Seal Arrest Records Lawyers (PC 851.91)

An arrest that never led to a conviction can still follow you for years, showing up on background checks and raising questions you should never have to answer. California law provides a way to put that behind you.

A single arrest on your record can cost you a job offer, a lease, or a professional license, even when charges were never filed or the case was dismissed. For working professionals throughout the Bay Area and Sacramento, the stigma of an arrest record creates barriers that feel permanent.

They don’t have to be. Under Penal Code section 851.91, California allows individuals to petition the court to seal their arrest records, effectively treating the arrest as though it never occurred for most purposes.¹ This is one of the most powerful tools available for reclaiming your reputation, and our team at The Nieves Law Firm Criminal Defense Attorneys has guided hundreds of clients through the process across all 13 counties we serve.

If your arrest did not result in a conviction, or if you have already obtained relief such as an expungement under Penal Code section 1203.4, sealing the underlying arrest record may be the final step toward a clean slate.² The process requires attention to detail, knowledge of local court procedures, and an understanding of how to handle prosecutor objections when they arise.

Schedule a consultation to find out whether your arrest record qualifies for sealing.

How Arrest Record Sealing Works Under California Law

Penal Code section 851.91 is not a criminal statute. It is a post-conviction relief provision that allows you to ask a court to seal your arrest record so it no longer appears on public background checks.³ When a court grants a sealing petition, the arrest is deemed not to have occurred for nearly all purposes.⁴

This is different from an expungement. An expungement under Penal Code section 1203.4 dismisses a conviction but does not necessarily hide the arrest itself.⁵ Sealing under PC 851.91 targets the arrest record directly, which is often what employers, landlords, and licensing boards actually see.

Understanding this distinction matters because many people pursue an expungement and assume the problem is solved, only to discover that the arrest still appears on a background check. Our team regularly encounters clients who completed an expungement years ago but never took the additional step of sealing the arrest. That second step is where the real relief often lives.

Who Qualifies to Seal an Arrest Record

Eligibility for arrest record sealing falls into two main categories under the statute.

Arrests That Did Not Result in a Conviction

You may petition to seal your arrest record if no conviction resulted from the arrest and one of the following is true:

• The statute of limitations has expired on every offense connected to the arrest⁶
• No criminal case is currently pending related to the arrest⁷
• You are not required to register as a sex offender under Penal Code section 290⁸

This category covers situations where charges were never filed, charges were filed and later dismissed, or you were acquitted at trial. It also covers arrests where the district attorney declined to prosecute.

Arrests Where Subsequent Relief Was Granted

You may also petition to seal an arrest record when a conviction did result but you have since obtained relief, such as:

• Dismissal of the conviction under Penal Code section 1203.4 or 1203.4a⁹
• A certificate of rehabilitation under Penal Code section 4852.01¹⁰
• Vacation or reversal of the conviction on appeal or through a motion to vacate under Penal Code section 1473.7¹¹

For clients who have already completed an expungement, sealing the arrest record is the logical next step that completes the process of clearing your name.

Who Does Not Qualify

Sealing is generally not available if:

• You are currently required to register as a sex offender¹²
• Criminal charges from the arrest are still pending
• The statute of limitations has not yet expired and no final disposition exists

Automatic Sealing Under PC 851.87

Not every arrest record requires a petition. California law also provides for automatic sealing of certain arrest records through Penal Code section 851.87.¹³

Under this provision, the California Department of Justice is required to review arrest records and automatically seal those that meet specific criteria, including arrests that did not result in conviction where the statute of limitations has expired.¹⁴ This automatic process applies to qualifying arrests without requiring any action from the individual.

Here is the practical reality, though: the automatic sealing system does not catch everything. Processing delays, data entry errors, and records that fall outside the automatic criteria mean that many people who should have had their records sealed automatically are still showing up with arrest records on background checks. When our attorneys review a client’s RAP sheet, we frequently find arrests that should have been automatically sealed but were not.

This is why filing a petition under PC 851.91 remains important even when automatic sealing should theoretically apply. A court order provides certainty that a DOJ database update does not.

What Happens When Your Arrest Record Is Sealed

The practical effects of a successful sealing order are significant for working professionals.

Exceptions to Be Aware Of

Sealing is not absolute. Certain entities retain access to sealed records in limited circumstances:

• Law enforcement agencies may access sealed records for active investigations¹⁵
• Criminal justice employers (such as police departments) may still see sealed records during hiring
• The California DOJ retains access for firearms eligibility determinations
• Courts may unseal records in narrow judicial proceedings

For the vast majority of working professionals concerned about employment, housing, and licensing, these exceptions will not affect your daily life. The people and institutions most likely to run your background check will not see a sealed arrest.

The Sealing vs. Expungement Distinction

This is the concept that trips up the most people, and it is where having an attorney who handles both types of relief makes a real difference.

Many clients come to us believing that their expungement solved the problem completely. An expungement under Penal Code section 1203.4 is valuable: it withdraws your guilty or no-contest plea and enters a dismissal.¹⁶ But the arrest record itself can remain visible. Think of it this way: the expungement addresses the conviction, while sealing addresses the arrest.

For someone applying for a job, the arrest is often the first thing that appears on a background check. Even with an “expunged” notation next to a conviction, the arrest itself raises red flags. Sealing removes the arrest from the equation entirely.

The strongest approach for complete record relief often involves both remedies in sequence:

1. Expungement of the conviction under PC 1203.4

2. Sealing of the arrest record under PC 851.91

3. For non-citizens, evaluation of whether a motion to vacate under PC 1473.7 is also appropriate¹⁷

Our team evaluates every client’s record to determine which combination of relief provides the most comprehensive result.

The Petition Process

Filing a petition to seal an arrest record under PC 851.91 involves several steps, and the details matter.

Obtain your criminal history. The first step is requesting your RAP sheet (Record of Arrests and Prosecutions) from the California Department of Justice. This document shows every arrest on your record and its disposition. Our team handles this process for clients so nothing is missed.

Identify the correct court. The petition must be filed in the superior court of the county where the arrest occurred.¹⁸ For clients with arrests in multiple counties, separate petitions may be needed in each jurisdiction. With offices in Oakland, Fremont, San Jose, Stockton, Fairfield, and Sacramento, our team is positioned to file across the Bay Area and Central Valley.

Prepare and file the petition. The petition must demonstrate that all statutory eligibility requirements are met. This includes documenting the arrest, showing the disposition (or lack of conviction), and establishing that the statute of limitations has expired or that prior relief was granted.

Serve the district attorney. The prosecution must receive notice of the petition and has an opportunity to file an objection.¹⁹ In our experience, most DA offices do not object to straightforward sealing petitions, but objections do occur, particularly in cases involving more serious underlying allegations.

Court ruling. The court may rule on the papers without a hearing or may schedule a hearing if the prosecution objects or the court has questions. If granted, the court issues an order directing that the arrest record be sealed.

DOJ updates records. After the court order is issued, the California Department of Justice updates its databases. This process can take additional weeks, and our team follows up to confirm that the update has been completed.

Arguments That Strengthen a Sealing Petition

Even though sealing petitions are not adversarial in the way a criminal trial is, the strength of the arguments you present can determine whether a petition is granted, especially when the district attorney objects.

Demonstrating Ongoing Harm From the Arrest Record

Courts are more inclined to grant sealing when the petitioner can show specific, concrete harm caused by the unsealed record. For working professionals, this often means documenting a lost job opportunity, a denied lease, or a professional licensing complication tied directly to the arrest appearing on a background check.

Sustained Law-Abiding Conduct

A track record of years without any further contact with law enforcement strengthens the argument that sealing serves the interests of justice. This is particularly persuasive when combined with evidence of community involvement, career advancement, or educational achievement since the arrest.

Immigration Consequences for Non-Citizens

For non-citizen petitioners, an unsealed arrest record can create immigration vulnerabilities including inadmissibility, visa denial, or complications during naturalization proceedings, even without a conviction. Our team works closely with immigration attorneys on these cases, and we understand how to frame the immigration impact in a way that resonates with the court. If a motion to vacate under Penal Code section 1473.7 is also appropriate, we can pursue both remedies together.²⁰

Responding to Prosecution Objections

When a DA objects, the most common grounds are public safety concerns or the seriousness of the underlying allegations. Effective responses focus on the fact that no conviction resulted, that the petitioner poses no current risk, and that the statutory criteria are satisfied regardless of the original allegations. The question before the court is eligibility under the statute, not re-litigation of the underlying facts.

Factual Innocence as a Separate and Stronger Remedy

If you were genuinely innocent of the conduct underlying your arrest, you may have access to a more powerful remedy under Penal Code section 851.8.²¹ A finding of factual innocence goes beyond sealing: it establishes that no reasonable cause existed to believe you committed the offense, and it can result in the destruction (not just sealing) of your arrest records.²²

The standard for factual innocence is higher than for sealing under PC 851.91. You must demonstrate that no reasonable person could have believed you committed the offense.²³ But when the facts support it, a factual innocence finding provides the most complete relief available under California law.

Our attorneys evaluate whether factual innocence is a viable path before defaulting to standard sealing. When the evidence supports it, pursuing a PC 851.8 determination first can provide a stronger result.

How Sealing Protects Working Professionals

The Nieves Law Firm Criminal Defense Attorneys’ focus on working professionals means we understand exactly how an unsealed arrest record disrupts careers and reputations.

Regulated industries. Professionals in healthcare, finance, education, and law face background checks as a condition of licensure. An arrest, even without a conviction, can trigger additional scrutiny or outright denial from licensing boards. Sealing removes this obstacle.

Government and security clearances. Federal background investigations are among the few contexts where sealed records may still be accessible, but having the arrest sealed demonstrates proactive steps toward clearing your record, which adjudicators view favorably.

Career advancement. Promotions that require new background checks can re-expose old arrests. Professionals who sealed their records years ago avoid this recurring vulnerability.

Housing stability. In the Bay Area’s competitive rental market, landlords routinely run background checks. A sealed arrest record cannot be used as grounds for denial.

We take the “criminal” out of criminal defense because we understand that for our clients, the charge was never the whole story. Sealing your arrest record is about making sure that incomplete story stops defining your future.

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Take the Next Step Toward Clearing Your Record

An arrest record that should not define you does not have to. Our team has the experience, the local court knowledge, and the multi-county reach to handle your sealing petition from start to finish.

Whether you need to seal a single arrest in Alameda County or coordinate petitions across multiple Bay Area jurisdictions, The Nieves Law Firm Criminal Defense Attorneys is ready to help you move forward. We also offer services in Spanish for clients who prefer it.

Contact our team today to discuss whether your arrest record qualifies for sealing under PC 851.91.