Sealing or Expunging records in Florida

I have had many people ask me what is the difference between sealing past criminal records, or expunging those records.

The basic difference is how the Clerk of the Court handles those files.  With Expungement, the criminal records are destroyed.  Therefore, they no longer exist in any form. When records are sealed, the records still exist in a physical form, but no one can look at the records without authorization from the court.

Details after the break...