Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

This is why "do it yourself" is so painful.

If you were convicted as a juvenile, in juvenile court, your record is not expunged. You have to file a petition to seal your juvenile records. If it is granted, the court will seal the records, and they will be destroyed when you are 38. If you never file a petition to seal, the records remain for the rest of your life.

With that said, a juvenile conviction is not technically a "conviction," unless you were tried as an adult. It does count as a conviction for sentence enhancement if you are arrested and charged later as an adult. It is also not sealed, and the state would obviously be able to see it during your licensing.

Further on Mr. Roach's explanation.

Records are forever. Your text implies it was an adult conviction. Many felony and misdemeanor convictions can sometimes be 'expunged' by proper application and Petition to the court. If successful, the conviction would be retroactively withdrawn and the charges dismissed. That does not 'remove' the conviction, but merely changes the record to show 'conviction reversed and dismissed by expungement'. If expunged, you would be able to say 'no' to conviction on most private employment applications. However, the conviction is still a 'prior' for purposes of repeat offense, and must be disclosed on any application for government and professional licensing, bonding, security clearance, etc. That would include application for PD. The same holds true for 'sealed' records. The agency and employer then can decide whether you are barred from employment because of your conviction. Ask the PD you are interested in. Failure to fully disclose will most certainly result in denial of employment, or subsequent termination when discovered, on the basis of a lie amounting to perjury and resume fraud.