What is the difference between having a criminal history record sealed versus having it expunged?
When a criminal history record is sealed, the public will not have access to it. However, certain governmental or related entities, primarily those listed in Florida Statutes section 943.059(4)(a), have access to sealed-record information in its entirety. When a record has been expunged, those entities which would have access to a sealed record will be informed that the subject of the record has had a record expunged but would not have access to the record itself without a court order. All they would receive is a statement indicating that “Criminal Information has been Expunged from this Record”.
