Miami Appellate Attorney | Miami Criminal Lawyer

The Application Process:

The first thing our office will provide you with is an Application for Certification of Eligibility, a fingerprint card, a Petition to Seal and/or Expunge and an Affidavit in Support of the Petition to Seal and/or Expunge.

Our office will obtain a certified copy of the disposition of the case to want to have sealed or expunged. The fee for this certified copy is currently Six ($6.00) Dollars.

You will then go to your local police department and asked them to put your fingerprints on the fingerprint card that was provided to you (some police departments charge a fee for this service currently between $5.00 and $10.00). Our office will provide you with a list of local police departments that perform this service. Make sure that you fill out the top part of the fingerprint card with your identifying information (name, race, sex, date of birth and Social Security number) and sign the card.

You will then return the completed fingerprint card to our office. We will forward the completed Application for Certification of Eligibility, fingerprint card, certified case disposition and a $75.00 processing fee to FDLE in Tallahassee.

FDLE will then research your criminal history to determine if you are eligible to have your case sealed or expunged. They will do a criminal history records check in Florida and throughout the United States. This process takes approximately THREE (3) to FIVE (5) MONTHS depending on their backlog. Please be patient! Once FDLE has finished reviewing your application they will send us one of three things:
1. A letter telling us to your case is not eligible and why,
2. A Certificate of Eligibility to seal your case, or
3. A Certificate of Eligibility to expunge your case.
If we get a letter from FDLE telling us that your case is not eligible, then you cannot proceed with this process until we take care of whatever they tell us the problem is. We will meet with you, at no additional cost, in order to review FDLE's denial letter and advise you accordingly.

The Court Process:

Once we get your certificate of eligibility back from FDLE, we are halfway through the process. We will file all the required forms with the clerk's office. There is a filing fee, which is currently $37.50. The clerk's office to schedule your hearing before the judge and will notify us of the time and date. We will appear at the hearing that has been set on your behalf. You are not required to appear. Once the judge grants your petition and signs the order, the clerk's office will send certified copies of the judge's order to all law enforcement agencies involved and they will either seal or expunge your record.

Your case will be purged from the court system records within three to five days of the judge's order.