About Juvenile Record Sealing:

Juvenile record sealing can be a powerful tool to allow people to leave their juvenile arrest and/or juvenile court involvement behind them. It can have other benefits, such as expanding job and licensing opportunities. For general information about juvenile record sealing, please see the California Courts Self-Help guide to sealing juvenile court records: https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/juvenile-justice/seal-record.

Generally, you must request juvenile record sealing in the county in which the juvenile arrest and/or juvenile court case happened. Many people request juvenile record sealing without an attorney or other advocate. Depending on the county in which you live and/or in which your juvenile matter occurred, however, you may be able to receive assistance sealing your juvenile record. You can find a list of organizations or individuals sorted by county below.

More Information:

 PROBATION DEPARTMENTS: In many counties, the juvenile probation department is a resource for people seeking to seal their juvenile record. You may be able to request the relevant court forms and additional information from them. Make sure you speak to someone in the department who has knowledge of juvenile record sealing procedures. Probation departments may or may not be able to assist with more complicated sealing matters. Note: there should be no fee associated with requesting to seal your juvenile record.

PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICES: Not all counties have a public defender’s office. Even those that do may not be able to assist with juvenile record sealing, or may only be able to assist with juvenile record sealing if they represented the person in the juvenile case. We have included contact information for offices who may be able to represent clients in more complicated juvenile sealing matters.

 PRIVATE ATTORNEYS: Private attorneys, unlike public defenders or legal aid attorneys, are paid by clients. Some private attorneys may do certain cases free of charge (“pro bono”) or offer a sliding scale to make their services more accessible. We have included private attorneys on this list, some of whom may charge for their services. We have noted which attorneys are private.

If you encounter errors in this list, or are aware of a juvenile record sealing resource not reflected here, please reach out to communications@ebclc.org

Current as of February 2025.

Juvenile Record Sealing Referrals by California County