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A criminal arrest record can cause you problems with employment, housing and other situations when a Florida criminal record check is conducted. If you qualify to have your record sealed or expunged, and the court grants the petition, your mistake or the crime you were wrongly accused of will not follow you forever.

Florida law allows a person who has never been convicted (adjudicated) of a crime and who has never received a previous record sealing or expunction to request that the court seal or expunge non-judicial records (police and corrections records) and judicial records (court case records). Once sealed or expunged, all records of your arrest and/or subsequent court case are removed from the public record. Once your record is sealed you may legally deny or fail to acknowledge that you were arrested for the crime which you had sealed or expunged!

WARNING: Sealing or expunging your record in Florida will have no impact on private company or federal databases. Even if criminal history information is sealed or expunged, it may still be available through private companies that purchase such information from the State and counties. As a result, employers and the general public may have access to it. In addition, all Florida judges have online access to view sealed records.

Generally, when a record is sealed, the general public will not be able to access any information. There are exceptions to this rule. Certain entities can still have access to the sealed record. The situations when the exception applies are as follows:

1. If you are seeking employment with a law enforcement agency.

2. If you are subject to criminal prosecution.

3. If you are seeking to be admitted to the Florida Bar to practice law in Florida.

4. If you are seeking employment, to be licensed or contract with the Department of Children and Families, Agency for Health Care Administration, Agency for Persons with Disabilities, Department of Juvenile Justice.

5. If you are seeking to be employed or licensed by the Department of Education, certain types of public schools, private schools or child care facilities.

6. If you are seeking employment or access to one of Florida’s seaports.

7. If you are seeking to purchase a firearm. When a record is expunged, the above entities will not have access to the actual record. They will, however, be informed that the record has been expunged but will be denied access.

Qualifications for seal/expungement

1. You have never had a previous record sealed or expungement.

2. You have never been convicted of a misdemeanor, felony or criminal ordinance violation (e.g. DUI, reckless driving, or driving while license suspended).

3. You are not under court supervision (e.g. probation, community control, or any other court mandated program).

4. You received a withhold of adjudication and your offense is not one of the below listed exceptions.

Below is a list of crimes which you may not seal even if you received a withhold of adjudication. The crimes listed below however can be expunged if you were not found guilty, the charges were dismissed, or you were never formally charged.

Crimes you may not seal or expunge if you were found guilty or took a plea to (even if you received a withhold of adjudication):

 Luring or Enticing a Child

 Sexual Battery and related offense

 Procuring person under 18 for prostitution

 Lewd or lascivious offenses committed upon or in the presence of persons less than 16 years of age

 Voyeurism

 Violations of the Florida Communications Fraud Act

 Lewd or lascivious offenses committed upon or in the presence of an elderly person or disabled adult

 Sexual Performance by a child

 Sexual misconduct with mentally deficient or mentally ill defendant and related offenses. A violation of any offense qualify for registration as a sexual predator under F.S. 775.21 or for registration as a sexual offender under F.S. 943.0435.

 Offenses by public officers and employees

 Giving/showing/transmitting/loaning obscene materials to a minor

 Computer pornography(child related).

 Selling or buying of minors

 Drug Trafficking (Trafficking in Controlled Substances) (This does not include possession)

 Violations of Pretrial detention or release

 Arson

 Aggravated Assault

 Aggravated Battery

 Illegal use of explosives

 Child abuse or aggravated child abuse

 Abuse of elderly person or disabled adult, or aggravated abuse of an elderly person or disabled adult

 Aircraft Piracy

 Kidnapping

 Homicide

 Manslaughter

 Robbery

 Carjacking

 Sexual activity with a child, who is 12 years of age or older, but less than 18 years of age, by or at solicitation of a person in familial or custodial authority

 Burglary of a dwelling

 Stalking and aggravated stalking

 Act of Domestic Violence as defined in F.S. 741.28

 Home invasion robbery

 Act of terrorism as defined by F.S. 775.30

 Manufacturing any substances in violation of chapter 893

Attempting or conspiring to commit any of the above crimes. The average time to complete a Florida record sealing or expungement is 5-7 months on average. There is no expedited or rush procedure to get the sealing or expungement process done. Paying an extra fee will not get your case rushed through the system.