Some California juvenile records are sealed automatically once probation or supervision ends successfully. For the rest, Welfare and Institutions Code 781 lets you petition the court, usually once you turn 18 or five years after the case closed, using form JV-595, with no filing fee.
Was your juvenile record already sealed automatically?
California law requires the juvenile court to seal your case automatically once probation or informal supervision ends successfully, unless it involved a WIC 707(b) offense committed at 14 or older.
How a juvenile case can already be sealed without a petition
| How the case ended | Who seals the records | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Satisfactory completion of informal supervision or probation | The juvenile court, when it dismisses the petition | WIC 786(a) |
| Petition dismissed, or not sustained after the adjudication hearing | The juvenile court | WIC 786(e) |
| Diversion or supervision completed, or the case closed, without a petition ever being filed | The probation department, which also tells the arresting agency and the Department of Justice to seal their own records | WIC 786.5(a), (g), and (h) |
| Deferred entry of judgment completed | The juvenile court, when the charges are dismissed | WIC 793(c) |
"Satisfactory completion" means no new wardship finding or conviction for a felony, or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, during supervision, and no failure to substantially comply with reasonable orders within the person's capacity; unpaid restitution does not count against it (WIC 786(c)). The California Courts self-help guide states that automatic sealing applies to "less serious cases dismissed after January 1, 2015." If you went through a county diversion program instead of court, San Diego County's own Juvenile Diversion Initiative is one example of the kind of pre-filing program WIC 786.5 covers; completing it leads to the same probation-department sealing described above.
The firm's overview of juvenile crimes in California explains the delinquency process itself, from arrest through disposition, and touches on sealing in one line. This page covers only the separate sealing and record-access steps once a case has already ended.
Who can petition to seal a record under WIC 781?
You can petition at 18, or five years after the case closed, if the court finds you rehabilitated and you have no later felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.
What a WIC 781 petition requires
| Requirement | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Timing | Five years after juvenile court jurisdiction ended, or after the citation or contact if no petition was filed, or at any time after turning 18 | WIC 781(a)(1)(A) |
| No later convictions | No felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude since jurisdiction ended, unless each one has since been dismissed, vacated, pardoned, or reduced to a misdemeanor without moral turpitude | WIC 781(a)(1)(A) and (G) |
| Rehabilitation | The court must find rehabilitation "attained to the satisfaction of the court" | WIC 781(a)(1)(A) |
| Money owed | Outstanding restitution fines and court-ordered fees are not considered, and converting restitution to a civil judgment is not a bar, though the money is still owed | WIC 781(a)(2), (3), and (g) |
| Cost | No court or probation fee to file | WIC 781.1 |
What if the case involved a WIC 707(b) offense?
A sustained WIC 707(b) offense committed at 14 or older never seals automatically; a petition needs completed probation and age 18, or 21 after a Division of Juvenile Justice commitment.
The 21-year route applies if you were committed to the Division of Juvenile Justice and completed probation supervision after release; the Division closed on June 30, 2023 under WIC 736.5(e), so it concerns earlier commitments. The WIC 707(b) list covers serious offenses such as murder, robbery, kidnapping for ransom, and assault with a firearm or destructive device. If the 707(b) finding was dismissed or reduced to a misdemeanor, the ordinary sealing rules above apply instead. A 707(b) offense that requires sex offender registration under Penal Code 290.008 cannot be sealed at all (WIC 781(a)(1)(F)).
Sealing a 707(b) record does not end every use of it. A prosecutor may still use it to charge or sentence a later felony, seek a transfer to adult court, or prove a prior serious or violent felony under Penal Code 667, and the court will not order those records destroyed (WIC 781(a)(1)(D) and (d)). The firm's answer on whether a juvenile adjudication can count as a strike covers that last use in depth.
How do you ask the court to seal your records?
You fill out form JV-595 and give it to the probation department, which has 90 days, or 180 if another county is involved, to file it with the court.
- List every agency that may hold records of your case, from every county you had contact in. The court can seal only records it knows about. A Department of Justice criminal history, requested with Live Scan fingerprints and a $25 processing fee (a fee waiver may be available), helps find old contacts you may have forgotten.
- Fill out Request to Seal Juvenile Records (form JV-595), or any local form your court or probation department provides.
- Submit it to the probation department in the last county where you were on juvenile probation, or, if you were never on probation, any county where you had contact with law enforcement or probation. A small number of counties require filing with the court instead.
- Probation reviews your form and attaches a list of every agency and prior contact it knows about, then files the petition with the court within 90 days, or 180 days if you have records in more than one county.
- The court decides. A judge may rule on the papers or set a hearing; a notice marked "unopposed" means no one is objecting, and you may choose not to attend.
- If the court grants the petition, it orders every named agency to seal its records, and the court will provide you a copy of its order.
How the WIC 781 petition moves through probation and the court
| Step | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| File with probation | You list every record and submit form JV-595 to the county probation department | JV-595-INFO |
| Probation reviews and files | Probation compiles your record list and files the petition with the court | WIC 781(a)(1)(A); JV-595-INFO |
| Probation's deadline | Within 90 days, or 180 days if you have records in two or more counties | California Courts; JV-595-INFO |
| Court order | The court sends the sealing order to every named agency and may set a destruction date | WIC 781(a)(1)(B) and (d) |
What does sealing change, and who can still see the record?
Once sealed, your case is treated as if it never happened and you may answer accordingly, but the DMV, prosecutors, and other agencies keep limited access for stated purposes.
Who keeps limited access after sealing
| Who or what | Effect of sealing | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Your answers to employers, schools, and others | You may reply as if the arrest and proceedings did not occur | WIC 781(a)(1)(A); 786(b) |
| DMV | Vehicle Code convictions stay in DMV records, but after notice of the sealing the DMV may share them only with you and authorized insurers | WIC 781(c) |
| Prosecutors, probation, and courts | Limited uses remain under WIC 786(g), such as checking eligibility for deferred entry of judgment, deciding a later felony's disposition, or a transfer hearing | WIC 786(g) |
| Firearms | If the offense bars firearm possession until age 30 under Penal Code 29820, the Department of Justice and prosecutors may still use the sealed record for that purpose | WIC 786(g)(1)(I) and (J) |
| Sex offender registration | A WIC 781 sealing order relieves a registration requirement and orders registration information destroyed, except for a 707(b) offense that cannot be sealed | WIC 781(a)(1)(C) and (F) |
| Destruction | After a WIC 781 order, delinquency records are destroyed at age 38 for a person described by WIC 602, unless the court finds good cause to keep them, and not at all for a 707(b) offense committed at 14 or older | WIC 781(d) |
How do you get a copy of your own juvenile record?
If your record is not sealed, you can inspect and copy your own case file under WIC 827; if sealed, you must petition the court to see it.
WIC 827(a)(1)(C) lets "the minor who is the subject of the proceeding" inspect the case file, and 827(a)(5) lets that same person get copies. For a sealed record, WIC 781(a)(4) and 786(g)(1)(F) let you petition the court to inspect it, or to let someone you name see it. Anyone else not already listed in section 827 must ask the juvenile court using form JV-570, the petition for access to a juvenile delinquency case file. If instead someone needs your juvenile records for a pending adult criminal case, the firm's answer on Santa Clara juvenile records in a criminal case covers that separate WIC 827 request and its matching criminal-court declaration. For your own statewide criminal history, the Department of Justice asks California residents for Live Scan fingerprints (form BCIA 8016RR) and a $25 processing fee, with a fee waiver available to those who qualify.
Frequently asked questions
Is sealing a juvenile record the same as expungement?
No. California's juvenile law seals records, and a sealed case is treated as if it never happened, with limited exceptions. Adult "expungement" is a dismissal under Penal Code 1203.4, which changes how a conviction is recorded rather than sealing it; the firm's expungement overview covers that process.
Do I have to finish paying restitution first?
No. Unpaid restitution does not make probation unsatisfactory under WIC 786(c)(2), and the Judicial Council's JV-595-INFO sheet says the court may seal your records even without full restitution paid. You still owe it, and a converted civil judgment can still be enforced after sealing.
What if my case was handled in adult court?
Juvenile sealing under WIC 781 does not cover an offense for which you were convicted in criminal court after a transfer (WIC 781(f)). For a misdemeanor committed before 18 that was handled in adult court, Penal Code 1203.45 may allow sealing instead; it excludes registration offenses, drug offenses, and Vehicle Code driving misdemeanors.
Can employers see a juvenile record that is not sealed?
The Judicial Council's JV-595-INFO sheet says juvenile records "are not allowed to be disclosed to most employers," and that employers generally may not ask about or consider juvenile history, with exceptions for peace officer jobs and some health settings. Federal employers may still have access.
Does sealing apply to the military or a federal security clearance?
Not necessarily. JV-595-INFO warns that "the military and some federal agencies may not recognize sealing of records," and the California Courts self-help guide names enlistment and federal security clearances as possible exceptions worth asking a lawyer about.
Will arrests that never led to a juvenile case be sealed automatically?
It depends. Under WIC 786.5(g) and (h), when probation counsels the minor and takes no further action, or the prosecutor declines to file, probation must seal its own records and tell the arresting agency and the Department of Justice to seal theirs. A newer law, WIC 781.2, would add a monthly Department of Justice review of old unsealed arrests, but only from July 1, 2027, and only if the Legislature funds it; it is not yet in force.
Talk to a lawyer
The Law Offices of David S. Chesley offers a free consultation and is available 24/7 to discuss sealing a juvenile record, with payment plans and Se habla español. Call (800) 755-5174 or request a free consultation online.