TL;DR: Florida law provides two distinct legal remedies for clearing a criminal record — sealing and expungement — and they are not the same thing. Both require meeting strict eligibility criteria, obtaining a Certificate of Eligibility from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, filing a formal petition with the court, and waiting through a process that typically takes four to six months from start to finish. Neither is automatic, neither is guaranteed, and certain charges — including domestic violence convictions — are permanently ineligible. This guide walks through the entire process step by step, explains the difference between sealing and expungement, identifies who qualifies and who doesn’t, and sets accurate expectations for what these remedies actually accomplish.
The Record That Follows You
You made a mistake. Or you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or the charge was reduced, dismissed, or resolved in a way that felt like a victory in the courtroom — but kept showing up on background checks, job applications, apartment rentals, and professional licensing reviews long after you thought it was behind you.
Here is something most people don’t know — and many find out too late. Unlike negative items on a credit report, which fall off under the Fair Credit Reporting Act after seven years, a Florida court record does not expire. It does not age off. It does not disappear on its own. It is permanent until a legal remedy removes it.
A Florida arrest record exists in the Florida Department of Law Enforcement database, in county clerk records, in court filing systems, and in the third-party background check services that employers, landlords, and licensing boards use every day. The disposition of the charge — whether it resulted in conviction, dismissal, or diversion — affects the consequences but does not automatically remove the record.
That removal requires a deliberate legal process. It is called sealing or expungement. And for the people who qualify, it is one of the most consequential things a criminal defense attorney can do — not in a courtroom, but in the quiet work of restoring a life.
Sealing vs. Expungement: They Are Not the Same Thing
Before anything else, the distinction between sealing and expungement needs to be clear — because they accomplish different things and carry different consequences.
Sealing restricts access to your record. A sealed record is not visible to the general public, to most employers, or to most landlords. It does not appear on standard background checks. However, it still exists. Certain agencies — law enforcement, the courts, criminal justice agencies, and specific licensed professions — can still access a sealed record. When asked about arrests on applications for law enforcement employment, teaching certificates, or certain professional licenses, a person with a sealed record may still be required to disclose it.
Expungement goes further. An expunged record is physically destroyed or obliterated from the agency’s records. After expungement, you may legally deny the existence of the arrest or charge in most circumstances — including on job applications — with limited exceptions. Law enforcement agencies retain a confidential notation that an expungement occurred, but the underlying record is gone.
The critical sequencing rule: you must seal before you can expunge in most circumstances. Florida law generally requires that a record be sealed for at least ten years before it becomes eligible for expungement — unless the charge was not filed or was dismissed without adjudication, in which case expungement may be pursued directly without a prior sealing period.
This is one of the most important and least understood aspects of Florida’s record relief framework. Many people assume expungement is immediately available after a dismissal. In many cases it is — but not all. The specific pathway depends on how the case resolved.
Who Qualifies — And Who Doesn’t
Eligibility for sealing or expungement in Florida is governed by Florida Statute § 943.0585 (expungement) and § 943.059 (sealing). The requirements are specific and the disqualifiers are absolute.
To qualify for either sealing or expungement, you must:
Have no prior sealing or expungement in Florida. Florida allows only one sealing and one expungement in a lifetime. If you have previously sealed or expunged a record in Florida, you are not eligible for another — regardless of the charge, the outcome, or how much time has passed.
Have no adjudication of guilt on the charge being sealed or expunged. If you were convicted — meaning the court entered an adjudication of guilt — the charge cannot be sealed or expunged. A withhold of adjudication is not a conviction and does preserve eligibility, which is one reason a withhold is a meaningful outcome in a criminal case.
Have no disqualifying prior criminal history. Certain prior convictions or adjudications in Florida or elsewhere can disqualify a petitioner regardless of the charge being sought for sealing.
Have completed all terms of sentence, probation, or supervision. You must have fully satisfied all conditions associated with the case before filing.
Charges that cannot be sealed or expunged regardless of outcome:
Florida maintains a specific list of offenses that are categorically ineligible for sealing or expungement. This list includes domestic violence offenses — which is why the outcome of a domestic violence charge, as we covered in can a domestic violence charge be dropped in Florida, carries such permanent weight. Other ineligible offenses include murder, sexual battery, lewd or lascivious offenses, child abuse, robbery, carjacking, home invasion robbery, and a range of other serious offenses.
If the charge you want sealed or expunged appears on this list, there is no petition, no argument, and no judicial discretion that changes the outcome. The disqualification is statutory and absolute.
The Florida Expungement Process: Step by Step
This is where most people underestimate what is required. Florida’s sealing and expungement process is multi-agency, multi-step, and measured in months — not days or weeks. Here is exactly what it involves.
Step One: Obtain Your Disposition Documents
Before anything can be filed, you need certified copies of the disposition of your case — the official court record showing how the charge resolved. This comes from the clerk of court in the county where the case was filed. In Hillsborough County, that is the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court. In Pinellas County, the Pinellas County Clerk of Court. Allow time for this — certified copies are not always produced immediately, and some older records require additional processing time.
Step Two: Apply for a Certificate of Eligibility from FDLE
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement — FDLE — is the gatekeeper of Florida’s sealing and expungement process. Before any petition can be filed with a court, you must obtain a Certificate of Eligibility from FDLE confirming that you meet the statutory requirements.
The FDLE application requires a completed application form, a certified disposition of the charge, a certified copy of your criminal history from FDLE, fingerprints processed through an approved law enforcement agency, and a processing fee currently set at $75.
FDLE reviews the application against its statewide records and issues — or denies — the Certificate of Eligibility. This review process alone typically takes six to eight weeks, sometimes longer during high-volume periods. There is no expediting this step. FDLE operates on its own timeline.
If FDLE denies the Certificate of Eligibility, the denial can be challenged through an administrative process — but the grounds are limited. A denial based on a disqualifying prior record or a categorically ineligible offense is not reversible through that process.
Step Three: File the Petition with the Court
Once the Certificate of Eligibility is in hand, a formal Petition to Seal or Expunge is filed in the circuit court of the county where the arrest occurred. In Hillsborough County, this is the 13th Judicial Circuit Court. In Pinellas County, the 6th Judicial Circuit Court.
The petition must include the Certificate of Eligibility, a sworn petition meeting specific statutory requirements, a proposed order for the judge to sign, and proof of service on the State Attorney’s Office — which has the right to object to the petition.
The State Attorney’s Office reviews the petition and may file an objection. In practice, objections are not common for straightforward eligible petitions — but they do occur, particularly in cases where the circumstances of the original charge are more serious or where the petitioner’s history raises concerns.
Step Four: The Hearing
Some petitions are granted by the judge without a hearing — particularly where the State Attorney does not object and the paperwork is in order. Others are set for a brief hearing where the petitioner or their attorney appears before the judge. The judge has discretion to grant or deny the petition even when all statutory requirements are met — though denial of a fully eligible petition without objection is uncommon.
A Tampa criminal defense attorney who regularly handles expungements in Hillsborough and Pinellas County knows which judges are more likely to require a hearing, how to present the petition most effectively, and how to respond if the State Attorney files an objection.
Step Five: Service on All Agencies
When the order is granted, copies must be served on every agency that has a record of the arrest — FDLE, the arresting agency, the clerk of court, the State Attorney’s Office, and any other agency identified in the order. Each agency is then required to seal or destroy its records in accordance with the order.
This step takes additional time. Not every agency processes the order on the same timeline, and following up to confirm compliance is part of completing the process properly.
Total timeline from start to finish: In straightforward cases with complete documentation, expect four to six months minimum from initial filing to completed compliance. Cases involving older records, agency delays, or objections can take considerably longer.
What Expungement Actually Does — And What It Doesn’t
Setting accurate expectations matters here, because expungement is powerful but not unlimited.
What it does:
After a successful expungement, you may legally deny the existence of the arrest or charge on most job applications, rental applications, and in most professional contexts. The public record is gone. Standard commercial background checks will not surface the expunged record. You are restored, in most circumstances, to the position you were in before the arrest.
What it doesn’t do:
Expungement does not restore firearm rights if they were revoked by a qualifying conviction — that requires a separate legal process.
Expungement does not affect certain professional licensing applications. Applications for law enforcement employment, teaching certificates, positions with the Department of Children and Families, and certain other licensed professions in Florida specifically ask about sealed or expunged records and require disclosure. In those specific contexts, the legal obligation to disclose survives the expungement.
Expungement does not retroactively change prior background check results. If an employer or landlord ran a background check before the expungement was completed and the record appeared, the expungement does not erase that prior disclosure.
Expungement does not affect federal records. FDLE records are state records. Federal law enforcement databases are governed by federal law, and a Florida expungement order does not compel federal agencies to remove records from federal systems.
Juvenile Records: A Different Framework
Juvenile records in Florida operate under a partially different framework. Many juvenile records are confidential by default — not publicly accessible in the same way adult records are. However, serious juvenile offenses, charges where the juvenile was tried as an adult, and certain other circumstances can create publicly accessible records.
Juvenile records that are eligible for expungement follow a similar petition process but with different eligibility criteria. Additionally, Florida provides an automatic expungement process for certain juvenile records when the individual reaches adulthood and meets specific conditions — though this automatic process is more limited than many people assume and does not cover all juvenile records.
If a juvenile record is contributing to background check issues in adulthood, a formal legal review of what is actually accessible and what remedies are available is the right starting point.
The One-Lifetime Rule and Strategic Timing
Because Florida allows only one sealing and one expungement in a lifetime, the decision of when to file — and which record to address — requires genuine strategic thought.
A person with multiple arrests may need to evaluate which record causes the most harm, which is eligible, and whether pursuing relief on one forecloses the ability to address another in the future. Using the one available expungement on a minor charge while a more serious eligible charge remains on the record is a decision that cannot be undone.
This is one of the most important reasons to have this conversation with an attorney before filing anything. The paperwork is manageable. The strategy is where experience matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Florida expungement take from start to finish? In straightforward cases with complete documentation, the process typically takes four to six months from the initial FDLE application to completed agency compliance. The FDLE Certificate of Eligibility step alone takes six to eight weeks. Cases involving older records, agency processing delays, or objections from the State Attorney can take longer.
Can I expunge a charge that was dismissed? In many cases, yes — dismissed charges that did not result in adjudication are among the most common candidates for expungement. However, eligibility still depends on the nature of the charge, your prior record, and whether you have previously sealed or expunged a Florida record. A dismissed domestic violence charge, for example, remains ineligible regardless of the dismissal.
What is a withhold of adjudication and why does it matter? A withhold of adjudication means the court accepted a plea but withheld the formal entry of a conviction. It is not a conviction under Florida law — which preserves eligibility for sealing in most circumstances. It is one of the most significant distinctions in Florida criminal procedure and one reason the resolution of a criminal case matters as much as whether charges are filed at all.
Does expungement restore my gun rights? Not automatically. If your firearm rights were affected by a qualifying conviction, expungement of that record does not independently restore those rights. Restoration of civil rights and firearm rights in Florida involves a separate process through the Florida Office of Executive Clemency.
Can I do this myself without an attorney? The forms are publicly available and some people do file pro se petitions. However, errors in the application — incorrect disposition documents, incomplete petition language, failure to serve all required agencies — can result in denial or significant delays. Given that Florida allows only one expungement in a lifetime, an error that results in denial of an otherwise eligible petition is costly. For a process this consequential and this final, professional handling is not an extravagance — it is protection against a mistake that cannot be repeated.
The Bottom Line: One Shot. Make It Count.
Florida gives you one sealing and one expungement. One lifetime opportunity to close a chapter that has been limiting your opportunities, shadowing your applications, and following you into rooms where it has no business being.
That opportunity is worth taking seriously. Not just the filing — the strategy behind it. Which record. Which timing. Which pathway — direct expungement or seal first. Whether the charge qualifies. Whether the prior history creates a disqualifier that needs to be understood before anything is filed.
We have filed these petitions in Hillsborough County and Pinellas County courtrooms for 27 years. We know the process, the timelines, the common errors that derail eligible petitions, and how to present a case that gives the judge every reason to sign the order.
If there is a Florida arrest or charge on your record that you believe should not define the rest of your life — let’s find out if it has to.
