How do I get a Certificate of Rehabilitation?

If you meet all of the requirements for a COR (see PG. 981) and you have completed your required period of rehabilitation (or you want to request a COR early), you will need to file papers (called a Petition for Certificate of Rehabilitation) in the court in the county where you currently live. Your petition will explain why you deserve a COR. It should include letters of support and proof of your accomplishments. The District Attorney will likely do an investigation and prepare a report about you. Then you will have a hearing where you will have to convince the judge that you are rehabilitated and ready to be a responsible member of society.

NOTE: You must request a COR from the court in the county where you currently live. This is different from most other remedies (such as expungement, reducing your felony to a misdemeanor, and Prop. 47), which require you to request them from the court where you were convicted. For complete information and instructions on how to request a Certificate of Rehabilitation, including a sample application, see APPENDIX X, on PG. 1057.

IMPORTANT: You have the right to a lawyer to help you with your request for a COR. You can hire a lawyer of your choice, or if you cannot afford a lawyer, the court must assign a public defender or another lawyer to help you.[3170] If you are just getting started and don’t yet have a lawyer, you should start by contacting the Public Defender’s Office in the county where you live, or look for a local expungement clinic in your area. You also have the right to get help with your request from the county probation department, state parole officers, the California Youth Authority (if you are under 30 years old), and any other rehabilitative agency.[3171]

!

  1. 3170

    Cal. Penal Code § 4852.08.

  2. 3171

    Cal. Penal Code § 4852.04; cf. People v. Norton, 80 Cal. App. 3d Supp. 14 (App. Dep't Super Ct. 1978) (pardon does not obliterate record of conviction); People v. Mendez, 234 Cal. App. 3d 1773, 1784 (Ct. App. 1991), reh'g denied and opinion modified (Nov. 4, 1991) (same).