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February 2006 |
Question:
How can a criminal
case be sealed or expunged?
Answer:
There are certain
steps to follow to qualify for a record to be sealed or expunged. When
a criminal history record is sealed, the public will not have access to
it; however, certain governmental or related entities do have access.
When a record is expunged, those entities which would have access to a
sealed record will be informed of the expungement, but would not have
access to the record itself without a court order.
To access detailed information about the process, go to the Florida Department
of Law Enforcement's web page at www.fdle.state.fl.us/expunge.
To begin the sealing/expunging process, a Certificate of Eligibility must
be applied for in order to file your petition to seal or expunge. The
issuance of the Certificate by FDLE indicates that you are statutorily
eligible for the relief being requested. To procure the Certificate, you
must first complete Section A of the application, you must be fingerprinted
by authorized law enforcement, and you must provide a certified disposition
of the case to be sealed or expunged which can be obtained for a fee from
the Clerk's Office in the county in which the charge was brought. A non-refundable
money order or cashier's check for $75.00 payable to FDLE must accompany
the application. If you're requesting expungement, you must also have
the state attorney or statewide prosecutor complete Section B of the application.
A person may only seal or expunge one arrest record in one proceeding,
and there are requirements governing the charges that can be sealed or
expunged. Application forms and general information packets are available
from the Clerk's Office and on the FDLE website.