Daytona Beach Criminal Record Expungement Attorney

If you’ve been arrested or charged with a crime in Daytona Beach or Volusia County a record will be maintained. This is true even if the charges are against you were dropped or diverted. These records are maintained by various government agencies including The Volusia County sheriff’s department, the arresting agency, The State Attorney’s office and The Volusia County Clerk of Court. This means records of your past can be easily viewed by potential employers, neighbors or the general public. This is not helpful after getting the charges against you dropped or diverted. Whether you are applying for a job, trying to get a loan, or looking for an apartment, your criminal history will always draw unwanted attention. There is a solution to this problem. Our attorneys frequently talk to individuals with retail theft charges, resisting arrest or other charges. Once they’re done with a diversion program leading to their case being dismissed, charges get dropped or have had their record sealed for at least ten years, our attorneys can file for an expungement with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Are you eligible for a Daytona Beach expungement?

In order to have your record expunged in Daytona Beach, the following must apply to your case:

Either your case has been dismissed or completed a diversion program or have had your record sealed for at least 10 years.
You must have no Adjudications of Guilt on your record for any criminal offense in any State.
You must have never applied for a record sealing or expungement prior in any State.
Your crime is one listed in Florida Statute 907.041 (Most sex crimes and violent crimes).

What is the difference between a sealing and expungement?

Our Daytona Beach record expungement attorneys are asked what the difference between sealing and expunging a record is. In simple terms having your record sealed staples it shut and having it expunged destroys it. The sealed record can be viewed with a court order. The governmental entities listed in Florida Statute 943.059(4)(a) will be able to access a sealed record in its entirety. When a record is expunged those same entities that have access to a sealed record will be told that the subject of the record has had a record expunged. They cannot access the record without petitioning a Court and receiving a Court Order. Without petitioning a Court they would merely receive a boiler plate statement stating something like, “criminal information has been expunged from this record.” So, what’s the difference in real life? Unless you’re applying to a governmental agency if your record is sealed or expunged the general public will not be able to find the record. If you are applying to a government agency they’ll know your record has been expunged but nothing else unless they go through the difficult process of petitioning the Court. The process is very similar so if you are eligible for expunction you might as well go that route. You can only do this once in Florida. If you get adjudicated guilty of misdemeanor driving with an expired tag you would not be allowed to get your old marijuana possession charge sealed or expunged.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has a tendency to be very strict in their requirements when applying for an expungement. Our Daytona Beach expungement attorney Kevin J. Pitts has filed numerous applications for expunction and petition for expungements. We understand what the requirements are and what is necessary for an Order to Expunge. Since FDLE is usually around 6 months behind on processing applications, you should act quickly to get the process started as soon as possible. Our Daytona Beach expungement attorneys are available to ensure that the process moves as fast as possible. Contact us to see if your record is eligible to be expunged at 386-451-5112.