A Florida background check is a search of someone’s criminal history and related records, most often run through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The depth of the check, what it costs, and the rules that govern it depend on who is asking and why. A basic name-based state criminal history search costs $24 and takes about five business days. A fingerprint-based Level 2 screening for a job working with children, the elderly, or people with disabilities costs $36 in state and federal fees plus a vendor fingerprinting charge, and it pulls national FBI records on top of Florida records.
Running a Basic Florida Criminal History Check
Anyone can request a statewide criminal history check through the FDLE’s Computerized Criminal History database. The general public and business rate is $24 as of the January 2025 fee schedule.1Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Criminal History Record Check Fee Schedule Non-certified results come back in about five business days; certified copies take six to seven, not counting mail time.2Florida Department of Law Enforcement. State of Florida Criminal History Record Check
This search is a name-based query, not a fingerprint check, and it covers Florida arrests and dispositions only. It will not return FBI records or records from other states. The breadth of what is available at all comes from Florida’s public records law, which requires custodians of public records to allow inspection and copying at reasonable times.3The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Chapter 119
County-level records such as civil suits, eviction filings, and local criminal cases live separately, on each county Clerk of Court’s website. Most counties offer free or low-cost docket searches online, though what you can see varies.
Level 1 and Level 2 Employment Screening
Florida sorts mandatory employment screening into two tiers under Chapter 435 of the Florida Statutes. Both measure the applicant against the same list of disqualifying offenses. They differ in how deeply they look.4The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Chapter 435
Level 1
Level 1 is the lighter screen. It includes an employment history review, a statewide criminal correspondence check through the FDLE, and a search of the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website, and it may include local criminal records. There is no fingerprinting, so Level 1 is faster and cheaper, but it relies on name matching rather than biometric identification.
Level 2
Level 2 is required for positions of trust, especially those with direct contact with children, the elderly, or people with disabilities. It covers workers in healthcare facilities, schools, and child care programs, among others. The applicant submits electronic fingerprints to the FDLE, which runs a state check and forwards the prints to the FBI for a national search. The process also searches the sex offender registries in every state the applicant has lived in during the past five years.5Justia Law. Florida Statutes 435.04 – Level 2 Screening Standards
For most applicants, the FDLE charges $24 for the state check and $12 for the federal check, a total of $36. Certain agencies such as the Department of Children and Families pay $20 total, and volunteer screenings cost $28.1Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Criminal History Record Check Fee Schedule On top of the FDLE fees, the third-party vendor that captures the fingerprints adds its own charge, typically $10 to $50.
What Disqualifies Someone Under Level 2
An applicant is disqualified from a Level 2 position if they have been found guilty of, entered a no-contest plea to, or are currently awaiting final disposition on any offense from a long statutory list. Juvenile adjudications count unless the record has been sealed or expunged, and similar offenses under the laws of other states count too.5Justia Law. Florida Statutes 435.04 – Level 2 Screening Standards
The list runs to more than 50 statutory sections. Representative categories include:
- Violent crimes such as murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, kidnapping, and human trafficking
- Sexual offenses, including sexual battery, lewd or lascivious offenses, and sexual misconduct with developmentally disabled or mental health patients
- Crimes against vulnerable people, including abuse, neglect, or exploitation of the elderly or disabled, and failure to report child abuse
- Drug offenses involving sale, manufacturing, or delivery of controlled substances
- Property and fraud crimes such as arson, robbery, burglary, carjacking, and felony welfare fraud
- Weapons offenses, including exhibiting firearms within 1,000 feet of a school and possessing weapons on school property
One point that trips people up: the bar is not limited to convictions. A pending arrest with no final disposition is enough to block employment until the case resolves.
Getting an Exemption From Disqualification
A disqualifying offense is not always permanent. The head of the relevant agency or qualified entity can grant an exemption, and the eligibility rules depend on the type of offense.6Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 435.07 – Exemptions From Disqualification
For a disqualifying felony, at least two years must have passed since the applicant completed or was released from confinement, supervision, or any nonmonetary court-imposed condition. For misdemeanors, the applicant must simply have completed those requirements. For juvenile offenses that would have been felonies in adult court, the waiting period is three years.
Before applying, every court-ordered fee, fine, restitution amount, and lien tied to the disqualifying offense must be paid in full. The applicant then carries the burden of showing rehabilitation by clear and convincing evidence. The agency weighs the circumstances of the crime, time passed, harm to any victim, and the applicant’s conduct since.
Sealed and Expunged Records on a Background Check
Florida treats sealing and expungement differently, and the distinction matters when a background check is run.
Sealing
A sealed record is confidential and exempt from public records requests, though criminal justice agencies and certain state licensing entities can still see it. To seal, the applicant must not have been found guilty, must have completed any court supervision, must never have had a prior record sealed or expunged, and must pay a $75 processing fee for a certificate of eligibility from the FDLE.7Justia Law. Florida Statutes 943.059 – Court-Ordered Sealing of Criminal History Records Sealing covers one arrest or one incident, though directly related arrests can be included.
Someone with a sealed record can lawfully deny the arrest on most job applications. You still have to disclose if applying to a criminal justice agency, seeking admission to the Florida Bar, or applying with certain agencies such as the Department of Children and Families or the Department of Education.
Expungement
Expungement goes further: a court order requires every criminal justice agency holding the record to physically destroy or obliterate it. The FDLE keeps a confidential copy that is exempt from public disclosure.8Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 943.0585 – Court-Ordered Expunction of Criminal History Records As with sealing, you can deny the arrest on most job applications. The exceptions are specific and worth knowing: you must still disclose when applying for employment with a criminal justice agency, seeking Florida Bar admission, serving as a defendant in a criminal prosecution, applying to work with or be licensed by certain state agencies overseeing children, the elderly, or people with disabilities, seeking employment with the Department of Education or schools, or applying to be a court-appointed guardian. Those exceptions overlap closely with the populations Level 2 screening is designed to protect.
Rules When an Employer Uses a Screening Company
When a Florida employer runs a background check through a third-party screening company, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) adds requirements on top of any state rule.
Disclosure and Consent
Before pulling a consumer report for employment purposes, the employer must give the applicant a clear written disclosure, in a standalone document, that a background report may be obtained. The applicant then authorizes the report in writing.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 15 Section 1681b Burying the disclosure inside a broader job application form violates the statute.10Federal Trade Commission. Background Checks on Prospective Employees – Keep Required Disclosures Simple
Adverse Action Notices
If an employer decides not to hire based in whole or in part on a background report, the FCRA requires a two-step process. First, a pre-adverse action notice goes to the applicant with a copy of the report and a summary of FCRA rights. The applicant then needs a reasonable period to review the report and dispute inaccuracies before the final decision.
If the employer proceeds with the rejection, the final adverse action notice must identify the consumer reporting agency, state that the agency did not make the hiring decision, and tell the applicant about the right to a free copy of the report within 60 days and the right to dispute inaccurate information.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 15 Section 1681m Skipping either step is a common FCRA failure and exposes employers to private lawsuits.
Seven-Year Reporting Limit
Consumer reporting agencies generally cannot include arrest records, civil judgments, or other adverse items older than seven years. Criminal convictions have no time limit and can be reported indefinitely.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 15 Section 1681c If the position pays $75,000 or more per year, the seven-year limit on non-conviction items does not apply.
Arrest Records Versus Convictions in Hiring
Florida has no statewide ban-the-box law for private employers, so most private companies can ask about criminal history on the initial job application. A small number of municipalities have adopted local fair-chance ordinances, but those apply only within their own borders.
Under Florida law, employers can consider arrest records that did not result in a conviction, unless the record has been sealed or expunged. Federal guidance from the EEOC takes a more cautious stance: an arrest alone does not prove criminal conduct, so an employer cannot refuse to hire someone just because they were arrested.13U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Arrest and Conviction Records – Resources for Job Seekers, Workers and Employers The employer may look into the underlying conduct and ask the applicant to explain, but the arrest itself is not enough.
For convictions, the EEOC recommends weighing the nature and seriousness of the offense, the time passed since the conviction or completion of the sentence, and the nature of the job. A blanket policy refusing to hire anyone with any criminal record may create disparate impact liability under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act if it disproportionately affects applicants of a particular race or national origin.14U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
When Different Rules Apply: Housing and Banking
Two situations fall outside standard employment screening but come up often enough to flag.
Landlords and property managers in Florida routinely screen rental applicants, and the practice is legal, but it has to comply with the federal Fair Housing Act. A blanket policy rejecting any applicant with any criminal record risks a disparate impact violation if it disproportionately excludes protected groups without a legitimate justification. Landlords who use third-party screening services are also subject to the FCRA’s disclosure and adverse action rules, so a denied applicant gets the same notice and dispute rights as a job applicant.
People seeking work at banks and other FDIC-insured institutions face an additional federal screen under Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. The provision bars anyone convicted of a crime involving dishonesty, breach of trust, or money laundering, and anyone who entered a pretrial diversion or similar program for a covered offense, from working at an insured institution.15Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Your Guide to Section 19 Covered offenses include theft, embezzlement, forgery, tax evasion, writing bad checks, and drug possession with intent to distribute. The FDIC allows automatic approval for offenses it considers minor; anything above that threshold requires a formal application for consent before hire. This federal layer applies regardless of whether Florida’s Level 2 screening also applies to the position.