Expunging your criminal record in California is the process of filing a legal petition, or motion, with the court where your conviction transpired pursuant California Penal Code 1203.4 to have the Judge re-open the case, to set aside the conviction and to dismiss the case. If the expungement petition is granted, you will no longer be considered convicted of the crime by the state of California, and your permanant criminal record will be updated to display a dismissal rather than a criminal conviction. Subsequently, once the conviction is expunged by the court you can then truthfully tell employers, your family, and all other interested parties that you have not previously been convicted of a crime. Furthermore, the expunged conviction will no longer show on employer and landlord background checks. Simply put, Criminal record expungement allows you to forget your past, so that you can fully embrace your future.