The case is over. The charges were dropped, or the judge withheld adjudication, and you walked out believing that chapter was closed. Then the apartment application comes back denied. The job offer goes quiet. Here is the hard truth about Florida: a record can follow you even when the case never ended in a conviction. I started my career as an Assistant Public Defender in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Tampa, where I handled hundreds of cases, and I’ve watched records like that cost good people jobs, housing, and licenses. That’s why I wrote Safir Guide No. 15, Clearing Your Florida Record. Here are three things from it.
Three things from the guide
1. Sealed means hidden. Expunged means gone. And you only get one shot.
Florida treats these as two different remedies. A sealed record under section 943.059 still exists, but the public, most employers, and landlords can’t see it. An expunged record under section 943.0585 is physically destroyed, with one confidential copy kept at FDLE. The court-ordered process is once in a lifetime, and that one chance covers both remedies. Use it to seal one case and you can’t come back later to expunge another. When your disposition allows expunging, that’s almost always the better use of the shot. There’s also a bridge worth knowing: a record sealed for ten years may then be expunged.
2. Whether you can ever clear your record is decided while the case is still open
The way a case ends controls everything. Dropped, dismissed, never filed, or acquitted may be expunged. A withhold of adjudication may be sealed. A conviction generally cannot be cleared at all. Two plea offers can look identical on the sentencing page and be worlds apart on your future, because the withhold keeps the door open and the conviction closes it. If you or someone you love has an open case right now, ask your lawyer, before any plea, what the disposition will mean for sealing or expunging later. The guide also covers the DUI wrinkle: Florida judges can’t withhold adjudication on a DUI, so the route that helps is a reduction, often to reckless driving with a withhold.
3. Automatic sealing is real, but it isn’t the same thing
Since mid-2023, section 943.0595 has FDLE sealing many dropped, dismissed, and acquitted cases on its own, with no petition and no fee. Helpful, but it never reaches a withhold of adjudication, it moves on FDLE’s schedule, and it leaves some agency records public, including booking photos. If you’re eligible to expunge, it’s usually still worth doing it the court-ordered way. The guide walks the whole process: the seventy-five dollar FDLE application, the certificate that typically takes about twelve weeks and lasts one year, and the petition under Rule 3.692.
Get the full guide free
The guide is free. One email unlocks it and the whole Safir Guides library at thesafirlawyer.com/free-guides. Prefer to read on the web? The full coverage lives in the sealing and expunging section. And if a background check is standing between you and a job or a lease right now, skip the reading and call or text (727) 761-4318. Every case is different, and the eligibility review is a short conversation.
You’re better Safir than sorry.
About the author
Rory Safir is a St. Petersburg attorney who handles injury claims and criminal defense across the Tampa Bay area. He is one of a handful of ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientists in Florida and a former Assistant Public Defender in Tampa, and he brings that same evidence-driven approach to fighting for injured clients.
