Expungement, done properly.

Penal Code section 1203.4 covers convictions where probation was granted: if you fulfilled probation for its entire period, or the court discharged you early, and you are not now serving a sentence, on probation, or charged with a crime, relief follows; in other cases the court may still grant it in the interests of justice.

Section 1203.4a covers misdemeanors and infractions where probation was never granted, one year after judgment, for people who have complied with their sentence and lived — in the statute's words — an honest and upright life.

Section 1203.41 reaches many felony sentences served in county jail under realignment, and certain prison sentences, after a one- or two-year waiting period. Which section fits your case is a legal determination we make from the court's own records.

Honesty about the limits: a dismissed conviction may still be used as a prior if there is a new case, must be disclosed when applying for public office or state licensure, and does not restore firearm rights. Some offenses are excluded by statute. And the Department of Justice now grants relief on many convictions automatically, without notifying anyone — before you pay for anything, we check whether the law has already done part of the work.

Attorney Gaurav Bali confirms your eligibility from the minute order and docket — not from memory or guesswork — selects the correct statutory ground, prepares the petition and the supporting declaration, files it, and appears at the hearing. All of it is included in the flat fee.

1. 1

   Your answers, your records

   You answer the intake questions online — one at a time, saving automatically — and provide your minute order or plea form (or we obtain the court file for you, +$200). We verify your eligibility against the court's own records, confirm which statute fits your case — section 1203.4, 1203.4a, or 1203.41 — and check whether the Department of Justice has already granted relief automatically, so you never pay for what the law has already done.

2. 2

   The petition is built

   Attorney Gaurav Bali prepares the formal petition the court requires, on the correct statutory ground, with a supporting declaration built from your dated facts — probation completion, programs, work, and the reasons relief serves the interests of justice where the court has discretion. You review a complete copy of your information and confirm it is accurate before anything is finalized.

3. 3

   Filing and notice

   We file in the superior court of the county of conviction and give the prosecuting attorney the notice the statute requires — at least 15 days before any hearing. Deadlines and local requirements vary by county; tracking them is our job, not yours.

4. 4

   The hearing

   Courts often rule on the papers. When a hearing is held — or the prosecutor objects — attorney Gaurav Bali appears and argues the petition. That appearance is included in the fee, always.

5. 5

   The order, and after

   When granted, the court sets aside the plea or verdict and dismisses the case; the court's records are updated and the dismissal is reported to the state. We send you the signed order, explain exactly how you may now answer conviction questions, and put the remaining limits in writing — licensure and public-office disclosures, use as a prior, firearms — so there are no surprises later.

Employment is where a dismissal works hardest. Under California Labor Code section 432.7, once a conviction has been judicially dismissed, most employers may not ask about it, may not seek it out, and may not use it against you — on the application, in the interview, or in the decision. Combined with California's fair-chance hiring rules, a dismissed conviction is, for most private-sector purposes, a question you no longer have to answer. Narrow exceptions survive for peace-officer and similarly sensitive positions, and we will tell you plainly if one touches your plans.

Housing applications that ask about convictions may be answered in light of the dismissal. Professional license applications still see the record — but they see a dismissal and a documented record of rehabilitation instead of an open conviction, which is a different conversation entirely.

One honest wrinkle the big advertising firms rarely lead with: private background-check companies refresh their databases on their own schedules, so a dismissed conviction can linger in commercial reports until they update. We give you certified proof of the dismissal and exactly what to send when a stale report surfaces — California law requires those reports to be accurate, and the order makes them correct it.

Most dismissal petitions resolve within one to four months of filing — county calendars control the pace, and we track them so you don't. You will almost never need to set foot in a courtroom: when a hearing happens, attorney Gaurav Bali appears for you. That is the point of the flat fee.