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CR-409Optional

Petition to Seal Arrest and Related Records

California · Judicial Council of California · Effective January 1, 2024

This form is used to ask a court to seal records related to an arrest that did not lead to a conviction. It asks for details about the arrest, the court case, and the petitioner's personal information.

The court describes it as: Ask a court to clean your criminal record of arrests that did not result in a conviction.

Open the official PDFfrom Judicial Council of California

Where this fits in a case

Start a case

Stage: Start a case

This form is used when a person wants to ask the court to seal arrest records that did not result in a conviction. The form also mentions that the California Department of Justice might have already handled this relief.

Usually filed by the person starting the case.

Official instructions

How-to guides published by the court for this form.

Common questions

Who should fill out this form?
The petitioner, which is the person filing the request, fills out this form. You can also have a lawyer fill it out for you.
Does this form require a hearing?
The form includes a section for a Notice of Court Hearing, which the clerk fills out when a hearing is scheduled.
What information is needed about the arrest?
You need to provide the date of the arrest, where it happened, which law enforcement agency made the arrest, and the arrest report number if you have it.

Revision history

No changes recorded since we started tracking this form on October 9, 2026. The current version took effect January 1, 2024.

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