Sealing of Juvenile Records: Welfare and Institutions Code, Sections 389 and 781

If your child has been adjudicated a ward of the court and is on probation, or has been ordered to court on a criminal case, it is important to keep your child’s record as clean as possible. Many opportunities can be lost if you do not take affirmative steps in clearing the record. Your child could be denied acceptance into college or a job.

California has laws that allow you to seal the record. You have the right to petition the Juvenile Court to seal your juvenile record and records in the custody of other agencies, including law enforcement agencies and public officials, after one of the following occur:

1. Five years or more after the jurisdiction of the juvenile court has terminated.
2. Five years or more after you were cited to appear or were taken before a probation officer or any officer of a law enforcement agency where no petition was filed in the Juvenile Court.
3. At any time after you reach the age of 18.

Destruction or release of Juvenile Court Records (Welfare and Institutions Code, Section 826) – if your juvenile court record has not been ordered sealed, it will be destroyed after you reach the age of 38. You have a right to have your juvenile court record released to your custody rather then have it destroyed.

If you or a loved one has a juvenile court case, where a minor was arrested or charged with a crime, it is important to seek competent legal counsel. The law firm of Wallin & Klarich has been successfully representing minors for 40 years. We know the implications a criminal record can have on a minor. Many doors of opportunity can close for the minor unless you have an experienced California juvenile crime defense attorney that understands how to defend a juvenile case. Call the law firm of Wallin & Klarich. The stakes are too high not to.