Is There a Difference Between Getting a Criminal Record Sealed or Expunged in Florida?

The law office of Lasnetski Gihon Law receives a lot of calls from people who want to get a criminal record sealed or expunged in Jacksonville, Florida and other parts of Florida. The discussion typically starts with whether the person is eligible to have the particular criminal record sealed or expunged. This post does not discuss under what circumstances a person is eligible to have a criminal record sealed or expunged. For questions about whether you are eligible to have a criminal record sealed or expunged in Florida, please contact us for a free consultation.

In this post, we are discussing what effects getting a criminal record sealed or expunged will have on your record once the process is completed. When a criminal record is sealed, the public cannot get access to it. However, certain government agencies do have access to it. For instance, if you are seeking employment with a criminal justice agency, applying to take a bar exam to become a lawyer or seeking employment with the Department of Child and Family Services, to name a few examples, those entities can access a sealed record. However, private employers will not have access to your criminal record once it is sealed.

When you have your criminal record expunged, the public cannot see your criminal record and private employers cannot see your criminal record. Those same government entities that can see a sealed criminal record will not be able to see your criminal record. They will only be informed that you have had a criminal record expunged but would not see the criminal record unless they obtain a court order, which is rare.

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