JV-596-INFO
Sealing of Records for Satisfactory Completion of Probation
If your case is terminated by the juvenile court after
January 1, 2015, because you satisfactorily completed your
probation (formal or informal), or if your case was
otherwise dismissed after the petition was filed, in many
cases, the court will have dismissed the petition(s) and
sealed your records. If the court sealed your records for this
reason, you should have received a copy of the sealing
order with this form.
If the court finds you have not satisfactorily completed
your probation, it will not dismiss your case and will not
seal your records at termination. If you want to have your
records sealed in this situation, you will need to ask the
court to seal your records at a later date (see form JV-595-
INFO for information about asking the court to seal your
records).
The court will not seal your records at the end of your case
if you were found to have committed an offense listed in
Welfare and Institutions Code section 707(b) (a violent
offense such as murder, rape, or kidnapping, and some
offenses involving drugs or weapons) when you were 14 or
older unless it was not dismissed or reduced to a
misdemeanor or a lesser offense not listed in 707(b), but
unless you were found to have committed one or more of
certain sex offenses, you can ask the court to seal your
records at age 18 (or age 21 if you were committed to the
Division of Juvenile Facilities).
Judicial Council of California, www.courts.ca.gov
Rev. September 1, 2018, Mandatory Form
Welfare and Institutions Code, § 786
Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.840
JV-596-INFO, Page 1 of 2
Sealing of Records for Satisfactory
Completion of Probation
If a new petition is filed against you for a felony
offense, probation can look at what programs you were
in but cannot use that information to keep you in
juvenile hall or to punish you.
How will the court decide if probation is
satisfactorily completed?
If you have done what you were ordered to do while on
probation and have not been found to have committed any
further crimes (felonies or misdemeanor crimes involving
moral turpitude, such as a sex crime or a crime involving
dishonesty), the court will find that your probation was
satisfactorily completed even if you still owe restitution,
court ordered fees, and fines, BUT...
If your records were sealed by the court at termination,
the prosecutor and others can look at your record to
determine if you are eligible to participate in a deferred
entry of judgment or informal supervision program.
NOTE: Even if someone looks at your records in one of
these situations, your records will stay sealed and you
do not need to ask the court to seal them again.
•
•
Who can see your sealed records?
In many cases, the court will seal your
juvenile records if you satisfactorily complete
probation (formal or informal supervision).
If you apply for benefits as a nonminor dependent, the
court may see your records.
•
If the juvenile court finds you have committed a felony,
your sealed records can be viewed to decide what
disposition (sentence) the court should order.
•
If you are arrested for a new offense and the prosecuting
attorney asks the court to transfer you to adult court,
your record can be reviewed to decide if transfer is
appropriate.
•
If you want to see your records or allow someone else to
see them, you can ask the court to unseal them.
•
If you are in foster care, the child welfare agency can
look at your records to determine where you should live
and what services you need.
•
If your case was dismissed before you became a ward,
the prosecutor can look at your records for six months
after the dismissal in order to refile the dismissed
petition based on new information or evidence.
•
The court will order your court, probation, Department of
Justice, and law enforcement agency records sealed for the
case the court is closing and earlier cases, if the court
determines you are eligible. If you or your attorney ask the
court, it can also seal records of other agencies (such as the
District Attorney’s office) if it finds that doing so would
help you to be rehabilitated.
If you have more than one juvenile case and are unsure
which records were sealed, ask your attorney or probation
officer.
Which records will be sealed?
Restitution and court fines and fees must still
be paid.
Even if your records are sealed, you must still pay your
restitution and court-ordered fees and fines. Your sealed
records can be looked at to enforce those orders.
