San Diego County Fresh Start Program to Clean Your Criminal Record — What the Free Programs Cover and When You Need a Private Attorney

TLDR: San Diego County has several record-clearing programs — including AB 1076 automatic expungement and San Diego County’s own Clean Slate clinics through the Public Defender’s office. These programs help eligible residents clear qualifying convictions at no cost. However, many cases fall outside the automatic or free program eligibility — including complex felonies, cases requiring judicial discretion, immigration-sensitive records, professional license situations, and cases needing the stronger protections of SB 731 sealing. Jason Ronis Law handles all of these at affordable rates with free consultations at (619) 859-2002. You speak directly with the attorney, in English or Spanish, 24 hours a day.

🚨 NOT SURE IF YOUR CASE QUALIFIES FOR A FREE PROGRAM OR IF YOU NEED AN ATTORNEY? THE EVALUATION IS FREE.

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What the San Diego County Fresh Start and Clean Slate Record Clearing Programs Actually Cover

San Diego County has made record clearance a priority in recent years, offering several pathways to help eligible residents clean their records at no or low cost:

California AB 1076 — Automatic Expungement
Signed into law in 2022 and effective January 2023, California Assembly Bill 1076 created a system under which the California Department of Justice is required to automatically identify and process expungement for eligible convictions without the person filing a petition. The automatic process covers most misdemeanor convictions and some lower-level felony convictions where the sentence has been completed and the applicable waiting period has passed. When processing is complete, the DOJ sends a notification and the conviction is dismissed under PC § 1203.4.

San Diego County Public Defender Clean Slate Clinics
San Diego County’s Public Defender’s office has periodically offered “Clean Slate” and record clearance clinics — walk-in events where attorneys help eligible residents file expungement petitions at no cost. These events focus primarily on straightforward misdemeanor and lower-level felony cases where probation was completed.

San Diego County DA Fresh Start Initiatives
The San Diego County District Attorney’s office has participated in state-level “Fresh Start” initiatives targeting low-level drug offenses, Prop 47 resentencing, and Prop 64 marijuana dismissals — particularly for formerly incarcerated individuals reentering the community.

Five Situations Where You Need a Private San Diego Expungement Attorney Instead of the Free Programs

The free and automatic programs work well for straightforward eligible cases. But many San Diego County residents have situations that fall outside these programs entirely — and attempting to navigate those cases without an attorney leads to delays, denials, and missed opportunities.

Situation 1 — Complex Felony Convictions Requiring Judicial Discretion
PC § 1203.4 expungement for serious felonies is not automatic — it requires a judicial hearing where the judge weighs the nature of the conviction, your rehabilitation history, and the benefit to you against any harm to society. These petitions require a well-prepared argument that presents your employment record, family ties, community involvement, and demonstrated rehabilitation. Jason Ronis Law builds this presentation for every complex felony expungement client.

Situation 2 — Cases Requiring PC § 17(b) Felony Reduction Before Expungement
If your felony is a “wobbler” that could benefit from a reduction to misdemeanor under PC § 17(b) before expungement — either to improve the result or to clear a disqualifying felony from a professional license application — this two-step process must be handled precisely. Free clinics typically do not handle combined PC § 17(b) and § 1203.4 petitions.

Situation 3 — Expungement for Professional License Reinstatement or Application
When your expungement is specifically for a professional license application — a nursing license through the BRN, a contractor license through the CSLB, a real estate license through the DRE — the strategy is different from a simple employment expungement. The petition needs to be structured and documented specifically for the licensing board’s character review process. Jason Ronis Law coordinates expungement strategy with professional licensing requirements.

Situation 4 — Non-Citizen Clients With Immigration Consequences
For non-citizens — green card holders, DACA recipients, visa holders — an expungement petition must be evaluated for immigration consequences before filing. In some cases, certain aspects of the expungement process can trigger immigration review. Jason Ronis Law evaluates immigration implications at every expungement consultation for non-citizen clients.

Situation 5 — SB 731 Felony Record Sealing After State Prison
California SB 731 (effective July 2023) provides stronger record protection than PC § 1203.4 expungement — but the eligibility determination and petition process is more complex. Free programs and automatic processing do not cover SB 731 sealing in most cases. Jason Ronis Law handles SB 731 petitions for clients with state prison felony records who have remained clean for four years.

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How Jason Ronis Law Works Alongside San Diego’s Free Programs — Not Instead of Them

Jason Ronis Law checks AB 1076 automatic expungement status for every client as the first step. If your case qualifies for automatic or free processing — Jason Ronis Law confirms that processing has occurred or is in progress and helps you verify the updated record in background check databases.

When automatic processing has not occurred or is not available, Jason Ronis Law handles the petition process at affordable rates. For clients with multiple items to clean — a combination of a conviction expungement, an arrest record sealing, and a felony reduction — Jason Ronis Law bundles these into one engagement, which is more efficient than dealing with each separately.

The goal is always the most complete record cleaning available to your specific situation — not just the easiest petition to file.

For comprehensive expungement resources visit our How to Get Criminal Record Expunged San Diego County, Get Criminal Record Cleaned San Diego Attorney, Affordable Criminal Record Expungement Attorney San Diego, How to Clean Up Your Criminal Record in San Diego, Can Green Card Holder Be Deported After Drug Conviction, and How to Search for an Inmate or Arrest Record San Diego pages.

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— Arthur G., ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Google Review

“Jason Ronis handled my case and informed us the entire time. He was able to get us a great outcome in court.”
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🔑 FREE PROGRAMS ARE GREAT WHEN THEY WORK. WHEN THEY DON’T — JASON RONIS LAW DOES. CALL NOW.

📞 (619) 859-2002 — Free · Confidential · San Diego Record Cleaning · English or Spanish  24/7 · No Obligation
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