What is the benefit of an expunction/seal of a criminal arrest record?

Once your arrest record has been sealed or expunged it is no longer considered a public record under Florida law and will not show up on any official background check. Additionally, the law allows you to deny that the arrest ever occurred (There are several exceptions to the "denial rule."). The information regarding your arrest and court case is removed from the clerks records and their online searches. Arrest records and police information are also removed upon the signed court order.

What is the difference between an expunction and a sealing in Florida?

There is very little difference between a sealed arrest record and an expunged arrest record. The difference is found in the type of case for which a person seeks relief. A case that was dropped or dismissed would fall under the expunction statute.

A case that had a determination of guilt would fall under the sealing statute. This refers to most ‘No Contest’ plea offers where the adjudication of guilt is withheld. As far as the petitioner is concerned the relief will be the same for all practicable purposes.

How do I get started expunging (or sealing) my Florida criminal record?

Call us directly at (954)608-1716 or simply fill out the FREE Attorney Case Review online form. Once we have gotten some information regarding you and your case we will make sure that you qualify and then start the process. Once you retain our services we will email you some initial paperwork that will need to be signed and notarized. The process take approximately 4-5 months to complete based on the speed of the various county and state departments involved.

Can I expunge an arrest that occurred in another state?

Yes, however an arrest in another state would fall under that state's laws. If they allow a criminal record to be expunged you would have to hire an attorney in that state to file for it pursuant to that state's procedure.

What is the basis for your legal fee?

We don't ask for a dime until we check to see if you are eligible. Our firm has been doing this for over 10 years. Unlike others we concentrate our entire practice on this area of the law. This allows us to charge an affordable fee to each client.

Can I be eligible and still have my Florida expunction/seal request denied?

Yes. This request to seal or expunge your record is a discretionary action by the court, meaning that the court can deny your petition for any reason. Well, that is what the statute says - however, Florida case law is fairly clear that there needs to be a legitimate reason for denying a petition to seal or expunge that meets all the criteria required by law (this is what we screen our clients for before they hire us). So the real answer is that there has to be a good reason for the court to deny your request. Historically, we have had very few petitions denied over the years.