Automatic Sealing in Florida
Some criminal records are sealed by operation of law after a qualifying disposition, but “automatic” does not mean every copy of the record disappears.
Florida’s automatic-sealing statute handles part of the record without a petition.
The statute covers specified no-file, all-count dismissal or nolle prosequi, not-guilty, and judgment-of-acquittal outcomes, subject to its exclusions.
The clerk sends a certified qualifying disposition to FDLE, and FDLE seals the criminal history record upon receipt.
After FDLE notifies the clerk, the related court record is kept confidential under the statute.
Section 943.0595 does not limit the number of qualifying automatic sealings a person may receive.
Automatic sealing does not require every local criminal-justice agency to seal its own record.
Section 943.0595 expressly states that the automatic sealing of the FDLE criminal history record and confidentiality of the related court record do not require other criminal-justice agencies to seal their records or surrender them to the court. Those records may continue to be maintained by the agencies that possess them.
That is why record-relief work does not end with a blank clerk search. A controlled review can confirm the final disposition, determine whether the clerk transmitted it, verify the FDLE and court-record status, identify any local agency record that remains, and decide whether court-ordered expunction is legally available and practically useful.
Supervise the automatic process rather than simply waiting for it.
The practical work is to confirm what the statute was supposed to do and what the record actually shows.
- 01Obtain the final disposition and confirm that all counts qualify under section 943.0595
- 02Check whether the charging document creates a statutory automatic-sealing exclusion
- 03Confirm clerk transmission and whether the court file is now confidential
- 04Verify FDLE criminal-history status when appropriate
- 05Identify local criminal-justice agency records that the automatic statute does not require to be sealed
- 06Screen separately for court-ordered expunction if broader relief is available
Verify what was actually sealed.
A consultation can review the disposition, automatic-sealing status, local records, and whether a court-ordered expunction should be pursued.