OCALA EXPUNGEMENT ATTORNEYS
Expungement Attorneys Tania Alavi & Andrew Pozzuto will help you move forward in your career, education and life by deleting the criminal history that may be obstructing your future. Contact the AP Law Group today to clear your criminal history.
CRIMINAL RECORDS FOLLOW YOU FOREVER
Did you know that in Florida, even if the charges against you were dropped or dismissed, a criminal record still exists and follows you around forever unless it is expunged or sealed? Florida Statute 943.053, makes adult criminal history records public unless the record has been sealed or expunged.
A criminal record may keep you from getting the job you want or the educational opportunities you had hoped for. However, your past mistakes do not have to hold you back like dead weight. Florida Law allows you to Expunge (also called an Expunction) or Seal certain criminal charges or crimes.
Please contact Expungement Attorneys Tania Alavi or Andrew Pozzuto at (352) 732-9191 and talk to an experienced Florida Expungement and Sealing Attorney about how to clear your Florida criminal record. Take back your future starting today.
HOW DO I GET MY RECORD EXPUNGED IN FLORIDA
First, determine whether you are eligible:
Florida Statute 943.0585 allows you to seal or expunge your Florida criminal records related to one criminal episode. Check whether you are eligible:
- No prior sealing or expungement in Florida;
- No prior adjudications of guilt for any crime;
- Not currently on probation or any other court supervision;
- Never entered a plea of guilty or no contest to a charge not eligible for sealing or expungement under Florida law.
These charges are NOT eligible to be Sealed
WHAT TYPE OF RECORDS CAN BE SEALED?
Florida Statutes 943.059 define Sealing Criminal Records as follows:
In order to seal your criminal record, you must have never previously sealed or expunged a criminal record in any jurisdiction, have never been adjudicated guilty by the court for any offenses, and not have committed certain offenses. If the court ordered that adjudication was withheld and you are otherwise eligible, your record may be sealed.
WHAT DOES SEALING A CRIMINAL RECORD MEAN?
When your criminal record is sealed, the public will no longer have access to it. The data is removed from the Criminal Information Justice System, and the record will not show up on any background checks for employment or educational opportunities. However, certain governmental entities will still have access to it in order to perform their duties, including criminal justice agencies and certain judges. After your criminal record has been sealed for 10 years, you may then ask the Court to expunge or completely obliterate the record.
WHAT TYPE OF RECORDS CAN BE EXPUNGED?
Florida Statutes 943.0585 define Expunging Criminal Record as follows:
In order to expunge your criminal record, your charges must have been abandoned, dropped or dismissed by the state, and you must have had no other criminal records expunged in any jurisdiction.
WHAT DOES SEALING A CRIMINAL RECORD MEAN?
When your criminal record is expunged, it is destroyed and not able to be viewed without a court order. However, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement does keep one copy of the record and certain governmental agencies may have limited information regarding your expunged record. Additionally, you may be required to disclose the sealing or expunction for certain employment or professional association applications like the Florida Bar. The government agencies who are permitted to have knowledge of your criminal record will receive a statement indicating the criminal record has been expunged, but they may not access to the record itself.
DO EXPUNGED RECORDS SHOW UP ON BACKGROUND CHECKS?
Expungement is the process of requesting that a judge delete, destroy or obliterate a criminal record. Sealing a record is similar, but the record is NOT destroyed. An expunged record is destroyed. When a record is sealed or expunged it does not show up in background checks. However, in the age of the internet where records connecting to other records are infinite, it may take some time for all records to be wiped clean.
Contact Expungement Lawyers with The AP Law Group to start expunging or sealing your criminal record. Call (352) 732-9191 or email your questions today.