Orlando Sealing & Expungement Lawyers
Helping Clients With Sealing & Expungement in Florida
Criminal arrests, charges, and convictions are all a matter of public record. This unfortunate fact can give many people a permanent criminal record accessible by anyone running a routine background check. Applications for almost anything, from jobs to housing, college, professional licenses, credit card companies, and more can require you to disclose if you have ever been arrested. These future employers and others can run background checks and ask for explanations about what they find. When competing with others on these applications, your criminal record will likely put you behind the other applicants or disqualify you automatically.
The answer to all of this is to have your criminal record sealed or expunged. To achieve this, you will need to meet certain eligibility requirements. At Longwell Lawyers, we have helped innumerable individuals in this matter in the past three decades. We are well-versed in the process and also provide an additional strategy for how to deal with the problem of disclosure when applying for a position or benefit that does not require it.
Understanding Florida’s Expungement & Record Sealing Laws
The rules regarding expungement are covered under Florida Statutes §§ 943.0585, and 943.059.
You must meet all eligibility requirements to obtain an expungement or the sealing of your record. These eligibility criteria include such factors as the following:
- You have no previous adjudications of guilt for any crimes or for the matter that is being pursued
- You have no previous expungements or record sealing or petitions for them
- The charge under review with your petition is not excluded by law
Examples of offenses that are excluded from record sealing or expungement include those related to domestic violence, aggravated assault, sex crimes, and more.
We’ll be Your Advocate
When your criminal record is sealed or expunged, it means that the public will not have access to it. However, most government agencies will continue to be able to access a sealed record. If your record is expunged, government agencies will need a court order to see it. When you have records sealed or expunged, you are generally not required to disclose arrests on job or other applications or in interviews. You are allowed only one court-ordered sealing or expungement during your life.
