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Helping You Clear Your Criminal Record

If you have been convicted of a DUI, your job prospects, education opportunities, and personal relationships may all suffer. Unfortunately, convicted criminals are often unfairly stereotyped, and many employers and educators view them in a negative light. Expunging your record gives you a clean slate that lets you answer “no” to whether you have been convicted of a criminal offense.

Getting a DUI off your record is much easier with the help of an experienced legal defense team. At the DUI Defense Group, our lawyers focus solely on DUI cases, so we know the ins and outs of DUI law. If you want to remove your conviction from your criminal record, our team can help you. Call our office for a free consultation at 866-927-3295.

How Does a DUI Impact Your Future?

In California, any individual driving with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08% or higher can be arrested for a DUI. If you are a commercial driver, you can be arrested with a BAC of 0.04% or more; if you are under 21, you can be arrested with a BAC of 0.01% or higher. Even first-time offenders can receive hefty fines, a six-month license suspension, up to six months in jail, and multiple years of probation.

In addition to those criminal penalties, a DUI conviction stays on your criminal record, impacting your ability to apply for jobs, education, and housing. Your DUI conviction will likely appear if you ever receive a background check. Many hiring managers, educational institutions, and landlords will refuse to consider someone with a criminal record. Similarly, if you are ever involved in a contentious divorce, a DUI conviction would affect your chances of receiving custody of your children.

Even a DUI conviction that happened years ago can impact your future in many ways. Criminal records are not like credit reports; even as time passes, the conviction on your record does not fade or become less significant. Criminal convictions from decades ago could affect your ability to get a job, find housing, or maintain custody of your children.

How Do You Get a DUI Off Your Record?

There are two ways to get a DUI off your record in California: expunging your record and sealing your record. Expunging your record means that your conviction will no longer be visible to any members of the general public who run a background check on you. Employers, landlords, lenders, and educational institutions will not know that you ever had a criminal conviction. However, court officials and law enforcement members can still see your past conviction.

Sealing a criminal record is different from expunging it. Sealing a criminal record keeps the documents on file but hides the file from the public. Expungement, on the other hand, means that your conviction is essentially erased from public view. After expungement, you are legally allowed to deny having a criminal conviction for a DUI on your record.

Who is Eligible for DUI Expungement in California?

Unfortunately, not everyone is eligible for a DUI expungement in California. However, the state allows for a wide range of convictions to be expunged.

If you meet the following criteria, it is likely that our team can help you expunge your conviction:

  • You have completed all the terms of probation
  • You have paid all fines, fees, and restitution
  • You have completed any court-ordered community service
  • You have completed any required counseling or educational programs, like AA, NA, or Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
  • You do not have any pending criminal charges
  • You are not serving a sentence or probation for another criminal offense
  • Your DUI sentence did not require you to serve time in state prison
  • You could have served your sentence in county jail if your offense was committed after Proposition 47 was approved

In California, both misdemeanor and felony DUIs are eligible for expungement. However, drivers who have been convicted of a sexual offense involving a minor are not eligible for DUI expungement. If you would like to learn whether you qualify for a DUI expungement or not, contact our legal team today for a free consultation.

What Other Infractions Can an Expungement Remove?

The DUI expungement process can remove more than just DUI convictions. If you have other traffic violations on your record, our team can help you remove them.

Below are just some of the other driving-related offenses you can remove from your record:

  • Failure to stop in the event of an accident (hit and run)
  • Reckless driving
  • Vehicular manslaughter
  • Eluding a police officer in disregard for the safety of persons or property
  • Driving a vehicle at a speed of more than 100 miles per hour
  • Crossing over the median on a highway
  • Unlawful transportation of explosives
  • Motor vehicle speed contest or race
  • Underage DUI
  • Driving on a suspended or revoked license

How Can a DUI Defense Attorney Help Me?

Having a DUI conviction on your criminal record can negatively impact your life in many ways. Fortunately, in the state of California, many DUI convictions are eligible for expungement. The expungement process essentially removes the criminal conviction from your record, giving you a clean slate in the eyes of the public.

The expungement process is complicated and requires a solid legal background to navigate. Our team at the DUI Defense Group has years of experience representing clients in DUI expungement cases. If you would like to get your life back on track without a DUI conviction hanging over your head, our team can help you. For a free consultation and to learn more about our services, contact our law office today by calling 866-927-3295.