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An overview of the expungement process in Florida:

The expungement process is essentially four, sometimes five steps:

1.

Obtain the State Attorney’s approval on the petitioner’s application for a certificate of eligibility (CoE);

2.

Submit the approved application for a CoE to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE);

3.

Once the FDLE issues the CoE, submit that along with several other court filings to the clerk for the judge to sign;

4.

Have a hearing on the petition to expunge criminal history records (this step is not required in every instance and varies from county to county);

5.

Have the signed order expunging the criminal history record sent to the relevant agencies and government departments who have a record of the criminal record (does not apply to civil records of the incident, such as those retained by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.)

The results of having a record expunged are as follows:

1.

The record is physically destroyed by every criminal justice agency that has custody of the record (however, a criminal justice agency may retain a notation that an order to expunge was complied with);

2.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will retain a copy of the record, but it will not be subject to the provisions of s. 119.07(1) (public records) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution (access to public records and meetings) and will not be available to any person or entity except upon order of a court of competent jurisdiction. Those parties enumerated in s. 943.0585(4) and listed here. Who are entitled to be notified of an expunged record will only receive the subject's demographic information and a caveat statement stating that criminal history information has been expunged, but will be unable to receive the details;

3.

The individual may lawfully deny or fail to acknowledge the arrests covered by the expunged record, except in the circumstances enumerated in s. 943.0585(4)(a) and listed here.

The importance of having your record sealed or expunged:

Employer run background checks have become a $4 billion dollar a year industry. Almost every corporation and organization runs a criminal history check before hiring a new employee, and an arrest record could result in the disqualification of an applicant. Several of our clients were even denied the ability to take part in their children’s school activities because of a prior arrest record. If you were arrested, but were not convicted of any crime, you deserve to be treated fairly, not like a criminal. By having your record expunged, you can be sure that it will not be available to the vast majority of private employers and nosey citizens. Click here for a free review of your case to determine if you are eligible!