Expunge Criminal Records - How to Get Rid Of A Juvenile Record In Florida And Why You Must Act Fast

Juvenile records in Florida are not nearly as confidential as people think they are. A child's name, photograph and arrest report are not confidential if a child was:

1. taken into custody for breaking a law which, if committed by an adult, would be a felony; 
2. found by the court to have committed three or more offenses which, if committed by an adult, would be misdemeanors; or 
3. transferred to the adult system for prosecution.

Bottom line: felony arrests are not confidential. Misdemeanor arrests also are not confidential if the child has been arrested on three or more occasions.

In Florida, if a child hasn't been classified as a habitual juvenile offender or been committed to a juvenile correctional facility, juvenile records are expunged automatically when the offender reaches the age of twenty-four. However, if the juvenile was ever classified as a serious or habitual offender, or committed to a juvenile correctional facility, records will not be expunged until age twenty-six. If a child was charged as an adult, juvenile records will not be expunged automatically.

Parents of juveniles, or young adults who have reached the age of majority, may not want to wait until automatic expunction occurs at twenty-four or twenty-six, since by then having a criminal record could negatively impact the educational, vocational, job and housing opportunities of the juvenile or young adult. Fortunately, juvenile records can be sealed or expunged in the same way as adult records, so long as statutory eligibility requirements are met. Keep in mind, if you expunge or seal a record under the regular expunction and record sealing statutes, you are only allowed to seal or expunge one time in a lifetime.

There are, however, special juvenile expungement procedures for children charged with non-violent misdemeanors. Often, first-time juvenile offenders enter diversion programs or Teen Court. Once a juvenile has successfully completed one of these programs for a non-violent misdemeanor charge, his or her criminal history record may be expunged under a separate statute. However, an application for pre-arrest or post-arrest diversion expunction must be submitted no later than 6 months after the completion of the diversion program. There are benefits for meeting this deadline! Records sealed or expunged under the special juvenile procedures are an exception to the ordinary rule that a person can only seal or expunge once in a lifetime, meaning that if the juvenile later gets into trouble, he or she will still have the opportunity to seal or expunge again.