Guide · Florida record clearance
Sealing versus expunging a Florida record, and who the statute lets through.
Sealing and expunction are the two Florida routes for keeping a criminal history record out of public view, and they are not interchangeable. They live in different statutes, do different things to the record, and turn on different dispositions, and both sit behind a set of eligibility gates that a long list of serious offenses closes entirely. This is a working reference to the distinction and the core eligibility framework, stated as the general statutory rules and cited to the Florida Legislature text. It is not an eligibility determination for any specific record.
Read this as general information, not an eligibility determination. Whether a particular record can be sealed or expunged is offense-specific, fact-specific, and discretionary. The rules below are the general statutory requirements; they do not establish that any reader meets them, a court can deny an otherwise-eligible petition, and eligibility turns on the exact offense, the disposition, the prior record, and the current statute. Nothing here is legal advice. Confirm eligibility against the current statute and with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) for any specific record.
Free · search by charge and county
Because sealing turns on a withheld adjudication, the recorded withhold rate is a useful orientation point. See it for a specific charge category in a specific Florida county, drawn from public FDLE data, with a downloadable CSV. No account, no upload.
Open the Florida adjudication-withheld data study →Sealing and expunction do different things
The first distinction is what each remedy does to the record itself. Sealing under Fla. Stat. § 943.059 restricts public access to a criminal history record while the record itself is retained by the state. Expunction under Fla. Stat. § 943.0585 orders the criminal history record physically destroyed, with a single confidential copy retained by the state. Expunction is the more complete remedy, and the statutes make it correspondingly harder to reach. Which remedy is even available depends first on the disposition of the case, set out in the next section.
| Remedy | Statute | What it does to the record | Disposition it generally requires |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sealing | Fla. Stat. § 943.059 | restricts public access to a criminal history record while the record itself is retained by the state. | the person has not been adjudicated guilty of the acts to which the petition pertains, so a disposition where adjudication was withheld can qualify while a conviction cannot (§ 943.059(1)(c)). |
| Expunction | Fla. Stat. § 943.0585 | orders the criminal history record physically destroyed, with a single confidential copy retained by the state. | generally the case did not result in a conviction and either no charge was filed, the charge was dismissed or nolle prosequi, or it ended in acquittal, or the record had previously been sealed for a minimum of 10 years (§ 943.0585(1)(a), (1)(b), (1)(h)). |
The disposition sets which remedy is on the table
Sealing and expunction split on how the case ended. Sealing under § 943.059(1)(c) generally requires that the person has not been adjudicated guilty of the acts to which the petition pertains, so a disposition where adjudication was withheld can qualify while a conviction cannot. That is why a withhold of adjudication matters so much to a client asking about clearing a record: a withheld adjudication satisfies the no-adjudication-of-guilt condition where a conviction would defeat it. For what a withhold is and how it differs from a conviction, see the companion Florida withhold-of-adjudication guide. Expunction under § 943.0585(1)(a), (1)(b), (1)(h) is narrower: generally the case did not result in a conviction and either no charge was filed, the charge was dismissed or nolle prosequi, or it ended in acquittal, or the record had previously been sealed for a minimum of 10 years. The single numeric period anywhere in this framework is that 10-year prior-sealing route, and it is stated exactly as the statute writes it.
Authority: Fla. Stat. § 943.059 (court-ordered sealing) and Fla. Stat. § 943.0585 (court-ordered expunction).
The core eligibility framework
Beyond the disposition, both remedies run through the same set of statutory gates. Each of the following is a requirement a petition has to satisfy; each is stated here as the general statutory rule, not as a finding that any reader meets it.
| Requirement | General statutory rule | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| One-time-only relief | The person must never have secured a prior court-ordered sealing or expunction of a criminal history record, apart from the narrow route that lets a record previously sealed for a minimum of 10 years be expunged. | § 943.059(1)(e); § 943.0585(1)(g), (1)(h) |
| No prior conviction | The person must not have a prior adjudication of guilt for a criminal offense, subject to the statute's own carve-outs. | § 943.059(1)(b); § 943.0585(1)(d) |
| Current offense not a disqualifying offense | The record must not be one that a statutory list of serious offenses makes ineligible for sealing or expunction, a list that includes many violent and sexual offenses. | § 943.0584 (via § 943.059(1)(a) / § 943.0585(1)(c)) |
| Disposition of the current offense | For sealing, the current offense must not have been adjudicated guilty, so a withheld adjudication can qualify while a conviction cannot; for expunction, the case generally must not have resulted in a conviction and must have ended without a filed charge, in a dismissal or nolle prosequi, or in acquittal, unless the record was previously sealed for a minimum of 10 years. | § 943.059(1)(c); § 943.0585(1)(a), (1)(b), (1)(h) |
| No longer under court supervision | The person must no longer be under court supervision applicable to the disposition of the arrest or activity to which the petition pertains. | § 943.059(1)(d); § 943.0585(1)(f) |
| FDLE Certificate of Eligibility | Before petitioning the court, the person must apply to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for a certificate of eligibility for sealing or expunction. | § 943.059(2); § 943.0585(2) |
Each gate is drawn from Fla. Stat. § 943.059 (sealing) or Fla. Stat. § 943.0585 (expunction), with the disqualifying-offense bar set by Fla. Stat. § 943.0584. The statutes control; confirm the current text for any specific record.
Some offenses can never be sealed or expunged
A statutory list of serious offenses can never be sealed or expunged, including many violent and sexual offenses. The list is long and detailed, and it is set by statute, so any specific offense has to be checked against the current text of the statute rather than assumed.
Because that list is long and defined by statute, this guide does not reproduce it. Being outside the Fla. Stat. § 943.0584 bar is only one of the eligibility gates above, not a determination that a record can be cleared. The controlling question is whether the specific offense appears in the current statute, which has to be read directly.
Authority: Fla. Stat. § 943.0584 (criminal history records ineligible for court-ordered expunction or sealing).
The FDLE certificate of eligibility is a required step
Both remedies run through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) before the court sees the petition. Under Fla. Stat. § 943.059 and Fla. Stat. § 943.0585, a person must apply to the department for a certificate of eligibility for sealing or expunction before petitioning a court. The certificate confirms the statutory gates are met on the department's review; it is a prerequisite, not the final decision, because the petition still goes to the court. Current application requirements and fees are set by the department, so those are confirmed with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) rather than assumed.
Eligibility does not compel relief: the court's discretion
The most important caveat in this whole framework is that meeting the requirements does not entitle anyone to sealing or expunction. Both statutes say so directly. Under § 943.059(4)(e), on sealing: “This section does not confer any right to the sealing of any criminal history record, and any request for sealing of a criminal history record may be denied at the sole discretion of the court.” The expunction statute carries the parallel rule at § 943.0585(4)(e). So a petition can be denied even where every statutory gate is satisfied, which is why eligibility is the floor of the analysis, not the end of it.
Authority: Fla. Stat. § 943.059 (§ 943.059(4)(e)) and Fla. Stat. § 943.0585 (§ 943.0585(4)(e)) (the section confers no right to relief; a request may be denied at the sole discretion of the court).
Where the data helps orient the sealing question
Because court-ordered sealing turns on a withheld adjudication, how often withholds are actually recorded is a useful orientation point, though it never establishes eligibility for any specific case. The free data study breaks the recorded withhold rate down by charge category, offense level, and county, drawn from public FDLE Clerk-of-Court data, with a downloadable CSV.
See the recorded withhold rate for a specific charge in a specific Florida county, the disposition that court-ordered sealing turns on.
Open the Florida adjudication-withheld data study →Reference
For what a withhold of adjudication is and how it differs from a conviction, see the Florida withhold-of-adjudication guide. For the recorded withhold rate by charge and county, see the Florida adjudication-withheld data study. For the full set of Florida charge and procedure references, start at the Florida criminal-defense references hub.
Common questions
- What is the difference between sealing and expunging a record in Florida?
- They are two different forms of relief under different statutes. Sealing under Fla. Stat. § 943.059 restricts public access to a criminal history record while the record itself is retained by the state. Expunction under Fla. Stat. § 943.0585 orders the criminal history record physically destroyed, with a single confidential copy retained by the state. The two turn on different dispositions: sealing generally applies where the person has not been adjudicated guilty of the acts to which the petition pertains, so a disposition where adjudication was withheld can qualify while a conviction cannot, while expunction generally the case did not result in a conviction and either no charge was filed, the charge was dismissed or nolle prosequi, or it ended in acquittal, or the record had previously been sealed for a minimum of 10 years. This is general information about the two statutory routes, not a determination that any particular record fits either one.
- Does a withhold of adjudication let a Florida record be sealed?
- A withhold is what makes sealing possible on the current offense, but it is not sufficient on its own. Under § 943.059(1)(c), court-ordered sealing requires that the person has not been adjudicated guilty of the acts to which the petition pertains, so a disposition where adjudication was withheld can qualify while a conviction cannot. A withheld adjudication satisfies that disposition requirement where a conviction would not, but the other statutory gates still apply, some offenses are barred entirely under Fla. Stat. § 943.0584, and sealing is discretionary. Whether a specific record can be sealed has to be confirmed against the current statute.
- Which Florida offenses can never be sealed or expunged?
- Fla. Stat. § 943.0584 sets out a statutory list of serious offenses that can never be sealed or expunged, including many violent and sexual offenses. The list is long and detailed and is defined by statute, so whether a particular charge is on it has to be checked against the current text of Fla. Stat. § 943.0584 rather than assumed. Being outside that list is only one of several requirements, not a determination that a record can be cleared.
- Can I seal or expunge more than one Florida case?
- Florida sealing and expunction are one-time-only relief. Under the governing statutes, a person who has already secured a court-ordered sealing or expunction is generally not eligible for another, apart from a narrow route that lets a record previously sealed for a minimum of 10 years be expunged. Because the relief is limited, which case to pursue is a significant decision that turns on the specific records and the current statute.
- Do I need a certificate of eligibility from FDLE to seal or expunge in Florida?
- Yes. Under both Fla. Stat. § 943.059 and Fla. Stat. § 943.0585, before petitioning the court a person must apply to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) for a certificate of eligibility for sealing or expunction. The certificate is a required step, not the final decision: even with a certificate, the petition still goes to the court, and the court retains discretion over whether to grant it.
- If I am eligible, does the Florida court have to seal or expunge my record?
- No. Meeting the statutory requirements does not compel relief. Both statutes state that they confer no right to sealing or expunction and that a request may be denied at the sole discretion of the court, so a petition can be denied even where the statutory gates are satisfied. Eligibility is offense-specific, fact-specific, and discretionary, and this is general information, not legal advice or an eligibility determination.
This guide is general legal information for practitioners, not legal advice and not an eligibility determination. Florida sealing under Fla. Stat. § 943.059 and expunction under Fla. Stat. § 943.0585 are one-time-only, discretionary remedies barred for a statutory list of serious offenses under Fla. Stat. § 943.0584, and eligibility is offense-specific and fact-specific. Whether a particular record can be sealed or expunged turns on the exact offense, the disposition, the prior record, the FDLE certificate-of-eligibility review, and the court's discretion. Confirm every rule against the current statute and with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) before relying on it.