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Florida Expungement - Seal Your Florida Criminal Record

There are a number of good reasons why you might want expungement of your criminal record. Chief among these are reputation and employment – many people attach a stigma to prior arrests, and a number of business owners simply won't hire someone with a criminal record.  Here in Florida, you have a number of avenues of recourse provided you qualify, which is why it is important to work with an experienced Miami expungement attorney who can expunge your criminal record.  If you don't qualify to have an expungement of your criminal record then another option is to seal your record under court order, which has the same effect as if it were expunged minus the physical destruction of the criminal record.

Expungement & Sealing: The Facts

When a criminal history record is sealed it is not destroyed but held under seal by court order and the public will not have access to it. Only certain government entities have access to a sealed record in its entirety.  When a record is expunged, the case is physically destroyed and when anyone else goes looking for the record, they are informed that the subject of the record has had a record expunged.  A person or agency can gain access to a record that is under seal by petitioning the court and obtaining a court order.   

Agencies with full access include:

  • A Criminal Justice Agency
  • The Florida Bar
  • The Department of Children and Family Services
  • The Department of Juvenile Justice
  • A contractor or licensee in a sensitive position having direct contact with children
  • The Department of Education
  • Any public or private school
  • A local government agency that licenses child care facilities

You can legally tell an agency or a person that you have never been arrested if you get your case sealed or expunged, and if you have no other cases in the system.  The only exception is that you must still disclose your arrest if you are seeking employment with one the agencies listed above.

Understanding Eligibility

Florida law allows expungment of your criminal record (or seal) if you answer YES to the following six conditions:

1. You have never been adjudicated guilty of a felony, misdemeanor, criminal ordinance, or other criminal offense
2. You have never obtained a previous sealing or expungement of your criminal record
3. The criminal record you are trying to seal or expunge does not include a crime that falls under the "disqualifying offenses" unless that crime was dismissed
4. You have completed all the requirements of probation and probation was terminated
5. For sealing your record, your case was either dismissed, you were found not guilty at trial, or you were given a withhold of adjudication prior to trial or after being found guilty at trial
6. For expunging your record, your charges were dismissed prior to trial and you have no other cases

You can only get one criminal case expunged or sealed, but all charges under that case are eligible provided you were not sentenced for a disqualifying crime.

How It Works

Now that you've determined that you qualify to have an expungement of your criminal records or you think you qualify, the next step is to contact a Miami expungement attorney to begin the process of expunging or sealing your Florida criminal case and arrest record. 

The process has several steps, including:

  • Fingerprinting
  • Filling out a certified copy of disposition
  • Delivery of application to Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)
  • Taking your FDLE application to the State Attorney's Office to get their signature prior to mailing it off
  • FDLE determining eligibility
  • Court hearing – a step where you absolutely want to have an expungement attorney on your side.
  • Petition granted

The typical length of time to expunge or seal your record will be about four (4) to six (6) months, but the good news is that once you hire Florida expungement lawyer Antonio G. Jimenez, he does all the work and ensures that everything is done with the proper agency.   

Get Better Help

Miami Expungement Attorney Antonio G. Jimenez personally handles every step of your expungement or sealing case.  Mr. Jimenez has personally handled hundreds of expungements and criminal record sealing in Florida.  Other law firms may charge less for similar-sounding services, but they simply cannot match the comprehensive approach he takes.  Please contact Miami expungement attorney Antonio G. Jimenez today to discuss your eligibility to either perform an expungement of your criminal records or sealing under court order.  He will provide a free review over the phone and will let you if you qualify to have this valuable service performed.  Best of all he will personally handle your case from start to finish.