Expungement under California Penal Code 1203.4 is one of the most commonly sought forms of post-conviction relief, and it genuinely helps a lot of people clear convictions that are affecting their jobs, housing, and professional licenses. But it does not apply to every case, and a meaningful number of people find that out after they have already paid for a petition and waited months for a hearing that ends in denial.
We handle post-conviction work as criminal defense counsel in San Bernardino and throughout the county, and an eligibility review is the first thing we do before any petition is filed. Knowing in advance whether PC 1203.4 applies, and if it does not, which alternative pathways might, saves clients time, money, and the frustration of a process that was never going to work for their specific situation.
Prison Sentences Disqualify a Conviction from PC 1203.4
The core eligibility requirement for expungement under PC 1203.4 is that the person received a sentence to probation, not a term in California state prison. If someone went to state prison on a conviction, that conviction is ineligible for expungement under PC 1203.4 regardless of how many years have passed, how well they have done since release, or how changed their circumstances are.
This is the misunderstanding we encounter most often. People who served state prison time and have been free for a decade or more come in expecting to clean up their record, and they have to be told that PC 1203.4 simply does not cover their situation. The pathways for people in that position run through different mechanisms: a Certificate of Rehabilitation, a Governor's Pardon, or in cases where the sentence is still being served or can be petitioned, resentencing under AB 600. California's AB 109 realignment does add some nuance here, since some offenses that used to result in state prison now carry county jail sentences, which can qualify for expungement. The analysis has to be specific to the conviction.
Certain Sex Offenses Cannot Be Expunged
California law explicitly excludes specific sex offense convictions from PC 1203.4 eligibility. Convictions under PC 261 (rape), PC 286 (sodomy involving a minor), PC 287 (oral copulation involving a minor), PC 288 (lewd acts on a child), and PC 289 (sexual penetration by force), among others, are excluded regardless of whether the sentence was probation or prison.
The sex offense exclusion connects closely to the registration requirement under PC 290. Any conviction requiring lifetime registration as a sex offender is generally not eligible for expungement. Even in cases where a sex offense charge can be addressed through other legal processes, the registration requirement is a separate issue that does not resolve through a PC 1203.4 petition and needs its own analysis. For clients dealing with sex offense convictions, the effect on employment and housing is usually the immediate problem, and we look at the full range of available mechanisms rather than assuming one process covers everything.
Probation That Was Revoked and Replaced With Prison
For people who completed probation without ever being sent to prison, even if they had violations along the way, an expungement petition is generally still available. The court does have discretion on whether to grant it, and prior violations are relevant to that decision. But the door is not closed simply because probation was not perfect.
The situation changes when probation was revoked and a prison term was imposed as a result. At that point, the conviction becomes a prison case rather than a probation case, and PC 1203.4 eligibility disappears. We see this in cases where defendants originally received probation, had a violation, had probation revoked, served prison time, and now want to address the conviction years later. The revocation history matters, and it has to be reviewed carefully before any eligibility conclusion is reached.
Offenses Excluded by Specific Statutory Language
Beyond sex offenses, certain other charges carry explicit statutory exclusions from PC 1203.4, which is why the question of whether felonies can be expunged has no single answer. The analysis requires checking the specific penal code section of the conviction, not just the general category of the offense. Two convictions described the same way in plain language can have different eligibility outcomes depending on the exact statute and the specific charging facts.
We check the precise code section before giving any eligibility opinion. This level of statutory specificity matters particularly for clients in San Bernardino, Fontana, Ontario, and across the county whose records span multiple charge types and multiple court appearances over years. A conviction that seems simple on the surface sometimes has a charging history that affects what is available now.
What Options Exist When Expungement Does Not Apply
When PC 1203.4 does not apply, that is not the end of the analysis. Other relief mechanisms have expanded significantly in recent years, and some offer meaningful results for people with serious conviction histories.
Resentencing under AB 600 allows petitions for recall and resentencing when a sentence is no longer proportional under current law. A reduced sentence can, in some cases, be structured as probation rather than prison, which would then open the door to expungement down the road. The Racial Justice Act under AB 256 allows challenges to convictions and sentences where race, ethnicity, or national origin affected the outcome. Successful petitions can vacate or modify a conviction, which changes what relief options are available going forward. Tammy Higgins has tried more than 100 jury trials, including serious felony cases at the far end of the sentencing spectrum, and the post-conviction work she does draws directly on that depth of understanding of how California sentences get structured and what can realistically be done to challenge them. If you are in San Bernardino County and are not sure whether your conviction qualifies for any form of relief, that eligibility review is the right place to start.
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