Free Clean Slate Clinic moves to quarterly enrollment
Program helps eligible residents seek expungement, felony reduction and record sealing
– The free SLO Clean Slate Clinic is moving to rolling quarterly enrollment, giving eligible residents four chances each year to apply, San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow announced Oct. 8.
The clinic helps residents who have completed their sentences pursue expungement, felony reduction and arrest record sealing. It is a partnership among the district attorney’s office, the county probation department, SLO Defenders, Restorative Partners, People’s Justice Project, California Rural Legal Assistance and the San Luis Obispo College of Law.
The winter enrollment period closes Nov. 30 and is by appointment only. Spring 2027 enrollment will include a public event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, March 26, 2027, at the San Luis Obispo County Law Library, 1050 Monterey St., Suite 125, in San Luis Obispo. Walk-ins are welcome at that event, but appointments are strongly preferred. The summer enrollment deadline is May 31, 2027, and the fall deadline is Aug. 31, 2027. Both are by appointment only.
Relief is not automatic, according to the district attorney’s office. The probation department screens each petition, the district attorney’s office reviews it and may oppose it, and a judge makes the final decision. Certain offenses, including specified sex offenses against children, are not eligible for expungement. An expunged conviction can still be used as a prior conviction if the person commits a new crime, expungement does not restore firearm rights, and restitution orders remain in effect.
Since March 2023, the clinic has served 550 community members and filed 1,856 petitions. Of the 1,746 petitions decided, the court granted 1,740 and denied six, and 110 are pending. Deputy district attorneys reviewed more than 1,500 requests and objected to more than 220, or about one in seven.
A-Town Daily News previously reported on the clinic’s spring 2026 event.
To make an appointment, call the clinic at (805) 902-CRLA.
For more information, visit slocounty.ca.gov/DA.
