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Expunge Your Record in Florida- The Top Five Things You Need to Know

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 worry about things like being judged unfairly, disadvantaged in job or educational opportunities, or losing scholarship, loan or housing options. You can stop feeling embarrassed about your history and you will increase your earning capacity as more opportunities become available 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 maybe 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 arrestsstemmed 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 may be too late! I guess that’s number six, but top five sounded a little better in the title…

 

About the Author

Karen Kilpatrick, Esq. has dedicated her legal career to helping people improve their future by allowing them to leave their mistakes where they belong – in the past!  If you want to find out if you are eligible to expunge your Florida record or just learn more about the process,  visit ExpungeRecordFlorida.com.

I hate florida

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