California Penal Code § 851.91 lets anyone who was arrested but never convicted petition the court to seal the arrest and for most people it is granted as a matter of right, meaning the judge must sign the order. An arrest is not a conviction, but it still lives in your record: the booking, the fingerprints, the court file, and the background-check entry all survive even when charges are never filed, get dismissed, or end in acquittal. Sealing under § 851.91 makes the arrest legally “deemed not to have occurred” for most purposes and lets you answer “no” when most private employers ask. This guide from The Bulldog Law's expungement and post-conviction relief practice explains who qualifies, the exceptions, exactly what sealing does and doesn't hide, how § 851.91 compares to expungement and the automatic Clean Slate system, and how to file.
What Is Penal Code 851.91?
PC § 851.91 created by the Consumer Arrest Record Equity (CARE) Act and in effect since January 1, 2018 is California's statute for sealing arrests that did not end in conviction. Before the CARE Act, a person cleared of charges had only one difficult tool: proving “factual innocence” under § 851.8, a standard so demanding that most eligible people never obtained relief. Section 851.91 flipped the presumption. If the arrest did not produce a conviction, sealing is generally a right, not a favor the court “shall” grant the petition for qualifying arrests. The sealed record is removed from public view, the DOJ and the arresting agency are notified, and the arrest comes off the background checks that follow people through job applications and housing applications for years.
Who Qualifies to Seal an Arrest Under PC 851.91?
You qualify if your arrest ended without a conviction in any of four ways. The eligibility routes:
- No charges were ever filed and the statute of limitations for the offense has expired, so charges can no longer be brought.
- Charges were filed but dismissed and the case cannot be refiled (the dismissal is final).
- You were acquitted at trial a not-guilty verdict qualifies immediately; the relationship between acquittal and your record is exactly what § 851.91 exists to fix.
- Your conviction was vacated or reversed on appeal or post-conviction relief, with no retrial and no remaining conviction.
The unifying principle: the criminal process ended in your favor. If any conviction stands from the arrest even to a lesser charge § 851.91 does not apply to that arrest, and the remedy shifts to conviction relief instead.
Who Is NOT Eligible and When Does Sealing Become Discretionary?
A few situations take sealing off the table, and one category converts it from a right into a judgment call. You cannot seal under § 851.91 if the arrest was for murder or another offense with no statute of limitations (unless you were acquitted or found factually innocent), or if you escaped prosecution by fleeing the jurisdiction or by identity fraud. And in one important category, sealing remains available but is no longer automatic: where the record shows a pattern of arrests or convictions for domestic violence, child abuse, or elder abuse (generally two or more convictions, or five or more arrests, within three years), the court applies an “interests of justice” standard instead weighing the petitioner's showing, hardship, and record before deciding. Pattern cases are winnable, but they are contested hearings where declarations, evidence of rehabilitation, and advocacy actually decide the outcome the difference between filing a form and litigating a motion.
What Does Sealing an Arrest Actually Do and Not Do?
A sealed arrest is “deemed not to have occurred” for most purposes: it disappears from public background checks, and you may lawfully answer “no” when most private employers ask about arrests. The court file, police report, and RAP entry are sealed from public inspection; the DOJ and arresting agency must update their records; and commercial background-check vendors lose their source. The limits matter just as much: you must still disclose the arrest when applying to be a peace officer, when running for public office, when applying for a state or local license, and when contracting with the state lottery. Criminal justice agencies police, prosecutors, courts continue to see the sealed arrest, and it can still be used against you in a later prosecution as if it were never sealed. Sealing rewrites your public record, not the government's memory which is why checking what your California record actually contains before and after sealing is the professional habit.
PC 851.91 vs. Expungement vs. SB 731: Which One Do You Need?
Sealing (§ 851.91) is for arrests without convictions; expungement (§ 1203.4) is for convictions; and SB 731's Clean Slate system does much of both automatically eventually. The three tools are cousins, not competitors. Expungement withdraws a plea and dismisses a conviction after probation it presumes a conviction exists. Section 851.91 addresses the opposite problem: no conviction, but a lingering arrest. And California's Clean Slate law (SB 731) now clears many qualifying arrests automatically one year after a misdemeanor arrest and three years after a felony arrest with no charges filed. So why still petition under § 851.91? Three reasons: speed and certainty (a court order now beats an automated sweep later, especially for dismissed and acquitted cases the automatic timelines treat unevenly); proof (a signed sealing order is a document you can show; “the DOJ should have cleared it” is not); and coverage (petitions capture records the automated system misses or mishandles). For anyone job-hunting, licensing, or trying to move past a case, the petition remains the reliable path.
How Do You File a Petition to Seal an Arrest in California?
The petition is filed in the court where charges were filed or, if charges never were, in the county of arrest served on the prosecutor and the arresting agency, and decided with or without a hearing. The working sequence:
- Confirm eligibility and gather the record the arrest date, agency, case number, and disposition (no filing, dismissal, or acquittal); a current RAP sheet closes the gaps.
- File the petition (Judicial Council form CR-409) in the proper court, identifying the arrest and the eligibility ground.
- Serve the district attorney and the arresting agency at least 15 days before any hearing, so they can contest or concede.
- Attend the hearing if one is set matter-of-right petitions are often granted on the papers; interests-of-justice (pattern) cases are argued.
- Confirm compliance after the order (form CR-410), the court notifies the DOJ and the agency; verifying that every database actually updated is the step people skip and the one that protects the next background check.
The arrest that starts this process is also where rights begin what happens in the hours after being taken into custody shapes the record you later seal; the firm's guide to the legal process after a California arrest walks through those first steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you seal an arrest that didn't lead to a conviction in California?
Yes. Under Penal Code § 851.91, an arrest that ended without a conviction charges never filed (and the limitations period has run), charges dismissed with no refiling, an acquittal, or a conviction later vacated can be sealed by petition, and for most people the court must grant it as a matter of right. Once sealed, the arrest is deemed not to have occurred for most purposes and comes off public background checks. Exceptions apply for offenses with no statute of limitations and for petitioners who evaded prosecution.
Does a dismissed case stay on your record?
Until it is sealed, yes. A dismissal ends the prosecution, but the arrest, booking, and court entries remain in criminal-history databases and can appear on background checks often looking worse than they are because the favorable outcome is buried. PC § 851.91 exists precisely for this: once the dismissal is final and the case cannot be refiled, you can petition to seal the entire arrest record. California's Clean Slate system also clears many such records automatically over time, but a petition delivers a court order now.
Do I have to tell employers about a sealed arrest?
For most private employment, no once sealed under § 851.91, the arrest is deemed not to have occurred, and you may answer “no” to questions about it. California's Fair Chance Act separately limits when employers can ask about criminal history at all. But disclosure is still required in specific contexts: applying to be a peace officer, seeking public office, applying for a state or local government license, and contracting with the California State Lottery. And law enforcement and the courts always retain access to the sealed record.
How long does it take to seal an arrest in California?
Uncontested, matter-of-right petitions typically move from filing to a signed order in a few weeks to a few months, depending on the court's calendar the prosecutor and arresting agency get at least 15 days' notice, and many petitions are granted without a live hearing. Interests-of-justice cases (the domestic-violence, child-abuse, or elder-abuse pattern category) take longer because they are contested. After the order, allow additional weeks for the DOJ and local agencies to update their databases and verify that they did.
An arrest you beat should not keep beating you. PC § 851.91 turns a favorable outcome into a clean public record quickly for most petitioners, and winnably even in contested cases with the right showing. The Bulldog Law's criminal defense team handles arrest sealing, expungement, and the full Clean Slate toolkit across California. Call (888) 928-1609 for a free consultation.