Can state criminal records of arrests not leading to conviction be sealed (including expunged, erased, or purged)?
Yes, most acquittals and withheld adjudications may be sealed if the individual is no longer under court supervision and has no previous convictions or juvenile adjudications for certain violent, sexual, or weapons-related misdemeanor or felony offenses. This relief is available only once. Fla. Stat. Ann. 943.059. Most sealed records may be expunged after 10 years have elapsed. To seal a record means to make it inaccessible to anyone without a legal right to access. To expunge a record means to physically destroy it. Fla. Stat. Ann. 943.045 and .059(1) and (2). In addition, most dismissals, nolle prosses, and “no informations” can be expunged if the individual is no longer under court supervision and has no previous convictions or juvenile adjudications for certain violent, sexual, or weapons-related misdemeanor or felony offenses. Dismissals prior to trial or adjudication and withheld adjudications must first be sealed for 10 years before they can be expunged. This relief is available
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