When can I get a Certificate of Rehabilitation?
Before you can apply for a Certificate of Rehabilitation, you must complete a “period of rehabilitation”[3164] to show that you have improved your life and avoided involvement in any more criminal activity since your release from prison or jail. In general, you must wait a minimum of five years before you can apply for a COR, PLUS an additional number of years depending on what your conviction was for. You must also have completed your parole or probation term, but your period of rehabilitation starts running as soon as you are released from prison or jail and includes any time you spent on supervision.
CORs & Pardons:
If the judge grants your COR, this will automatically send an application to the Governor for a pardon. You will not have to do anything more to apply for a pardon. (For more information about Governor’s pardons, see PG. 984.)
IMPORTANT: Even if you have not completed your entire period of rehabilitation, you are allowed to request a COR early (as long as you are NOT required to register as a sex offender under California Penal Code Section 290). The judge may grant you a COR early, if s/he finds that it is “in the interests of justice” to do so.[3165] The judge will consider your good conduct, rehabilitation efforts, and how important getting a COR is to your success in the future.
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The process for requesting a Certificate of Rehabilitation is the same, regardless of whether you are requesting it early or at the end of your period of rehabilitation.