A criminal record expungement, also known as an expunction, allows you to have the court order that the criminal records related to your arrest or conviction be physically destroyed. As a result of this court order, the courts, the prosecutor, and any lawenforcement agency that possess criminal records, either physical or electronic, related to your expungement petition must physically destroy or obliterate them.

As a result of this destruction, it would be physically impossible for anyone to learn about the facts of your run in with the law.

One copy of your criminal record is retained by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and this record can be disclosed on an extremely limited basis as detailed below.

Effect of a Criminal Records Expungement

After having your criminal record expunged, it is unavailable and unobtainable by the general public including future employers.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is authorized to disclose the existence, but not the contents, of a criminal history record that has been expunged if you are seeking employment, membership, or licensure with any of the following:

• A Criminal Justice Agency
• A Criminal Justice Agency
• 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

Who Me???

After having your record expunged, you are allowed to lawfully deny or fail to acknowledge the arrests or conviction covered by the expungement. Nevertheless, there are limited exceptions to this right to deny or acknowledge the arrests or conviction related to the expungement. You must acknowledge your arrest or conviction if you are:

• A candidate for employment with a criminal justice agency;
• A defendant in a criminal prosecution;
• Concurrently or subsequently petitioning for to have another unrelated criminal episode sealed or expunged ;
• A candidate for admission to The Florida Bar;
• Seeking to be employed, licensed by, or contracted with:
  • The Department of Children and Family Services
  • The Department of Juvenile Justice
  • 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

Eligibility Criteria for Sealing or Expungement

Florida law allows you to seal or expunge your criminal record history, including all non-judicial criminal agency records and judicial records, related to one criminal episode, if you meet all of the below criteria:

• You have never obtained a previous sealing or expungement of your criminal history record;
• You have never been adjudicated guilty of a felony, misdemeanor, criminal ordinance, or other criminal offense;
• You have not been adjudicated guilty for committing any of the acts stemming from the arrest or alleged criminal activity for which you are seeking to have sealed or expunged.
• You are not currently under any type of court supervision, which includes probation, house arrest, or pretrial release;
• You did not enter a plea of guilty or nolo contendere (No Contest) to any of the offenses ineligible to sealed or expunged under Florida law.

Ineligible Offenses

If you plead guilty or nolo contendere (no contest) to any of the following offenses, you are ineligible to have your criminal record sealed or expunged under Florida law.

However, if you were charged with, or arrested for any of the following offenses or charges were later abandoned, dismissed or dropped, you are eligible to have your criminal case record history expunged.