Yes. You have a Juvenile Court record if you were arrested and/or have a juvenile delinquency adjudication.
If you successfully finished probation after January 1, 2016 and did not commit a serious offense that cannot be sealed, the Court should have automatically sealed your record when your case closed. If you finished probation before January 1, 2016, you will have to petition the court to seal your record.
You can seal your records if:
- You are least 18 years old and you have completed probation, OR you are under 18 but at least five years have passed since your last arrest, AND
- You have not been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving a crime of “moral turpitude” (i.e. fraud, theft, or sex/drug related offenses), AND
- You can show the court you have been “rehabilitated”, AND
- Your case started and ended in Juvenile Court, AND
- You do not have an open civil suit related to your juvenile record, AND
- You submit a Petition to Seal Juvenile Delinquency Court Records (“Petition”).
NOTE: Unfortunately, traffic and parking violations cannot be sealed. So, that speeding ticket you might have gotten when you were 16 cannot be sealed. Also, certain serious offenses cannot be sealed.
You can submit a Petition to Seal Juvenile Court Records at any one of the Juvenile Delinquency Courts in Los Angeles County:
Alfred J. McCourtney Juvenile Justice Center
1040 W. Avenue J
Lancaster, CA 93534
Pomona Court House South
400 Civic Center Plaza
Pomona, CA 91766
Eastlake Juvenile Court
1601 Eastlake Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90033
Inglewood Juvenile Court
110 Regent Street
Inglewood, CA 90301
Los Padrinos Juvenile Court
7281 East Quill Drive
Downey, CA 90242
Pasadena Court House
300 East Walnut Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91101
Long Beach Court House
275 Magnolia Ave.
Long Beach, CA 90892
Sylmar Juvenile Court
16350 Filbert Street
Sylmar, CA 91342
Compton Court House
200 W. Compton Blvd.
Compton, CA 90220
Remember that your Petition will be heard at the same Court where your delinquency case was last heard. For example, let’s say your delinquency case was last heard at Eastlake Juvenile Court but you live close to Los Padrinos Juvenile Court. You can turn your Petition in at Los Padrinos and it will be sent to Eastlake. Your Petition will still be heard at Eastlake because that is where your delinquency case was last heard.
Please click here for a sample petition. After you turn in the Petition, you will receive a notice of the hearing date, time, and location. It is very important that you attend the hearing so that your juvenile criminal history can be sealed.
For assistance with sealing your records, you can contact the Alliance for Children’s Rights at (213) 368-6010 or Public Counsel at (213) 385-2977, ext. 500