A California juvenile record does not seal itself when a child turns 18. The court or the probation department seals some records without a request, when a minor finishes probation or a diversion program, or when a petition is dismissed, and some Welf. & Inst. Code § 707(b) offenses are excluded from that route. Other records are sealed only if the person asks the court and a judge finds the person qualifies.

This question comes up for parents, guardians and young adults whose juvenile case is finally over. The hearings have ended and probation may be finished, but a worry stays behind: will this case follow a son or daughter into college applications, job interviews and the years ahead? This page explains what California's sealing laws say, which path may apply to a closed case, and what a sealing order does and does not do.

What Juvenile Record Sealing Means Under California Law

Sealing closes a juvenile record from view, by court order or, after a diversion program, by the probation department. It does not erase the record on the spot. Once a court orders sealing under Welf. & Inst. Code § 781, "the proceedings in the case shall be deemed never to have occurred, and the person may properly reply accordingly to any inquiry about the events." Welf. & Inst. Code § 786 gives similar language, saying the person "may reply accordingly to an inquiry by employers, educational institutions, or other persons or entities."

A few terms come up again and again. A petition is the document that starts a juvenile case. An adjudication is the court's decision on whether the petition is true; when it is, the petition is "sustained." A disposition is the court's order about what happens to the minor afterward, such as probation. A ward of the court is a minor placed under the juvenile court's supervision.

Sealing is not the same as expungement, which usually refers to relief for adult convictions. And it is not the same as destruction. Records are sealed first. Under § 786, the order also sets a later date when the sealed records are destroyed.

Two Paths to Sealing: Petition-Based and Automatic

California has two main routes, and they work very differently. Under one, the court acts on its own. Under the other, the person has to ask.

Sealing by the court under § 786. When a person who is a ward of the court, or is alleged to be one, satisfactorily completes an informal program of supervision, probation, or a term of probation for any offense, "the court shall order the petition dismissed" and order the related records sealed, unless the petition was sustained on a § 707(b) offense committed at 14 or older (see the limits section below). No petition from the family is needed. The court also seals records when a petition is dismissed or is not sustained after an adjudication hearing.

Sealing by probation under § 786.5. When a minor completes a diversion program (a program offered instead of filing a petition) to which probation or the prosecutor referred them, including informal supervision, the probation department must seal its records. It must also tell the arresting agency and the Department of Justice to seal theirs.

Sealing by petition under § 781. For cases outside those paths, the person or the county probation officer may petition the court. The California Courts guide to sealing juvenile records puts it this way: some records are sealed automatically, and for other cases "you can ask the court to seal them." Turning 18 alone triggers neither path.

Who May Seek Sealing and When

Timing is the first condition under § 781. A person may petition five years or more after juvenile court jurisdiction ended. If no petition was ever filed, the five years run from when the person was cited to appear before, or taken before, a probation officer or a law enforcement officer. The statute also allows a petition "at any time after the person has reached 18 years of age."

Two findings must follow. The court must find that since the case ended, the person "has not been convicted of a felony or of any misdemeanor involving moral turpitude." And it must find "that rehabilitation has been attained to the satisfaction of the court." That second finding is the judge's call; the statute says outstanding restitution fines and court-ordered fees are not considered in assessing it.

For the § 786 path, "satisfactory completion" means no new finding of wardship or conviction for a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude during supervision. It also means the person has not "failed to substantially comply" with reasonable orders within their capacity to perform. Unpaid restitution does not count as failing. The court cannot stretch out probation just to delay sealing.

Serious offenses carry their own rules. Welf. & Inst. Code § 707(b) lists 30 offenses, including murder, robbery, attempted murder, assault with a firearm, assault by force likely to produce great bodily injury, certain forcible sex offenses, and carjacking while armed. The same list appears in the rules for a transfer to adult court, which also turn on the minor's age and on the court's findings under § 707. How § 707(b) limits sealing is covered in the last section below.

What the Sealing Order Covers — and What It Does Not

A § 781 order reaches "all records, papers, and exhibits in the person's case in the custody of the juvenile court," including minute book and docket entries, plus records held by other agencies named in the order. The court sends a copy to each named agency. Each one must seal its records, report back to the court, and then seal its copy of the order. A § 786 order covers records held by the juvenile court, law enforcement agencies, the probation department and the Department of Justice. The law does not order defense counsel to seal their files.

Sealed records can still be reached in limited situations. For a § 707(b) offense committed at 14 or older and sealed under § 781, the record may be used in later proceedings in several situations, including:

  • by the prosecutor, for charging or sentencing in a later felony case;
  • in a later hearing on whether a minor should be transferred to adult court;
  • to decide disposition after a later juvenile felony finding; and
  • to prove a prior serious or violent felony conviction.

Records sealed under § 786 may also be accessed in situations the statute lists.

Sex-offense registration is addressed directly. Under § 781, if a ward is subject to sex-offender registration requirements, a sealing order must also relieve the person of that requirement and order registration information destroyed. A § 707(b) offense committed at 14 or older for which the person must register under Pen. Code § 290.008 cannot be sealed under § 781.

The California Courts page notes that an unsealed record can make it harder to go to college. School, employment, financial aid and other consequences depend on facts and rules this page does not cover. Immigration consequences are governed by immigration law this page does not cover.

How the Petition Process Works Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 781

The process usually starts with a form, not a courtroom. According to the California Courts page on how to ask to seal a juvenile record, the person fills out a Request to Seal Juvenile Records (form JV-595). They generally turn it in to the probation department in the county where the record is, though in a few counties it goes to the court. Under California Rules of Court, rule 5.830, the decision may be made by the court in any county where wardship ended.

Probation then investigates. It lists every agency it knows has a record and prepares a report recommending for or against sealing. The self-help page says probation has 90 days to file the request with the court, or 180 days if records exist in more than one county.

Under § 781, the court must notify the district attorney and the county probation officer if they did not file the petition. They, or anyone with relevant evidence, may testify at a hearing. The self-help page says the judge may decide right away or set a hearing, and that a notice saying the hearing is "unopposed" means no one is opposing the request.

If the judge grants the petition, the court sends the order to each named agency. Each must seal its records and confirm that it has done so.

When Sealing Is Not Available: Limits and Exceptions

The § 707(b) offenses are the biggest limit. Under § 786, a court "shall not seal a record or dismiss a petition" sustained on a § 707(b) offense committed at 14 or older, unless that finding was dismissed or reduced to a misdemeanor or to a lesser offense not on the list.

The § 781 path stays open for those offenses, but with conditions. A petition may be filed only if the person has completed any probation imposed for the offense and has reached 18. For someone committed to the former Division of Juvenile Facilities, the age is 21, and the person must also have finished probation after release. Those added conditions do not apply if the offense was dismissed or reduced to a misdemeanor by the court.

A later conviction matters too. Under § 781, the court must find that since the case ended the person has not been convicted of a felony or of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, unless all such convictions have since been dismissed, vacated, pardoned or reduced to misdemeanors that do not involve moral turpitude.

How the case ended changes the picture. A petition that was dismissed, or not sustained after an adjudication hearing, leads to sealing under § 786(e). A sustained petition depends on completing probation, the offense involved, or a § 781 petition. For a family whose child's case went from juvenile court process to adult court, the California Courts guide says juvenile sealing instructions do not apply to adult convictions. Those records follow different rules this page does not cover. In every case, eligibility turns on the facts and on the court's findings.

If You'd Like to Talk Through a Closed Juvenile Case

Sealing questions often turn on details that are easy to lose track of once a case is over. Those details include how the petition ended, whether probation was completed, which offense was sustained and at what age, and which counties hold records. This page does not cover adult court records, immigration law or school discipline rules.

To discuss a case like this with an attorney, contact Juvenile Justice Defense Group to request a consultation about a child's juvenile case.