A California DUI can be expunged under Penal Code 1203.4 — once you have completed probation.
It sets the conviction aside and dismisses it — but it does not erase everything, so it helps to know what it does and doesn’t do.
Who Qualifies
You are generally eligible to expunge a misdemeanor DUI once you have successfully completed probation (or had it terminated early), paid your fines, and are not currently charged with or serving a sentence for another offense. Early termination of probation can move the timeline up.
What Expungement Does
Under PC 1203.4, the court sets aside the plea or verdict and dismisses the case. In most private-employment situations, you can then lawfully answer that you were not convicted — a real benefit on job applications and background checks.
What It Doesn't Do
- It remains a prior. A future DUI within ten years still counts the expunged DUI as a prior.
- It does not clear your DMV record or restore a commercial license affected by the DUI.
- It does not help immigration — an expungement does not erase the conviction for federal immigration purposes.
- Even so, for most people the upside — a dismissed conviction on background checks — is well worth it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a DUI be expunged in California?
Yes. A misdemeanor DUI can be expunged under Penal Code 1203.4 once you have successfully completed probation (or had it terminated early), paid your fines, and are not currently charged with another offense. The court then sets aside and dismisses the conviction.
Does expunging a DUI remove it from your record?
It sets the conviction aside and dismisses it, so in most private-employment situations you can answer that you were not convicted. But it remains a prior for a future DUI within ten years, does not clear your DMV record, and does not help for immigration purposes.
When can I expunge my DUI?
Generally once you have successfully completed DUI probation, paid your fines, and are not currently charged with or serving a sentence for another offense. Petitioning for early termination of probation can move the timeline up.
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Ahmed S. Hasan
San Francisco Criminal Defense Attorney · State Bar of California #364992
Ahmed S. Hasan is the founder of ASH Legal, a solo criminal defense practice based in San Francisco. The firm runs on flat-fee representation: one lawyer, one fee, from arraignment through resolution. No hourly billing. No surprise invoices.
Ahmed is a graduate of Emory University School of Law and a member in good standing of the State Bar of California (Bar #364992). His practice focuses on San Francisco misdemeanor defense — DUI, domestic violence, petty theft and shoplifting, drug possession, vandalism, trespassing, and assault and battery — with particular attention to diversion-track outcomes that end in dismissal under PC 1001.95, PC 1001.36 (Mental Health Diversion), PC 1001.80 (Military Diversion), and PC 1001.83 (Parental Caregiver Diversion).
Ahmed previously served as a post-bar clerk with the San Francisco Public Defender's Office, the city's largest indigent-defense practice. He is a member of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Silicon Valley.
He represents clients at the San Francisco Hall of Justice (850 Bryant Street) and the Civic Center Courthouse. The ASH Legal office is at 15 Boardman Place, Suite 301, San Francisco, CA 94103.
Free 30-minute consultations are available by phone or Zoom. (510) 545-6515 · ahmed@ashlegal.com