How long does it take to seal or expunge a criminal arrest case in Florida?

Sealing or expungement of a criminal record in Florida is not a fast process. The average time to complete a sealing or expungement is usually 6-9 months. There are different agencies that have to be dealt with throughout the process and each one takes their own time. Also, there are 67 counties in Florida which means, 67 clerks of court and 67 state attorney offices. Each one does things differently. They all play a part in the sealing and expungement of a case.  Some are faster and some are slower than others.

Then, there is the FDLE (Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement). The FDLE has to issue what's called a "certificate of eligibility". Without this certificate, the judge wont' even consider the petition to seal or expunge. The FDLE takes the largest chunk of time. Their processing time as of the writing of this post is about 5-6 months. It depends on how backlogged the FDLE is with applications.

If you speak to a lawyer and he tells you that he can do the expungement in less than 6 months, be cautious. The lawyer may not be being honest. Ask him/her to put that in writing and see what they say! They won't. They can't guarantee it.

As a lawyer doing sealing and expungment work for 16 years, I do my part as quickly as possible to move my client's case along. However, I don't have control over how fast the state attorney, clerk of the court, the FDLE, and finally the judge does theirs. There is no "extra fee" you can pay to expedite your case. There is no such thing.

If you have any questions regarding sealing or expungement of your Florida case, please feel free to contact me at Sealmyrecord@gmail.com or visit my website at SealMyRecord.Com.


Nicolas Babinsky, Esq.
SealMyRecord.Com
Sealing and expunging criminal records throughout Florida for 16 years and counting!

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