How long does it take to have a Florida criminal record sealed or expunged?
The time it takes to process a petition to seal or expunge your Florida arrest record can be a few months.
ON AVERAGE, RECORD SEALING OR RECORD EXPUNGEMENT CAN TAKE ANYWHERE FROM 5 TO 7 MONTHS.
WARNING: Beware of anyone who tells you they can have your record sealed in less than 5 months. Ask them to put their promise in writing and we expect they won’t. There is NO EXPEDITED or RUSH procedure to get this done.
Paying an extra fee WILL NOT get the FDLE to process your application faster or to get the state attorney, clerk’s office, or the judge’s office to rush your case through the system.
Again, the time to complete a Florida record sealing or record expungement is 5-7 months on average. The length of time depends on various factors:
- Whether your case is going to be a sealing or expungement (expungements take a bit more time due to additional legal requirements);
- How fast the state attorney sign off on the disposition of your case (for expungements only);
- The county your case is in. (Some county clerk’s offices are just more efficient than others );
- How fast the FDLE can issue the certificate of eligibility. The FDLE (Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement), must grant a required certificate of eligibility or the court won’t consider your petition to seal or expunge. The FDLE can sometimes take 3-5 months to process your application to seal or expunge your record depending on their backlog of cases;
- The procedure for having the final petition considered. Again, some counties are just more efficient than others when we are at the final stage of your case. Also, each judge has their own procedure for setting seal/expunge cases for final hearing. Depending on the county and the judge’s own procedure, this also can affect the time it takes to finally complete the sealing or expungement of your case.
To find out if you qualify for a record sealing or record expungement just click on the button below for a FREE Consultation to Evaluate Your Seal/Expunction Case.