Florida Expungement: Eligibility, FDLE Certificate, and Costs

Florida expungement is a court-ordered remedy that requires criminal justice agencies to physically destroy the record of an arrest or charge, and it is available when your case ended without any finding of guilt. That means charges were dropped, the prosecutor filed a nolle prosequi, the court dismissed the case, a judge or jury returned a not guilty verdict, or no charges were ever filed in the first place.¹ Get through the eligibility rules, obtain a Certificate of Eligibility from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, then file a petition in the county where the case originated.

Who Qualifies for Expungement

The case outcome is the threshold. If you were convicted, or adjudication was withheld (a plea or verdict that stops short of formal conviction), expungement is not available to you. Sealing may be, but that is a different remedy discussed further down.

Assuming your case ended favorably, you also have to clear these background requirements:¹

You have never been adjudicated guilty of any criminal offense, and never adjudicated delinquent for a felony or for certain listed misdemeanors including assault, battery, carrying a concealed weapon, petit theft, child neglect, and cruelty to animals.
You have never had a Florida record sealed or expunged before.
You are no longer on probation or any other court supervision tied to the arrest.
The offense is not on Florida’s list of charges permanently ineligible for this remedy.

The “no prior convictions” rule catches people. It is nationwide, not Florida-only. When you apply for a Certificate of Eligibility, the FDLE runs a national background check, and any conviction anywhere, including out-of-state offenses, traffic crimes, and municipal ordinance violations, will trigger a denial.²

Offenses That Can Never Be Expunged

Section 943.0584 lists offenses that stay ineligible regardless of what else is true. The FDLE’s disqualifying charges include homicide and manslaughter, sexual battery and other Chapter 794 offenses, aggravated assault, kidnapping and false imprisonment, robbery and carjacking, child abuse and neglect, and domestic violence offenses.³ The full list on the FDLE website is longer.

There is one important distinction. The ineligibility attaches to the offense you are trying to expunge, not to unrelated history. If you were arrested for one of these charges but the case was dropped or dismissed with no adjudication, you can still petition to expunge the arrest record.¹ Sealing, by contrast, is off the table for these offenses if adjudication was withheld.

Expungement Versus Sealing

Both remedies protect you from public disclosure, but they act on the record differently. Sealing turns the record confidential; the record still exists, and judges, criminal justice agencies, your attorney, and specific licensing entities listed in the statute can still see it.⁴ Expungement requires every agency to physically destroy or obliterate the record. The FDLE keeps one confidential copy that no one can access without a court order, which mainly exists to keep someone from using the remedy twice.¹

The eligibility split follows disposition. Expungement needs no adjudication of guilt at all. Sealing is for cases where adjudication was withheld.

Step 1: Get a Certificate of Eligibility from the FDLE

You cannot file anything in court until the FDLE confirms you qualify. The application to the FDLE requires:⁵

A full set of fingerprints taken by an authorized law enforcement agency.
A certified copy of the final disposition from the clerk of court in the county where the case ended.
A notarized application signed in front of a notary public or deputy clerk.
A nonrefundable $75 fee paid by money order, cashier’s check, or personal check payable to FDLE.
Section B of the application completed by the State Attorney or Statewide Prosecutor. This step is required for expungement, not sealing.

The FDLE currently takes over 12 weeks to process applications, working through them in the order received.² If you qualify, the certificate arrives by certified mail. If you do not, you get a letter explaining the reason for denial.

Step 2: File the Petition in Court

Once the certificate is in hand, file your petition with the clerk of court in the county where the arrest or charge originated. Your filing package includes the petition, a sworn affidavit, the Certificate of Eligibility, and a proposed order for the judge to sign.

Filing fees vary by county. Citrus County, for example, charges a $42 filing fee plus small additional costs for copies and certification of the order.⁶ Check with your local clerk for the exact amount.

After filing, serve copies of the petition on the State Attorney (or Statewide Prosecutor) and the arresting agency. Neither has to be joined as a party, but both can respond and object.¹ Whether a hearing is scheduled depends on whether anyone objects. When the paperwork is in order and the State Attorney does not object, many judges grant the petition without one.

Total Cost

The minimum out-of-pocket is the $75 FDLE fee plus your county’s filing fee and the cost of the certified disposition. Doing it yourself typically runs $150 to $300 depending on where you file.⁵ Attorneys who handle these cases on flat fees generally charge between $750 and $5,000, with straightforward matters near the lower end. A clean dismissal with no other criminal history is manageable without a lawyer; borderline eligibility or complicated facts are where paid help usually pays for itself.

What the Order Does, and What It Does Not Do

After the judge signs, the clerk sends the order to every agency holding your record. Those agencies must destroy it, keeping only a notation showing they complied.¹ The practical benefit is that you may lawfully deny the arrest ever happened on job applications, rental applications, and similar inquiries from private parties.⁴ The record should also drop off standard commercial background checks, though private screening companies with their own databases sometimes need a follow-up.

When You Still Have to Disclose

The right to deny does not apply everywhere. You must disclose an expunged record when:¹

Applying for a job with a criminal justice agency such as a police department, corrections, or a prosecutor’s office.
Seeking admission to The Florida Bar.
Seeking employment, licensing, or a contract with the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Health, the Department of Elderly Affairs, the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, or the Department of Juvenile Justice, especially in roles with direct contact with children, the elderly, or people with disabilities.
Seeking employment or licensing through the Department of Education, school districts, charter schools, or any entity that licenses child care facilities.
Applying for an insurance agent license through the Department of Financial Services.
Seeking appointment as a guardian.
Applying for a concealed weapon or firearm license.
Serving as a defendant in a criminal prosecution.

Upgrading a Sealed Record to Expungement

Florida’s one-time rule normally blocks you from sealing or expunging a second record after you have used the remedy once. There is one upgrade path: if a record has been sealed for at least 10 years, you can petition to expunge that same record.¹ The 10-year wait does not apply if no plea was entered or if all charges were dismissed before trial, since you could have gone straight to expungement originally.

Special Expungement Paths

The standard process covers most people, but Florida offers alternative routes for specific situations.

Administrative Expunction for Wrongful Arrests

If you were arrested by mistake or contrary to law, the arresting agency can apply directly to the FDLE to have the record removed, bypassing the courts. You can apply yourself, but you need a written endorsement from either the head of the arresting agency or the State Attorney for the circuit where the arrest occurred.⁷ This only works for nonjudicial records, meaning arrests where no court case was initiated.

Early Juvenile Expunction

A person between 18 and 21 can apply to expunge a nonjudicial juvenile arrest record if they have not been charged with or found to have committed any criminal offense in the previous five years, and the offense being expunged occurred before they turned 18. The application goes to the FDLE, requires State Attorney approval in each circuit where an eligible offense occurred, and costs $75. If the application is denied, the record is expunged automatically at 21, provided the eligibility conditions are still met.⁸

Lawful Self-Defense Expungement

If the State Attorney or court found you acted in lawful self-defense under Chapter 776, including Stand Your Ground, and charges were never filed or were dismissed, you can apply under Section 943.0578. The application still requires the $75 fee, fingerprints, a certified disposition, and a certified statement from the State Attorney, but it moves through its own track at the FDLE.⁹

Human Trafficking Victim Expungement

Section 943.0583 gives trafficking victims the broadest relief. You can petition to expunge any arrest, charge, or even a conviction for offenses committed as part of the trafficking scheme or at a trafficker’s direction. No FDLE Certificate of Eligibility is required. You file directly with the court, and if the judge grants the petition, the clerk forwards the order to the FDLE.¹⁰

Expungement Does Not Solve Immigration Problems

A Florida expungement order binds state and local agencies. It has no effect on federal records or federal agencies. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Department of Homeland Security all retain access to expunged records for immigration proceedings, and the Board of Immigration Appeals does not treat a state expungement as eliminating a conviction for immigration purposes.² If you are not a U.S. citizen and have any criminal history, talk to an immigration attorney before assuming an expungement will help with a visa, green card, or removal proceeding.

1
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 943.0585 – Court-Ordered Expunction of Criminal History Records
2
Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Seal and Expunge FAQ
3
Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Reasons for Denial
4
Justia Law. Florida Code 943.059 – Court-Ordered Sealing of Criminal History Records
5
Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Applying for a Certificate of Eligibility for Court-Ordered Sealing or Expungement
6
Citrus County Clerk of Courts. Seal or Expunge a Record
7
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 943.0581 – Administrative Expunction for Arrests Made Contrary to Law or by Mistake
8
Florida Senate. Florida Code 943.0515 – Retention of Criminal History Records of Minors
9
Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Applying for Lawful Self-Defense Expungement
10
Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Human Trafficking Expungement