Expunging your Florida criminal record is an investment in your future that

makes it possible for you to leave your mistakes in your past. With a clear

history, you will no longer have to worry about things like being judged

unfairly, disadvantaged in employment or educational opportunities, or losing

scholarship, loan or housing options. You can stop feeling embarrassed about

your past and you will increase your earning capacity as more opportunities

become accessible to you. If you are looking to start over with a clean

slate, however, there are five things you should know before beginning the

process to seal or expunge your record.

1.If you have ever been convicted of a crime in Florida, or anywhere else,

you are not eligible to have your record sealed or expunged. If you have no

prior convictions, there are still other eligibility requirements you would

have to meet. Go through the Florida statutes to learn if you meet these

requirements before spending any money to start the record sealing or

expungement process. Or, many Florida attorneys specializing in this area of

the law offer free evaluations, whether you decide to use their services or

not.

2.Educate yourself. The internet is full of disreputable companies looking to

make a quick dollar off of somebody else's problems. A couple of quick

internet searches will reveal if the person or company claiming to have the

ability to help you has a ton of complaints filed against them or not. It's

worth a quick check.

3.This is a one-shot deal. Under Florida law, with a limited exception for

certain juvenile records, you can seal or expunge only once. If you are

eligible to seal or expunge, and have more than one arrest or incident on

your record, choose which incident you want to remove wisely, as you will not

have another chance in the future. There are however, special circumstances

under which you may be able to seal or expunge more than one record. These

situations are rare, but do exist. For example, you may be able to expunge

more than one incident from your record if you were arrested for multiple

incidents at the same time. Plus, more than one arrest may be able to be

expunged if the multiple arrests stemmed from the same incident.

4.Consider using an attorney. This is a legal process and lawyers (love 'em

or hate 'em) are the best equipped to navigate complex statutes and represent

your interests before a court. Remember, in Florida the remedy is

discretionary, so a court does not have to grant your request to clear your

record just because you are asking. Typically record sealing and expungement

services are not very expensive and many attorneys offer money back

guarantees. Plus, an attorney can advise you if you fall under an exception

(like, for example, the two mentioned in the point above).

5.There is nothing you can do to speed up the process! This is a big one.

Once the decision has been made to move forward, most people want their

record sealed or expunged "now!" Unfortunately, the Florida Department of Law

Enforcement (FDLE) and the courts resolve requests and petitions on a first

come first serve basis. There is no amount of money you can pay to speed them

up. The only person who will benefit from receiving extra cash from you in

order to expedite the process will be the person claiming to help you. The

process to seal or expunge a record in Florida currently takes between four

to seven months.

That last point reminds me that I should mention something else... Don't wait

until the last minute, when you desperately need a clean history for a

specific situation, to begin the sealing/expunging process. It is always

better to fix a situation, if you can, before it becomes an issue. If you

wait, it just may be too late! I guess that's number six, but nothing wrong

with some more free advice!