Sealed Or Expunged Records - Words Of Caution And Important Next Steps

Congratulations on taking a big step toward a brighter future! With your record sealed or expunged, more job, educational, housing and loan opportunities are available to you, not to mention relief from knowing you no longer have a criminal past. However, nothing is ever perfect and the sealing or expunging process is no exception. There are still steps you must take to ensure your record is removed from the public eye and things you must know now about complying with Florida law moving forward.

First, make sure your order to seal or expunge contains a list of applicable agencies known to have copies of your record. These agencies typically will be the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), State Attorney's Office, and local arresting agency (e.g., sheriff's department). Your local Clerk of Court is supposed to send a copy of the order to all known agencies having a record of your arrest, but it always helps to include the agencies in your order to help expedite this process. If your order does not contain a list of applicable agencies, don't worry! You can send a copy of the order to each agency yourself. In approximately 60 days, you may want to run a FDLE criminal history check to make sure nothing comes up.

Now here come the words of caution... If your arrest was in the media, it's still in the media (meaning, it is still accessible to the public). More importantly, private background companies keep their own databases. You may have to contact these companies yourself to request removal of your record. A simple internet search will reveal the major companies providing these services.

Once your record has been expunged or sealed, you may lawfully deny or fail to acknowledge sealed/expunged arrests. But, there are exceptions. If you are:

1. a candidate for employment with a criminal justice agency;
2. a defendant in a criminal prosecution;
3. concurrently or subsequently petitioning to seal another matter;
4. a candidate for admission to the Florida Bar;
5. seeking to be employed or licensed by, or to contract with, the Department of Children and Family Services, the Agency for Health Care Administration, the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, the Department of Juvenile Justice, or used by such agencies in a sensitive position having direct contact with children, the elderly or the developmentally disabled;
6. seeking to be employed or licensed by the Department of Education, and district school board, charter school, private school or any local governmental entity that licenses childcare facilities;
7. attempting to purchase a firearm; or
8. seeking authorization from a Florida sea port for employment within or access to a seaport

Then you still have to reveal your criminal history. However, in Florida the decision to seal or expunge by a court is discretionary, and it will be helpful to you that a court granted your record sealing or expungement request. For example, although you would have to reveal your prior record if applying to become a member of the Florida Bar, the existence of such record will not automatically disqualify you from membership.