Trusted Expungement Lawyers in Orlando, Florida

What Orlando Expungement Lawyers Do?

Orlando expungement lawyers
file petitions with the 9th Judicial Circuit Court to legally destroy or restrict access to a criminal arrest record
held by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the Orange County Clerk of Circuit Court at 425 N. Orange
Avenue, Suite 210, Orlando, FL 32801, and all related law enforcement agencies including the Orlando Police Department
and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

The expungement process in Orlando involves 2 sequential legal actions. The first is obtaining a Certificate of
Eligibility from FDLE in Tallahassee. The second is filing a Petition to Expunge or Seal with the Orange County
Circuit Court.

Both actions require precise documentation. An error in either stage – an incorrect statute citation, an incomplete
certified case disposition, or a submission to the wrong court division results in rejection. FDLE does not expedite
rejected applications. Each rejection adds 12 or more weeks to the timeline.

Erase The Case specializes exclusively in Florida expungement and sealing. The firm handles no other area of law. This
specialization is what produces a 3–5 month timeline in Orlando, while general criminal defense firms that handle
expungement alongside DUI, domestic violence, and felony defense cases report timelines of 6–12 months.

The Difference Between Expungement and Sealing in Orlando

Expungement
in Orlando is the court-ordered physical destruction of a criminal arrest record under Florida Statute § 943.0585.
After expungement, the Orange County Clerk of Circuit Court, FDLE, the Orlando Police Department, and all relevant
agencies destroy all records of the arrest. Only one confidential copy is retained by FDLE — not accessible to the
public or to employers.

Record sealing
in Orlando is the court-ordered restriction of a criminal record from public access under Florida Statute § 943.059. A
sealed record remains in existence but is removed from public background checks. Law enforcement agencies, certain
government bodies, and some licensing boards retain access to sealed records.

The practical distinction for Orlando residents:

• Expungement is available when the Orange County court dismissed the case, the State Attorney’s Office (9th Judicial
  Circuit) declined to prosecute, or the applicant was acquitted at trial
• Sealing is available when the 9th Judicial Circuit Court issued a withhold of adjudication – meaning the judge did
  not formally convict despite a guilty or no-contest plea

Both allow the applicant to lawfully deny the arrest in most circumstances, including on job applications and rental
applications Sealing can become eligible for expungement after 10 years, provided the applicant remains crime-free

Why Orlando Residents Choose Erase The Case Over General Criminal Defense Firms

Florida law permits only 1 sealing or expungement per person per lifetime. A procedural error in the Orange County
filing – a missing State Attorney’s Office certification, an expired Certificate of Eligibility, or an incorrect
petition format under Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.692 permanently eliminates the opportunity.

General criminal defense firms in Orlando handle expungement alongside felony trials, DUI cases, and domestic violence
matters. Expungement is a secondary service.

At Erase The Case, expungement and sealing are the only services the firm provides.

David Weisselberger, Esq., is a former Miami-Dade County Assistant Public Defender who now focuses exclusively on
Florida expungement law in all 67 counties, including Orange and Osceola. Erase The Case has handled more expungement
and sealing cases than any other Florida law firm.

Who Qualifies for Expungement or Sealing in Orlando?

Eligibility for Orlando expungement and sealing is governed by Florida Statute § 943.045 and determined by 3 factors:
the outcome of the Orange County criminal case, the nature of the charge, and the applicant’s complete Florida
criminal history. The 9th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office reviews expungement applications before FDLE issues
a Certificate of Eligibility.

Eligibility for Expungement in Orlando

An Orlando resident qualifies for expungement under Florida Statute § 943.0585 if all of the following apply:

1. The 9th Judicial Circuit Court dismissed the case, the Orange County State Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute,
   or the applicant was acquitted at trial — meaning no charging document was filed, or the filed document was
   dismissed
2. The applicant has never been adjudicated guilty (convicted) of any criminal offense or comparable ordinance
   violation in Florida, including misdemeanors and juvenile adjudications
3. The applicant has never previously sealed or expunged any criminal record in Florida
4. The applicant is not currently under any form of court supervision in Orange County, including probation, community control, house arrest, or pretrial release

Eligibility for Record Sealing in Orlando

An Orlando resident qualifies for record sealing under Florida Statute § 943.059 if all of the following apply:

1. The 9th Judicial Circuit Court issued a withhold of adjudication — the judge did not formally convict despite a
   guilty or no-contest plea
2. The underlying charge is not among the offenses excluded from sealing under Florida Statute § 907.041
3. The applicant has no prior Florida convictions and no prior sealing or expungement
4. The applicant has fully completed all court supervision, including any probation or community control sentences

Charges That Are Not Eligible for Expungement or Sealing in Orlando

Florida Statute § 907.041 permanently excludes the following offense categories from sealing or expungement in Orange
County, regardless of the case outcome or withhold of adjudication:

• Domestic violence offenses (including domestic battery and aggravated domestic assault)
• Aggravated assault and aggravated battery
• Robbery and carjacking
• Child abuse, aggravated child abuse, and abuse of an elderly or disabled adult
• Drug trafficking
• Sexual offenses, sexual battery, and lewd or lascivious offenses
• Manslaughter and homicide
• Kidnapping and human trafficking (as perpetrator)
• Arson
• Terrorism-related offenses

A withhold of adjudication on any of the above charges does not create eligibility for sealing. David Weisselberger
reviews each Orange County case individually before any application is filed.

Types of Expungement Available to Orlando Residents

Florida law recognizes 5 types of expungement available to Orange County residents, in addition to court-ordered
expungement and sealing:

• Administrative expungement:
  available when an arrest in Orlando or Orange County was made in violation of the law or by mistake. Applied
  directly to FDLE under Florida Statute § 943.0581, without a court petition.
• Lawful self-defense expungement:
  available when the Orange County State Attorney’s Office or statewide prosecutor certifies the applicant acted
  in lawful self-defense under Chapter 776, Florida Statutes, and charges were dismissed or never filed.
• Human trafficking expungement:
  available to victims of human trafficking for offenses committed as part of a trafficking scheme, under Florida
  Statute § 943.0583.
• Early juvenile expungement:
  available to Orange County residents between ages 18 and 21 who have not been charged with any criminal offense in
  the preceding 5 years, under Florida Statute § 943.0515(1)(b)2.
• Automatic juvenile expungement:
  the FDLE automatically expunges Orange County juvenile criminal history records at age 21 (or age 26 for individuals
  committed to a juvenile correctional facility), under Florida Statute § 943.0515, provided no forcible felony
  conviction as an adult occurred.

How Does The Orlando Expungement Process Work?

The Orlando expungement process is administered through FDLE in Tallahassee and the 9th Judicial Circuit Court in
Orange County. The Orange County Clerk of Circuit Court, located at 425 N. Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL 32801, receives
the Petition to Expunge or Seal after the FDLE Certificate of Eligibility is issued. The 9th Judicial Circuit State
The Attorney’s Office at the Orange County Courthouse must approve expungement applications before FDL processes them.

Step 1: Eligibility screening

We review the Orange County arrest record, the 9th Judicial Circuit Court case disposition, and the applicant’s
complete FDLE criminal history. Eligibility is confirmed under Florida Statutes §§ 943.0585 and 943.059 before any
documentation is prepared.

This review prevents applications with hidden disqualifying factors, such as a forgotten traffic adjudication or an
out-of-state conviction, from advancing to FDLE.

Step 2: FDLE Certificate of Eligibility application

We prepare the Application for Certificate of Eligibility. For expungement, the application requires written
certification from the 9th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office confirming the record meets statutory criteria.
For sealing, the application goes directly to FDLE.

Both require a certified copy of the Orange County case disposition and a completed fingerprint card. The $75 FDLE
processing fee is submitted with the application. The client completes a 5-minute notarized video call; no in-person
visits to Orlando offices are required.

Step 3: FDLE review

FDLE processes the application at its Tallahassee headquarters. The FDLE processing time to determine eligibility is
typically 12 weeks from the date a completed application packet is received, per FDLE’s published process. Incomplete
or inaccurate applications are rejected and must be corrected and resubmitted, adding another full processing cycle.
Our submission accuracy eliminates this risk.

Step 4: Petition to the 9th Judicial Circuit Court

After the Certificate of Eligibility is issued, which is valid for 12 months from the issue date, Our files the
Petition to Expunge or Seal with the Orange County Clerk of Circuit Court. The petition includes the Certificate of
Eligibility, certified copies of all court records, a sworn affidavit of eligibility, and a proposed Order for the
judge’s signature. The petition is served on the Orange County State Attorney’s Office and all relevant agencies.

Step 5: Judge’s order and record destruction

The 9th Judicial Circuit Court judge reviews the petition. In most Orlando expungement cases, no hearing is required.
Upon approval, the signed order is distributed to FDLE, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Orlando Police
Department, and all other agencies named in the petition.

Each agency destroys its records of the arrest. Erase The Case then submits the court order to private background
check companies and initiates removal from mugshot websites — services no general Orlando criminal defense firm
includes as standard.

Total timeline: 3–5 months from initial consultation to final record removal.

How Much Does Orlando Expungement Cost at Erase The Case?

Erase The Case offers 3 expungement packages for Orlando and Orange County clients. Every individual Orange County
criminal record is unique. The right package depends on whether the arrest appears on mugshot websites, whether
private background check databases have indexed the record, and the complexity of the 9th Judicial Circuit case.

All 3 packages include expedited 3–5 month processing, full attorney representation at the 9th Judicial Circuit Court,
and the Personalized Erase The Case expungement packet prepared specifically for the Orange County filing
requirements.

General Orlando criminal defense attorneys charge between $500 and $2,500 for expungement services alone without
private database removal, mugshot clearance, or attorney support letters. These services are billed separately when
offered at all, and most Orlando general defense firms do not offer them. Our packages include all listed services at
the stated price.

*Expunge Now, Pay Later:
All 3 packages are available through Affirm financing. Orlando clients begin the expungement process immediately. The
Affirm rate is 0% APR or 10–30% APR based on credit eligibility. No hidden fees or penalties apply. Your credit score
is not affected when checking Affirm eligibility.