Seal or Expunge Your Florida Criminal Record

This guide covers how to seal and expunge criminal records Florida Keys residents need to know about. Sealing keeps a record on file but hides it from the public. Expunction has the agencies destroy or obliterate the record, though the state keeps a copy. Which one you can seek depends on how your case ended. Patrick Wilson Law focuses on sealing and expunging criminal records and serves clients from Broward County to the Keys from its Miami office. Patrick David Wilson is the lawyer responsible for this page.

Sealing and Expunging a Criminal Record in the Florida Keys

Florida residents in the Keys can ask a court to seal or expunge some records, but only when the case meets the statute. The Keys sit inside Monroe County, so the court papers and arrest records usually trace back to Monroe County agencies and courts. That’s the starting point for any petition.

People look into record relief for practical reasons. Licensing boards, school programs and housing applications can ask about past arrests too. Each check asks different questions, so the right step depends on what it reaches. Sealing does not cut off every employer or board. Certain licensing and employment entities can still see a sealed record, as explained below.

Two mistakes come up often. First, people assume a dismissed case clears itself. Fla. Stat. § 943.0595 covers automatic sealing, but it applies only to certain records, so don’t assume it applies to yours. Second, people file before they have the state certificate.

Sealed vs. Expunged: What Each Does

Sealing keeps the record on file but confidential, while expunction has the record destroyed or obliterated by the agencies that hold it, except that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement must retain it in all cases. Sealing falls under Fla. Stat. § 943.059. The clerk keeps the court’s sealed entries in a nonpublic index, subject to further court order, under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.692.

Expunction falls under Fla. Stat. § 943.0585. Criminal justice agencies holding the record must physically destroy or obliterate it. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement still keeps the record in all cases, and that copy stays confidential. Agencies may keep a notation that they followed the order.

Fla. Stat. § 943.0585 lists the eligibility criteria for asking a Florida court to expunge a criminal history record, including that no indictment, information, or other charging document was filed or issued in the case. Before filing the petition, the person must apply to the department for a certificate of eligibility for expunction. Sealing turns on whether you were ever adjudicated guilty. Check which route your facts fit, because the wrong petition wastes time.

Who Qualifies and Which Offenses Are Excluded

Eligibility depends on how the case ended, whether you were ever adjudicated guilty, and whether the offense is on the excluded list. For expunction, Fla. Stat. § 943.0585 allows a petition if no charging document was filed. It also allows one if the case was dismissed or nolle prosequi (the prosecutor dropped the charges), dismissed by a court, or ended in acquittal or a not-guilty verdict.

For sealing, Fla. Stat. § 943.059 requires that you have never, before the date you apply for a certificate of eligibility, been adjudicated guilty in Florida of a criminal offense, and it separately bars certain delinquency adjudications for listed felonies and misdemeanors. The term ‘conviction’ is defined in Fla. Stat. § 943.0584.

Some convictions rule out sealing and expunction. Section 943.0584 lists them. The list includes any offense in chapter 794, which covers Florida’s sexual battery offenses. It also includes vehicular homicide under s. 782.071, felony battery under s. 784.041, and battery against a family or household member.

Whether your record fits depends on the facts. A case file review is the step that confirms eligibility.

The Process: From FDLE Eligibility to the Court Order

You first get a Certificate of Eligibility from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), then file a sworn petition with the clerk. Under Fla. Stat. § 943.059(1)(d), you must be no longer under court supervision. Gather your sentencing and probation records before you apply. A court, not FDLE, decides whether to grant the petition, as the FDLE frequently asked questions explain.

The petition must be in writing and filed with the clerk. It needs the certificate and a sworn statement that you meet the eligibility rules. The completed petition and certificate must be served on the prosecuting attorney and the arresting authority, under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.692.

The prosecutor and arresting agency may respond. The court may receive evidence and can deny the request at its sole discretion. If the court grants it, the judge signs a written order that names the agencies that must act. The clerk then sends certified copies to those agencies.

Some records seal without a petition. Under Fla. Stat. § 943.0595, the department automatically seals certain records. The statute sets exclusions, so check your record against it.

You pay for certified copies of court records unless you are indigent.

Frequently Asked Questions About Sealing and Expunging in Florida

Most questions about how to seal and expunge criminal records Florida Keys residents raise come down to eligibility first. The process follows once eligibility is clear.

Non-Citizens and Licensed Professionals: What to Raise Before Filing

Non-citizens and licensed professionals should raise their status and licensing questions before any petition is filed. Those answers can change which steps make sense.

Bring your immigration papers and charging documents to the consultation so the timing can be reviewed.

Licensed professionals should bring any licensing board notices and disclosure questions to the consultation. Ask how a petition would affect any disclosure forms you have already signed.

The court decides every petition. No one can say in advance how a judge will rule.

If an old arrest is standing between you and a Keys job, a license, or a trip, our team can review your file in a free, confidential consultation. Call 786-761-1719, leave us a message, or use our contact page to book it.