Past social mistakes are a common problem for many licensed professionals. As these California residents are looking to kick-start their new careers, they find themselves facing application denials or disciplinary action due to past convictions – some of which may be unrelated to the job they are applying for. The ideal way to overcome these setbacks is to work with a license defense attorney to expunge your convictions and seal your record.
How Convictions Impact Your Career
In California, there are hundreds of occupational licensing boards that have strict requirements for license holders. If you make a mistake and are convicted of a felony or misdemeanor, you could have a permanent stain on your record. These convictions can result in:
- License denial
- Investigation with your licensing board
- Disciplinary action such as suspension or revocation
As a result, your current or future career can feel out of reach. This is where a professional license defense attorney can unlock your livelihood.
Related Article: Case Study: Expunging Criminal Records for California Nurse
How to Expunge Your Records
An expungement helps communicate with your licensing board that you have rehabilitated and deserve another chance at practicing in your industry. Your professional license attorney will work with you and your board to clean up your rap sheet and present your case in a positive light to your California licensing board. Depending on the nature of your convictions, you may have a certain waiting period before you can reapply to your board. If your attorney is experienced in license defense, they will know how to help you navigate through this timeline and ensure that you have the best chance at obtaining your professional license.
How the Expungement Process Works in California
Expungement in California is governed by Penal Code 1203.4 and begins with a review of your Department of Justice report, commonly called your RAP sheet. Your attorney reviews the RAP sheet to identify which convictions are eligible, whether probation has been completed, and whether any convictions need to be addressed before filing. Once that review is done, your attorney files a petition for dismissal with the court. If granted, your original guilty plea is withdrawn and the case is dismissed. Your record then reflects that you are no longer convicted of that offense.
One important condition: you generally need to have completed your probation before filing. If you’re still on probation, a separate petition for early termination of probation typically needs to be filed first. Most attorneys recommend completing at least 50% of the probationary period before pursuing early termination.
What Expungement Does and Does Not Do for Your License
This is the part that surprises most people: an expungement does not erase your disclosure obligation to your licensing board.
Even after your conviction is expunged, you are still required to disclose it on most professional license applications. What changes is how your record reads. Instead of showing an active conviction, it will show that the matter was dismissed. You can honestly state that you are no longer convicted of that crime, but you cannot represent that it never happened when a board specifically asks.
What expungement does accomplish with licensing boards is significant, though. Boards view the expungement as evidence of rehabilitation. It shows that you completed your obligations, took steps to clean up your record, and weren’t waiting for someone else to fix it. That is weighed positively in board proceedings, even when it doesn’t eliminate the obligation to disclose. The difference between a disclosed conviction with an expungement and a disclosed conviction without one can meaningfully affect the outcome of a board review.
Felony Reduction Before Expungement
If your conviction was a felony that did not require prison time, you may also be able to petition to reduce it to a misdemeanor before or alongside the expungement process. This matters because licensing boards treat a misdemeanor differently than a felony when evaluating your fitness for licensure. Reducing the charge first, then expunging it, gives you the strongest possible record to present to your board.
Contact Unlock Legal
We understand how important your license is to your livelihood. You don’t have to give up your career because of one mistake. Our professional license defense team has experience expunging convictions, sealing records, and facing California licensing boards. We will work with you until your case is completed and help you get the best outcome possible.
Unlock Legal provides focused representation in criminal defense and defense for California licensed professionals. Contact Unlock Legal today or give us a call at 949-988-4444 to speak with a professional about your case and your unique needs. You’ll find we are compassionate, easy to talk to, and willing to help in any capacity we can.
