Because I have a felony conviction, but never went to prison for it, can I get it expunged?

Maybe. If you were convicted of a felony, but you were NOT sentenced to serve a state prison term, your offense is called a “wobbler.” A wobbler is an offense that can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony, so the offense “wobbles” between the two offense categories. If you were convicted of a felony wobbler AND you were NOT sentenced to a state prison term, your offense is probably eligible for expungement.

“Wobblers” are eligible for expungement if:[3016]

    You were NOT sentenced to a state prison term for the offense;
    You were NOT sent to prison for a violation while on probation for the offense;
    You were NOT convicted of an offense that is NEVER eligible for expungement (see PG. 960); AND
    You otherwise meet the requirements for expungement (for information on the two types of expungement and their requirements, see PG. 962).

If you meet the above requirements, your felony should be eligible for expungement.

  1. 3016

    Cal. Penal Code § 1203.4.