How to Seal or Expunge Your Florida Criminal Record

An arrest or dismissed case on your criminal record in Florida can subject you to employment and housing discrimination long after the case was closed. A common misconception is that a case that does not result in a conviction will not show on your record or will come off your record on its own. The reality is that Florida's courts and law enforcement agencies make it easy for anyone to access criminal records; even records of cases that did not result in a conviction. Fortunately, there is relief available in Florida that can, in some cases, thus making it no longer available for the public to view. This video will provide you information on criminal record sealing and expungement in Florida. It even includes some pointers that most attorneys don’t know.

[@j0hnd0e16]

Great video, one of the most (if not the most) comprehensive when it comes to expungement in FL.
That said, my conclusion is that expungement is pretty USELESS.
It's only useful IF:
1) you plan to be renting average-to-nice apartments/houses for years to come --but if you're planning on buying your own house or already did, then it's USELESS.
2) you plan to apply for jobs at private companies for years to come --but if you work 1099, have your own company, are independent contractor, or similar, then it's USELESS too.
And all that assuming your landlord or employer don't run a background check directly from the FBI records (it's never expunged at a federal level apparently), bc if they do it'll show up, and you'll end up looking like a liar for denying the arrest, regardless how entitled you are to do so by law.
Also, any professional license you need to apply for in the future, the arrest is going to show up since they use FBI records.
So what's the point of expunging when you can simply show the case disposition (nolle pros) which shows that there wasn't a case in the 1st place and your arrest is not showing your mistake but a cop's mistake?
I'd gladly spend the money if I saw it beneficial for anything, but I don't

[@kevb3047]

It does seem useless because she's saying you're only eligible if charges are dismissed for one of multiple reasons, so it only applies to the tiny percentage of cases where you were NOT convicted after being arrested and maybe charged. Seems like most individuals would be interested in this for CONVICTIONS, but It takes until like the 3rd minute to say in double-negative form 'only people eligible are cases where there was NO conviction'. So even if you're legit falsely accused and the judge throws out everything, you have to go through this entire process perfectly to erase this entry, even if prosecutors, or witnesses or police are 100% found to be mistaken, crooked, maybe an angry ex- falsely accuses... and even then you may not be eligible to seal/expunge.

[@tanyaaynat4595]

Thank you, very informative.