Our legal system is an adversarial process. You may need to seek assistance of counsel to help you in the process. Unfortunately, the State Attorney is not allowed to assist you during the seal and expunge process. If you have any questions, please call us at (407) 836-2492 or email us at SASealandExpSupport@sao9.org.

 ​Applicable Laws: Expungement- Fl. St. 943.0585, Sealing- Fl. St. 943.059 &  Fl. R. Cr. Pr. - 3.692 & 3.989

Expunge: To remove from record, erase, destroy, no public access to record, agencies that have access to sealed records will need a court order to view expunged documents.

Seal: No public access to record, only agencies listed in 943.059(4)(a) shall have access to record.

Once a case has been closed, the Sealing/Expungement process can begin.  Sealing and Expungements are available to both adult and juvenile cases.  However, not all cases are eligible to be Sealed or Expunged.  If Defendant has been adjudicated guilty (as an adult) of any criminal offense in any jurisdiction (or adjudicated delinquent in Florida for any felony or for certain specified misdemeanors), the record is ineligible for sealing or expunction and the application will be denied. FDLE conducts a state, national and criminal traffic records check when processing applications.  Both Florida Statutes 943.0585 & 943.059 lists the charges that disqualify a Defendant from having his record Expunged or Sealed.  

---

Eligibility for Sealing:

• If Defendant meets the eligibility requirements and the disposition of the case was a Withhold of Adjudication
• Any charge which resulted in an acquittal after trial

---

Eligibility for Expungement:

• Cases that have been Sealed for at least 10 years
• A charge which was dismissed before trial (e.g., no information, nolle proseqi, no bill, etc.)
• Adjudications of guilty in Traffic infractions

---

Expungements with additional requirements:

1. Administrative Expunction 943.0581 - Petitioner has to prove that the arrest was made by mistake or contrary to law.
2. Human Trafficking Expunction 943.0583 - a person who is a victim of human trafficking (as defined in Section 943.0583(1)(c) and Section 787.06, Florida Statutes) may petition for the expungement of a criminal history record resulting from the arrest or filing of charges for an offense committed or reported to have been committed as a part of the human trafficking scheme of which he or she was a victim.
3. Automatic Juvenile Expungement  943.0515, the criminal history record of a minor maintained by FDLE will automatically be expunged at the age of 21, or (if the minor was committed to a juvenile correctional facility or juvenile prison) age 26, provided certain conditions are satisfied (essentially, not having been charged with or convicted of a forcible felony as an adult or when treated as an adult.
4. Early Juvenile Expungement 943.0515(1)(b)2, persons between the ages of 18 and 21 may, under certain conditions, apply to have their juvenile criminal history record expunged by FDLE. A person may apply to the appropriate prosecuting attorney to approve the expungement of his or her FDLE juvenile criminal history record if the subject has not been charged with or found to have committed any criminal offense (including the one that you are seeking to expunge) within the preceding 5 years.
5. Juvenile Diversion Expungement  943.0582, a person who has completed an authorized juvenile prearrest or postarrest diversion program for a non-violent misdemeanor not involving domestic violence
6. Lawful Self-Defense Expungement  943.0585(5), a subject may apply for a Lawful Self-Defense Certificate of Eligibility if the appropriate state attorney or statewide prosecutor certifies that the subject acted in lawful self-defense pursuant to the provisions related to justifiable use of force in Chapter 776, Florida Statutes, and the charge(s) were not filed on, or were dismissed by the state attorney or the court.

---

Expungement and Sealing Process

• Defendant must complete sign and notarize Part A of the application for Certificate of Eligibility, which can be downloaded from the FDLE website.  If it is for an Expungement, Part A must be completed and sent to the State Attorney’s office to complete and approve Part B of the application.
• Once the application for Expungement has been signed and approved by the State Attorney’s Office.
• The Defendant needs a check or money order made payable to FDLE in the amount of $75 - unless they are applying for a juvenile diversion expunction
• A certified copy of the final disposition of the case that they are applying to have sealed or expunged. If they were given probation or pretrial intervention, a certified copy of the probation termination or pretrial intervention completion is required, along with the final court disposition.
• A legible set of fingerprints taken by a law enforcement or criminal justice agency on an applicant fingerprint card or the fingerprint form provided with the application packet. All documents are then sent to FDLE for Certificate of Eligibility approval
• If the application is for a Sealing, all documents must be sent directly to FDLE.  

Once the Defendant is given a Certificate of Eligibility by FDLE, they have 1 year from the date stamped on the Certificate to have the record Sealed or Expunged.  If the Certificate expires, the Defendant will have to reapply. The Certificate along with the Petition to Expunge or Seal, Affidavit, and Proposed Order are filed with the Clerk and forwarded to the State Attorney and all agencies involved. Once the State approves or objects to the Petition, the Response is sent to the Judge for final approval.  Once the Judge’s certified Order is filed and received, the documents are either Sealed or Expunged.  If the documents are Sealed, the Defendant has to wait at least 10 years and then apply for an Expungement of the case.