Seal or Expunge a Criminal Record
Join us for our next sealing and expungement workshop:
Holden Heights Community Center
Orlando, FL 3280
Friday, July 12
8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Contact us for more Information
To serve our office with your seal and expunge documents, please email SEUService@sao9.org.
Our legal system is an adversarial process. You may need to seek the 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.
Only available for eligible Orange County cases. Event is free but a NONREFUNDABLE money order or cashier’s check in the amount of $75.00 made payable to FDLE must accompany the application. FDLE does not accept cash, gift cards, or temporary personal checks.
You may be eligible to have a single arrest record sealed or expunged if you were charged with a crime in Orange or Osceola counties and the case did not result in a conviction.
Sealing and Expungement Defined:
Applicable Laws: Expungement- Fl. St. 943.0585, Sealing- Fl. St. 943.059 & Fl. R. Cr. Pr. – 3.692 & 3.989
Expungement means to remove from record, erase, destroy, and no public access to record. Agencies that have access to sealed records will need a court order to view expunged documents.
Seal means no public access to the record. Only agencies listed in 943.059(4)(a) shall have access to the record.
Once a case has been closed, the sealing/expungement process can begin. Sealing and expungements are available for adult and juvenile cases. However, not all cases are eligible to be sealed or expunged.
A record is ineligible for sealing or expunction and the application will be denied if the defendant:
- Has been adjudicated guilty (as an adult) of any criminal offense in any jurisdiction
- Has been adjudicated delinquent in Florida for any felony or for certain specified misdemeanors
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (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.
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 link above. 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. Applications must be mailed or dropped off to our office- we do not accept copies or duplicates of the applications.
- 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. Please note that our office does not accept the money order check.
- 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. As a note, our office does not accept or process fingerprints
- 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.
Eligibility:
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:
- Administrative Expunction 943.0581 – Petitioner has to prove that the arrest was made by mistake or contrary to law.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
Disqualifying Charges:
Documents
Download Application
Download Petition for
Sealing and Expungement
Download Sealing and
Expungement Brochure