Seal or Expunge

Seal or Expunge a Criminal Record

As of October 1, 2019, the rules for a court-ordered seal or expunction of a criminal history record in Florida have changed. The most significant changes include:

• out-of-state convictions no longer matter; and
• any juvenile arrest that resulted in an adjudication of delinquency will not bar an adult expungement or sealing (assuming the requirements of s. 943.0515, F.S., are met).

As a result, more people are now eligible to seal or expunge a criminal record. FDLE is applying these new rules retroactively, as long as the application is submitted after October 1, 2019.

Attorneys to Seal or Expunge in Tampa, FL

If you believe that you are now eligible to seal or expunge a criminal history record in Florida, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney at Sammis Law Firm, in Tampa, FL. We can help you apply to FDLE for a Certificate of Eligibility to Seal or Expunge your criminal history record.

We charge $1200 for the attorney fees to seal or expunge any criminal record in Florida. We can begin the process today so that it is completed without delay. Call 813-250-0500.

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The Difference Between Sealing and Expunction of Criminal History Records

In Florida, the term “criminal history record” includes any non-judicial record maintained by a criminal justice agency that contains criminal history information.

Those criminal justice agencies are defined in Section 943.045(11), F.S., to include a court, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), components of the Department of Children and Families (DCF), other governmental agencies that administrate criminal justice, and the investigations component of the Department of Financial Services (DFS).

The term “criminal history information” is defined by Section 943.045(5), F.S., to include all information collected by criminal justice agencies and consists of identifiable descriptions of individuals and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, informations, other formal criminal charges, and criminal dispositions.

A person may have his or her criminal history record expunged under certain circumstances outlined in Sections 943.0581, 943.0582, 943.0583, and 943.0585, F.S.

When a record is expunged, the criminal justice agencies possessing such record must physically destroy or obliterate it. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) maintains a copy of the record to evaluate subsequent requests for sealing or expunction, and to recreate the record in the event a court vacates the order to expunge under Section 943.045(16), F.S. Under Section 943.0585(6)(a), F.S., the criminal history record retained by the FDLE is both confidential and exempt.

Once the record is expunged, a person may lawfully deny or fail to acknowledge the arrests covered by the expunged record, subject to exceptions as explained in Section 943.0585(6), F.S.

When a criminal history record is sealed, it is preserved so that it is secure and inaccessible to any person who does not have a legal right to access the record or the information contained within the record as explained in Section 943.045(19), F.S.

Under Section 943.059, F.S., a court may order a criminal history record sealed. When the court orders the criminal history record to be sealed, the order renders it
confidential and exempt from Florida’s public records laws as required by Sections 943.059(6) and 119.07(1), F.S.; Art. I, s. 24(a), Fla. Const.

Only the following entities may access a sealed criminal history record:

• The subject of the record;
• The subject’s attorney;
• Criminal justice agencies for criminal justice purposes;
• Judges in the state courts system for assisting in their case-related decision-making responsibilities; and
• Certain enumerated entities for licensing, access authorization, and employment purposes authorized under Sections 943.059(6)(a), F.S.

Section 943.059(6)(b), F.S., defines the enumerated entities to include:

• criminal justice agencies;
• The Florida Bar;
• the Department of Children and Families;
• the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation within the Department of Education;
• the Agency for Health Care Administration;
• the Agency for Persons with Disabilities;
• the Department of Health;
• the Department of Elderly Affairs;
• the Department of Juvenile Justice;
• the Department of Education;
• a district school board;
• a university laboratory school;
• a charter school;
• a private or parochial school;
• a local governmental entity that licenses child care facilities;
• the Division of Insurance Agent and Agency Services within the Department of Financial Services; and
• the Bureau of License Issuance of the Division of Licensing within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

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Determining Eligibility to Seal or Expunge a Criminal History Record

When determining if you are eligible to seal/expunge your criminal history record, please answer the following questions:

• How was the case resolved?
  • You might be eligible to expunge your record if:
    • the case was nolle prossed or dropped by the State Attorney’s Office;
    • the court dismissed the charge; or
    • you were found “not guilty” by a judge during a bench trial or by a jury during a jury trial.
  • You might be eligible to seal the record if:
    • you received a withhold of adjudication, regardless of whether you entered a “guilty” or “no contest” plea.
  • If you were “adjudicated guilty” of the offense, then you are not eligible to seal or expunge that particular record or any other record.
• Do you have any other “convictions” in Florida that make you ineligible?
  • you are not eligible if you were ever “adjudicated guilty” in Florida of any felony offense;
  • you are not eligible if you were ever “adjudicated guilty” in Florida of any misdemeanor offense, including:
    • arson under s. 806.031(1);
    • assault under s. 784.011;
    • assault on a law enforcement officer, a firefighter, or other specified officers under s. 784.07(2)(a);
    • battery under s. 784.03;
    • carrying a concealed weapon under s. 790.01(1);
    • cruelty to animals under s. 828.12(1);
    • exposure of sexual organs under s. 800.03;
    • neglect of a child under s. 827.03(1)(e);
    • open carrying of a weapon under s. 790.053;
    • petit theft under s. 812.014(3);
    • unlawful possession of a firearm under s. 790.22(5);
    • unlawful possession or discharge of a weapon or firearm at a school-sponsored event or on school property under 790.115; or
    • unlawful use of destructive devices or bombs under 790.1615(1).

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List of Offenses Not Eligible to be Sealed

If you want to seal a record, be aware that the following offenses are not eligible to be sealed:

• sexual misconduct, as defined in s. 393.135, s. 394.4593, or s. 916.1075;
• illegal use of explosives, as defined in chapter 552;
• terrorism, as defined in s. 775.30;
• murder, as defined in s. 782.04, s. 782.065, or s. 782.09;
• manslaughter or homicide, as defined in s. 782.07, s. 782.071, or s. 782.072;
• assault or battery, as defined in ss. 784.011 and 784.03, respectively, of one family or household member by another family or household member, as defined in s. 741.28(3) (often called “domestic violence”);
  • aggravated assault, as defined in s. 784.021;
  • felony battery, domestic battery by strangulation, or aggravated battery, as defined in ss. 784.03, 784.041, and 784.045, respectively;
  • stalking or aggravated stalking, as defined in s. 784.048;
  • luring or enticing a child, as defined in s. 787.025;
  • human trafficking, as defined in s. 787.06;
  • kidnapping or false imprisonment, as defined in s. 787.01 or s. 787.02;
  • any offense defined in chapter 794 (sexual battery);
  • procuring a person less than 18 years of age for prostitution, as defined in former s. 796.03;
  • lewd or lascivious offenses committed upon or in the presence of persons less than 16 years of age, as defined in s. 800.04;
  • arson, as defined in s. 806.01;
  • burglary of a dwelling, as defined in s. 810.02;
  • voyeurism or video voyeurism, as defined in ss. 810.14 and 810.145, respectively;
  • robbery or robbery by sudden snatching, as defined in ss. 812.13 and 812.131, respectively;
  • carjacking, as defined in s. 812.133;
  • home-invasion robbery, as defined in s. 812.135;
  • a violation of the Florida Communications Fraud Act, as provided in s. 817.034;
  • abuse of an elderly person or disabled adult, or aggravated abuse of an elderly person or disabled adult, as defined in s. 825.102;
  • lewd or lascivious offenses committed upon or in the presence of an elderly person or disabled person, as defined in s. 825.1025;
  • child abuse or aggravated child abuse, as defined in s. 827.03;
  • sexual performance by a child, as defined in s. 827.071;
  • any offense defined in chapter 839;
  • certain acts in connection with obscenity, as defined in s. 847.0133;
  • any offense defined in s. 847.0135;
  • selling or buying of minors, as defined in s. 847.0145;
  • aircraft piracy, as defined in s. 860.16;
  • manufacturing a controlled substance in violation of chapter 893;
  • drug trafficking, as defined in s. 893.135; or
  • any violation specified as a predicate offense for registration as a sexual predator pursuant to s. 775.21, or sexual offender pursuant to s. 943.0435, without regard to whether that offense alone is sufficient to require such registration.

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This article was last updated on Friday, October 17, 2026.