FRS 943.059 (Florida Revised Statutes)
Court-ordered sealing
of criminal history records
The courts
of this state shall continue to have jurisdiction
over their own procedures, including the maintenance,
sealing, and correction of judicial records containing
criminal history information to the extent such procedures
are not inconsistent with the conditions, responsibilities,
and duties established by this section. Any court
of competent jurisdiction may order a criminal justice
agency to seal the criminal history record of a minor
or an adult who complies with the requirements of
this section. The court shall not order a criminal
justice agency to seal a criminal history record until
the person seeking to seal a criminal history record
has applied for and received a certificate of eligibility
for sealing pursuant to subsection (2). A criminal
history record that relates to a violation of s. 393.135,
s. 394.4593, s. 787.025, chapter 794, s. 796.03, s.
800.04, s. 810.14, s. 817.034, s. 825.1025, s. 827.071,
chapter 839, s. 847.0133, s. 847.0135, s. 847.0145,
s. 893.135, s. 916.1075, a violation enumerated in
s. 907.041, or any violation specified as a predicate
offense for registration as a sexual predator pursuant
to s. 775.21, without regard to whether that offense
alone is sufficient to require such registration,
or for registration as a sexual offender pursuant
to s. 943.0435, may not be sealed, without regard
to whether adjudication was withheld, if the defendant
was found guilty of or pled guilty or nolo contendere
to the offense, or if the defendant, as a minor, was
found to have committed or pled guilty or nolo contendere
to committing the offense as a delinquent act. The
court may only order sealing of a criminal history
record pertaining to one arrest or one incident of
alleged criminal activity, except as provided in this
section. The court may, at its sole discretion, order
the sealing of a criminal history record pertaining
to more than one arrest if the additional arrests
directly relate to the original arrest. If the court
intends to order the sealing of records pertaining
to such additional arrests, such intent must be specified
in the order. A criminal justice agency may not seal
any record pertaining to such additional arrests if
the order to seal does not articulate the intention
of the court to seal records pertaining to more than
one arrest. This section does not prevent the court
from ordering the sealing of only a portion of a criminal
history record pertaining to one arrest or one incident
of alleged criminal activity. Notwithstanding any
law to the contrary, a criminal justice agency may
comply with laws, court orders, and official requests
of other jurisdictions relating to sealing, correction,
or confidential handling of criminal history records
or information derived therefrom. This section does
not confer any right to the sealing of any criminal
history record, and any request for sealing a criminal
history record may be denied at the sole discretion
of the court.
