The Overview

If a felony arrest in California ended with dismissed charges, a new law could soon clear it from your record automatically, though not until October 2029. California's SB 1342 expands automatic record relief for some people with arrests or convictions, and the Department of Justice reviews state databases each month to identify eligible people. ​

California's Senate Bill 1342, titled "Criminal records: relief," was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Sept. 27. California's record-clearing system has expanded in recent years, but clearing a record can still require people to navigate legal procedures that complicate moving on after a conviction, according to CalMatters. The law's core changes take effect Oct. 1, 2029.

What the Law Does

Starting Oct. 1, 2029, a person whose felony arrest resulted in dismissed charges can have that arrest automatically cleared, provided all charges were dismissed, at least one year has passed since the most recent dismissal, and no charge was refiled or is pending.

The law also sets two rules to help the state Department of Justice determine whether someone is still entangled in the system: if three years pass with no new activity on a record, the department must treat that as no pending charge; if seven years have passed since a conviction and the department cannot confirm a sentence is complete, it must treat the sentence as finished.

Courts are also barred from disclosing information about any conviction granted relief under a broader set of provisions, and must provide a register of actions confirming compliance upon the request of the person whose record was cleared.

Legislative Status

Sen. María Elena Durazo (D-CA-26) sponsored the bill, describing it as removing procedural barriers so Californians already eligible for automatic record clearance can actually access it, according to her legislative website. Co-authors include Asm. Josh Lowenthal (D-CA-69) and Sen. Eloise Reyes (D-CA-29), along with one additional coauthor.

The Senate passed the bill 27 to 9 on May 27, and the Assembly passed it 44 to 20 on Aug. 30. The Senate then voted 26 to 11 on Aug. 31 to accept the Assembly's changes.

The Sacramento Bee covered the bill in its story on TimeDone Day, an event urging new laws to clear criminal records, and the Davis Vanguard included SB 1342 in its August 2026 coverage of advocates urging California to address the effects of criminal records.

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