Under Florida law, an individual arrested in the State of Florida may be eligible to have their criminal arrest record sealed. You should also be advised that in certain situations the record can be directly expunged. Expunging a record involves the erasure of the records while sealing a record results in the records being sealed and out of view for a period of time. Please listen to the section on expunging your record to see if you're eligible for that procedure.
If however, you are not eligible for expungement directly, or, if you prefer to have your record only sealed, it will be necessary that you determine if you are qualified. You are only entitled to have your record sealed or expunged once in your lifetime. Therefore, under existing law, if you have ever had a sealed or expunged record in the past you are no longer eligible. Likewise, you must not have been convicted or adjudicated of the offense you are seeking to have sealed. Because the qualifications for sealing your record are quite complicated, it is very helpful to discuss the matter with an attorney first.
Having your record sealed may result in saving a substantial amount of embarrassment and possibly help you obtain a job. Also, under certain situations, you can truthfully deny the existence of your arrest even though the arrest did take place. Please keep in mind however, there are exceptions to your right to deny the existence of your arrest and you do not want to get in trouble by denying the arrest in a situation where the law does not provide for such relief.
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Chartered Law Offices of
Troum & Wallsh
2699 Lee Rd., Suite 505
Winter Park, Florida 32789
Ph: (866) 433-1087
Fx: (407) 644-5511