Am I eligible to seal my South Florida criminal record?: Fort Lauderdale Criminal Defense Attorney explains
You may be eligible to seal your criminal record in Florida IF:
- If you have no prior Florida criminal convictions (you were never adjudicated guilty of a crime in Florida) AND
- You received a withhold of adjudication on the case you want to be sealed (meaning you did not get a guilty conviction) AND
- You are finished with any sort of sentence or conditions you had to fulfill
The benefit of sealing your Florida criminal record is that it will no longer be publicly available, and most of the time an employer won’t be able to see it on a background check and most of the time (barring a few exceptions) you don’t need to disclose the fact that you were even ever arrested.
There are a number of “disqualifying offenses” which means that even if it is your first run in with the law, and you’ve never sealed a criminal offense before - you will never be able to seal your record if the specific charge is disqualified from being sealed.
In Florida, some crimes that are not allowed to be sealed include: Arson, Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Battery, Child Abuse, Elder Abuse, Kidnapping, Manslaughter, Rape & Sexual Battery, Robbery, Carjacking, Burglary of a Dwelling, Stalking and Domestic Violence. Even if you receive a withhold of adjudication (meaning you are not convicted guilty) on these charges you still will not be able to seal your record.
Oftentimes, when you’re facing one of those charges that cannot be sealed - highly skilled Florida criminal defense lawyers can negotiate with Florida State Prosecutors for lesser charges that are no longer disqualifying offenses (which means your record could still be sealed).
CONCLUSION: if you think you are eligible to seal your criminal record in Florida, reach out to schedule a FREE Consultation
If you’re in the South Florida Tri-County Area and you think you may qualify for either sealing or expunging your Florida Criminal record, give our office a call to see if you qualify and if we can help you get your Florida Criminal record expunged.
Give us a call today to get help now:
- Fort Lauderdale: (754) 206-6200
- Sunrise: (754) 999-2499
- Boca Raton: (561) 880-8181