we can determine whether the appropriate next step is an expungement, arrest sealing, record correction, felony reduction, warrant resolution or another form of California record relief.
