If you are convicted of a DUI in California, it could stay on your driving record for ten years. This is bad enough, but there can be other long-term consequences, too. Keep reading to learn what they are. If you are facing DUI charges, contact Law Office of Michael L. Fell at (949) 585-9055 for a free legal consultation with a DUI attorney.

More About Your Driving Record

When a person is convicted of a DUI in California, it stays on their driving record for a decade. The period of record begins at the time they are arrested – not the time they are convicted. There is no way to have the DUI removed from your driving record in the first ten years. When the ten years are up, it will expire and no longer show on your driving record.

This Information Might Be Used in a Number of Ways

The DMV can see your DUI and can refer to it when making decisions about suspending your license, revoking your license, or reinstating your license. Law enforcement will also see the DUI conviction when they pull your driving record. Car insurance companies will also see it, and you can count on a DUI conviction, significantly increasing your car insurance rates.

The DUI Will Stay on Your Record Unless You Have It Expunged

Regardless of how the DUI is charged, with as a felony or a misdemeanor, it will show in your criminal record and stay there unless you have it expunged. California law allows a person convicted of driving while drugged or drunk expungement if they complete all probation requirements and if they either did not serve time in state prison for the DUI or they did serve time in state prison, but it would have been served in county jail if it had been sentenced under Prop 47.

If you are eligible for an expungement, you can begin to start the process as soon as you are done with your probation term. You can file a petition that requests the record be expunged (aka sealed). If you pleaded guilty or no contest to the charges, expungement allows you to withdraw your plea and re-enter a not guilty plea. If you were found guilty after a trial, then the verdict will be set aside.

While these rules apply to a misdemeanor and most felony DUI charges, a serious DUI involving bodily injury or death is not likely to qualify for expungement.

Call Now to Request a Free Legal Consultation

If you have been convicted of a DUI in the state of California, we invite you to contact Law Office of Michael L. Fell at (949) 585-9055 for a free legal consultation. We will carefully assess your case to determine the best way forward. If you have been convicted but have finished probation, contact us to learn how we can help you with an expungement.