Are expunged records public in Florida?

No. Once a court expunges a criminal history record, criminal justice agencies must physically destroy or obliterate their copies, and the record is not open to the public. A short list of agencies, like courts, criminal justice agencies, and The Florida Bar, can still see it for limited purposes.

What is the difference between sealing and expunging a record in Florida?

Sealing keeps the record but closes it to public access. Expunction requires most agencies to physically destroy or obliterate the record. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement keeps a confidential copy in both cases. Expunction is the stronger remedy.

Can a public records request pull a sealed or expunged record in Florida?

No. A sealed or expunged record is not a public record. It cannot be disclosed to a public requester under any circumstances, per Alvarez v. Reno, 587 So. 2d 664 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991).

Can I deny that the arrest ever happened?

In most settings, yes. Sections 943.0585(4) and 943.059(4) let you lawfully deny the arrest, with exceptions. You must acknowledge it when applying to a criminal justice agency, applying to The Florida Bar, being screened for certain government or care-related jobs, or as a defendant in a later case.

Can an agency confirm that my sealed record exists?

No. The custodian is barred from disclosing that a sealed or expunged record exists, except to you or a decision-maker the statute allows. Disclosing the existence of an expunged record can be a first-degree misdemeanor.

Does a Florida expunction clear my FBI record?

No. Criminal history information a Florida agency received from the FBI stays a federal record. A Florida court order does not change the federal copy.

Home / Exemptions

Are Sealed or Expunged Records Accessible in Florida?

Written by Adam Bair.Published June 29, 2026Updated June 29, 2026

TL;DR: Florida seals or expunges some criminal records by court order. Once that happens, the record is no longer open to the public. If your record is expunged, the agency must destroy or hide its copy, and in most cases you can lawfully deny the arrest ever happened. If your record is sealed, the agency keeps it but blocks public access. A short list of agencies, like courts, criminal justice agencies, The Florida Bar, and some employers, can still see these records for limited reasons. Everyone else is shut out.

What does it mean when a Florida record is sealed or expunged?

Under Chapter 119, a criminal history record is generally a public record open to inspection unless a statute removes it from disclosure. Section 943.046, Florida Statutes, confirms that an agency may release criminal history information to the public unless the information is confidential and exempt. Sealing and expunction are the statutory mechanisms that make a record confidential and exempt. They are how a record moves from the public column to the closed column.

The two remedies are not the same, and the difference matters to anyone hoping the record is truly gone.

Sealing keeps the record but blocks public access

When a court seals a criminal history record under Section 943.059, Florida Statutes, the agency that holds the record keeps its copy. The record is not destroyed. But it is closed to public inspection. A member of the public who submits a public records request will not get it. The agency cannot hand it over, and, as explained below, the custodian is barred from even confirming it exists.

Expunction destroys or hides the record

When a court expunges a criminal history record under Section 943.0585, Florida Statutes, the criminal justice agency holding the record must physically destroy or obliterate the identifiable descriptions and notations of arrest, detention, charges, and the disposition of those charges. The Attorney General has advised that this means the physical destruction of the identifying notations, not just sealing them from view. AGO 02-68. This is what makes expunction the stronger remedy.

There is one carve-out: the Florida Department of Law Enforcement keeps a confidential, non-public copy in all cases, whether the order is for sealing or expunction. That copy is not public, but it exists. The FBI keeps its own copy too, and a Florida order does not reach the federal record.

Can the public see a sealed or expunged record in Florida?

No. Access to criminal history records sealed or expunged by court order under Section 943.059 or Section 943.0585 is strictly limited. A state attorney report or any other record that reveals the existence or contents of a sealed record is not a public record and cannot, under any circumstances, be disclosed to the public. Alvarez v. Reno, 587 So. 2d 664 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991). This is the anchor rule: the public cannot reach a sealed or expunged record through a public records request.

Florida Constitution Article I, Section 24 frames the background right: access to public records is a fundamental right in Florida. Sealing and expunction are the statutory choices the Legislature made to carve certain criminal history records out of that right. The carve is narrow and specific. Only the records covered by the court order fall outside the public domain.

Who can still see a sealed or expunged record?

Access is not zero. Both Section 943.0585(6) (expunction) and Section 943.059(6) (sealing) set out a closed list of entities that can still reach the record for specific purposes. The list is not a vague "some agencies." It is a defined set, and the article uses it that way.

Courts and criminal justice agencies

Criminal justice agencies can see an expunged record for criminal justice purposes, including background checks run for employment as a criminal justice officer. Under Section 943.059(6), sealed records are also accessible to criminal justice agencies running background checks, including checks required for a firearm purchase, and to state court judges who need the record for a judicial function. The record subject and the subject's attorney can access a sealed record as well.

The Florida Bar and certain employers and licensing boards

Both the sealing and expunction statutes allow access by The Florida Bar for Bar applicant screening. Section 943.0585(6) for expunction also allows access by employers and licensing agencies that screen applicants for jobs working with children, the disabled, or the elderly; by the Department of Education and school entities; by insurance licensing authorities; and by guardianship screeners. If you are in one of those screening pipelines, the decision-maker can see your record even after expunction. Everyone else is shut out.

Can I lawfully deny that the arrest happened?

In most settings, yes. Once a record is sealed or expunged, Sections 943.0585(4) and 943.059(4) give the subject the right to lawfully deny or fail to acknowledge the arrests covered by the record.

The exceptions are important. You cannot use the denial right in these situations:

Applying to a criminal justice agency for employment.
Applying for admission to The Florida Bar.
Seeking employment or a license in a field the statute carves out: jobs working with children, the disabled, or the elderly; positions with a school entity; insurance licensing; and guardianship appointments.
Being a defendant in a later criminal case, where the prior record is relevant.

Outside those settings, the denial right is real and lawful. You are not lying on a job application when you leave a sealed or expunged arrest blank. You are exercising a statutory right. But read the application carefully. If the application or form specifically asks about sealed or expunged records, check whether the position falls into one of the statutory carve-outs before deciding how to answer.

Can a records custodian even confirm the record exists?

No. This is one of the most misunderstood parts of the law. Sections 943.0585 and 943.059 make it unlawful for an employee of an entity holding a sealed or expunged record to disclose the existence of that record, except to the subject or to someone directly responsible for an employment or licensing decision the statute allows. The Attorney General has advised that a custodian who has received information about the existence of such a record is prohibited from disclosing that the record exists. AGO 94-49.

If you submit a public records request and the agency responds "no responsive records," it may be because the records never existed, because they were destroyed in routine retention cycles, or because a sealing or expunction order bars the agency from confirming they exist. The response looks the same from the outside. If you receive a "no records" response and suspect a confidentiality bar may be the reason rather than an empty file, see our article on what to do when a Florida agency claims records do not exist.

Disclosing the existence of an expunged record in violation of Section 943.0585 is a first-degree misdemeanor. The statute means what it says. Agencies do not confirm sealed or expunged records exist because the law bars them from doing so.

What does not get sealed or expunged?

Criminal intelligence and criminal investigative information

Criminal intelligence information and criminal investigative information do not fall within the reach of Section 943.0585. Only the records maintained to formalize the arrest, detention, indictment, information, or other formal charge and its disposition are subject to expunction. AGO 02-68; AGO 00-16. Investigative files, reports, and materials compiled during the investigation that led to the arrest are governed by a different exemption and are not wiped out by an expunction order.

Federal records held by a Florida agency

Criminal history information a Florida agency received from the FBI keeps its character as a federal record. It is not subject to public inspection under Florida's Public Records Act. A Florida sealing or expunction order does not change the federal copy. AGO 99-01. If your case generated a federal record, the Florida order does not reach it.

Other paths: automatic sealing and special populations

Florida has several additional routes to sealing or expunction beyond the standard petition process. Section 943.0595 provides for automatic sealing of certain criminal history records. Section 943.0582 covers juvenile diversion expunction; records held by FDLE on juveniles sealed or expunged under that section are confidential. Section 943.0583 covers expunction for victims of human trafficking; the expunged record and the victim's identity are both confidential. These paths exist, but the mechanics of each are case-specific. This article flags them rather than walking the petition process for each. A licensed Florida attorney is the right resource for any petition question.

How is this different from a record that is just confidential or exempt?

There is a three-step ladder here, and knowing where your record sits matters.

A record that is merely confidential or exempt under Chapter 119 is closed to the public, but the agency still holds it and may still confirm it exists when asked directly. The agency can say "that record is confidential and exempt" without producing it.

A sealed record is also closed to public access, but the access is strictly limited. The agency cannot confirm the record exists except to a decision-maker the statute allows. A public requester gets a "no responsive records" response, not a "this is confidential" response.

An expunged record is destroyed or obliterated by most agencies. Its existence cannot be confirmed to anyone except those the statute names. The subject may lawfully deny it happened. The protection is stronger at each step. Expunction is the top of the ladder for Florida criminal history records.

Frequently asked questions

Are expunged records public in Florida?: No. Once a court expunges a criminal history record, criminal justice agencies must physically destroy or obliterate their copies, and the record is not open to the public. A short list of agencies, like courts, criminal justice agencies, and The Florida Bar, can still see it for limited purposes.
What is the difference between sealing and expunging a record in Florida?: Sealing keeps the record but closes it to public access. Expunction requires most agencies to physically destroy or obliterate the record. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement keeps a confidential copy in both cases. Expunction is the stronger remedy.
Can a public records request pull a sealed or expunged record in Florida?: No. A sealed or expunged record is not a public record. It cannot be disclosed to a public requester under any circumstances, per Alvarez v. Reno, 587 So. 2d 664 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991).
Can I deny that the arrest ever happened?: In most settings, yes. Sections 943.0585(4) and 943.059(4) let you lawfully deny the arrest, with exceptions. You must acknowledge it when applying to a criminal justice agency, applying to The Florida Bar, being screened for certain government or care-related jobs, or as a defendant in a later case.
Can an agency confirm that my sealed record exists?: No. The custodian is barred from disclosing that a sealed or expunged record exists, except to you or a decision-maker the statute allows. Disclosing the existence of an expunged record can be a first-degree misdemeanor.
Does a Florida expunction clear my FBI record?: No. Criminal history information a Florida agency received from the FBI stays a federal record. A Florida court order does not change the federal copy.

Not legal advice. Educational and informational content only. Reading this site does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice on a specific matter, consult a licensed Florida attorney.