Florida Criminal History Information: Checks, Sealing, and Your Rights

A Florida criminal history check comes in two forms: a name-based search of state records you can run yourself online through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for $25, and a fingerprint-based Level 2 check that searches both state and FBI records and is required for most jobs, licenses, and positions of trust.¹ Which one you need depends on who is asking and why.

Level 1 and Level 2: Which Check You Need

Chapter 435 of the Florida Statutes splits background screening into two tiers. A Level 1 check is a name-based search of FDLE’s statewide criminal history database, employment history, and the national sex offender registry. A Level 2 check requires electronic fingerprint submission and pulls from both the FDLE state database and the FBI’s national records.²

Most licensing boards, schools, healthcare employers, and any position that involves children, the elderly, or disabled individuals require the Level 2 fingerprint check. General public records requests and some lower-risk employment positions use the Level 1 name search. If you are the one running the check on yourself or someone else out of curiosity, the online name search is your only option; the public cannot request a national FBI check directly.³

Running the Online Name-Based Search

Anyone can run a Florida-only criminal history search through FDLE’s online portal. You enter a name and date of birth, pay $25 by credit card (a $24 statutory fee plus a $1 processing charge), and results come back immediately.¹ The fee applies whether or not the search turns up anything.⁴

The results you see online are not certified. They cannot be used for immigration proceedings or international adoptions. If you need a certified copy, submit a separate request directly to FDLE; staff conduct the search and mail notarized results in roughly six to seven business days.¹

Keep two limitations in mind. The search covers Florida records only, so arrests or convictions from other states will not appear. And because the match depends on name and date of birth, common names can produce several possible matches, while name changes or data entry errors can cause real records to be missed. The system returns a list of possible matches rather than a definitive identification, and you have to review them to decide which, if any, belong to the person you are checking.

Getting a Fingerprint-Based Level 2 Check

Level 2 screening is the standard for employment, licensing, and trust-related positions in Florida. The statute reaches a wide range of roles: school employees, healthcare workers, real estate and insurance agents, childcare providers, Bar applicants, and many more.² A Level 2 screening also includes a sweep of sexual predator and offender registries in every state where you have lived during the previous five years.

Before you go anywhere, get an Originating Agency Identification (ORI) number from the entity that wants the check. That could be your employer, a licensing board, or a contracting agency. Without the correct ORI number, FDLE cannot route the results to the right place, and the requesting agency will never receive them.⁵

With the ORI in hand, visit an FDLE-approved LiveScan service provider to have your fingerprints captured and transmitted electronically. FDLE maintains a directory of registered providers on its website.⁶

What a Level 2 Check Costs

Three separate charges stack up. The FDLE state fee is $24. The FBI fee for the national search, which almost always runs alongside the state check at Level 2, is $36. Those government fees total $60.³ The LiveScan provider then charges its own service fee for capturing and transmitting your prints, commonly $20 to $50. Expect to pay $80 to $110 out of pocket for a standard Level 2 check.

If You Live Outside Florida

Some FDLE-approved LiveScan providers operate in other states, and you can use any approved provider regardless of location. If electronic submission is not available where you are, certain licensing agencies, including the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, accept a completed fingerprint hard card by mail. Call the agency’s Customer Contact Center at (850) 487-1395 to obtain a card, then mail it with your application, a signed consent form, and the processing fee.⁵ Write the correct ORI number on the card. An incorrect number stops results from reaching the agency.

What Shows Up on Your Record

A Florida criminal history record is more detailed than most people expect. It includes personal identifying information, a chronological list of arrests, the law enforcement agency involved in each one, and the specific charges filed. It also includes the disposition of each case, meaning whether the charges led to a conviction, an acquittal, a dismissal, or a plea. Sentencing details such as jail time, probation terms, and fines appear as well.

Traffic infractions and other minor non-criminal violations are not included. Juvenile records are generally confidential, though limited information may be shared with authorized entities when the offense would have been a felony if committed by an adult. Records that have been sealed or expunged do not appear in public search results, though they stay accessible to certain criminal justice and licensing agencies under specific circumstances.

Checking Your Own Record for Errors

Mistakes in criminal history records are more common than people realize: misspelled names, incorrect dispositions, dismissed charges that still show as open. Florida law gives you the right to review your own record and challenge anything that is inaccurate or incomplete.⁷

Submit a Personal Review application to FDLE along with a fingerprint card taken by a law enforcement agency, mailed to FDLE’s Criminal History Record Maintenance Section in Tallahassee.⁸ There is no fee. FDLE sends you a copy of your record so you can review it and identify any errors by date of arrest or incident.

Two things to know. The copy you get through Personal Review contains no demographic information and cannot be used for employment, licensing, immigration, or certification purposes. It exists only so you can check accuracy.⁸ And if you find an error, the correction has to come from the originating criminal justice agency (the arresting department or the court), not just FDLE. Once that agency confirms the correction, FDLE updates the state record and asks for federal records to be corrected. The agency is also required to notify all known recipients of the incorrect information.⁷ Questions about the process go to FDLE’s Criminal History Record Maintenance Section at (850) 410-7898.

Sealing or Expunging a Record

If your record shows something you want removed from public view, Florida offers two paths and they are not the same. A sealed record becomes confidential: hidden from public view but still accessible to criminal justice agencies, certain licensing boards, and specific employers like those in law enforcement or education.⁹ An expunged record goes further: the physical records are destroyed or returned to you, and for most purposes the arrest is treated as though it never happened.¹⁰ With either outcome you can lawfully deny the arrest on most job applications, with exceptions for positions in criminal justice, certain licensed professions, and other categories named in the statute.

Who Qualifies

Eligibility is strict. For expungement, the charges must have been dropped, dismissed, or resulted in an acquittal. You cannot have been convicted or adjudicated guilty of the offense.¹⁰ Sealing reaches a little further: it can apply when adjudication was withheld, meaning a judge declined to formally convict even after a plea. Either way, you also need to clear these conditions:

No prior adjudication of guilt for any criminal offense in Florida, and no prior adjudication of delinquency for any felony.
No prior sealed or expunged record. Florida allows only one in a lifetime, with a narrow exception that a record sealed for at least 10 years may be eligible for expungement.
No active court supervision. All probation, community service, or other court-ordered conditions tied to the arrest must be complete.
No pending criminal investigations or charges at the time you apply.

The lifetime limit catches people off guard. It applies across all Florida sealing and expungement statutes, including older repealed versions, so a record you sealed 20 years ago generally bars you from sealing or expunging a different record today.⁹

Offenses That Can Never Be Sealed or Expunged

Florida permanently excludes a long list of serious offenses, regardless of whether you were convicted or had adjudication withheld. The full statutory list runs past 30 categories and includes murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, aggravated assault and battery, sexual battery and other offenses under Chapter 794, child abuse, lewd conduct involving minors, robbery, carjacking, home-invasion robbery, arson, burglary of a dwelling, stalking, human trafficking, drug trafficking, manufacturing controlled substances, terrorism, and any offense requiring sexual offender or predator registration.¹¹ Domestic violence offenses, including domestic battery by strangulation, are also ineligible.

How the Process Works

Before you can petition a court, you need a Certificate of Eligibility from FDLE. The application takes a certified statement from the state attorney confirming your case meets the statutory criteria, a certified copy of the case disposition, and a $75 processing fee payable to FDLE.¹⁰ FDLE typically takes about 12 weeks to process the application.¹²

Once you receive the certificate, it is valid for 12 months. You then file a petition with the court in the county where the arrest occurred, along with the certificate and a sworn statement. The clerk charges a filing fee that varies by county. Even with the certificate, the court can deny the petition. Sealing and expungement are discretionary, not guaranteed.⁹ Attorney fees for handling the process typically run from several hundred to a few thousand dollars depending on complexity.

Your Rights When an Employer Runs a Check

Even when an employer legally obtains your criminal history, federal law sets limits on how they can use it. Two frameworks matter: the Fair Credit Reporting Act and EEOC enforcement guidance.

Fair Credit Reporting Act

When an employer uses a third-party company to run a background check, the FCRA applies. Before ordering the report, the employer must give you a standalone written disclosure, separate from other hiring paperwork, explaining that a background check may be obtained, and you must authorize it in writing.¹³

If the employer decides not to hire you because of something in the report, they cannot simply reject you and move on. Federal law requires a two-step adverse action process. First, the employer sends a pre-adverse action notice that includes a copy of the background report and a written summary of your rights. You then get a reasonable opportunity, generally at least five business days, to review the report and dispute any errors before a final decision is made. Only then can the employer send a final adverse action notice.¹³ Employers who skip these steps face potential liability under the FCRA.

EEOC Guidance

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission requires employers to treat criminal records carefully to avoid racial or national origin discrimination. A blanket policy of refusing to hire anyone with a criminal record can violate federal anti-discrimination law if it disproportionately excludes people of a particular race or national origin without accurately predicting job performance.¹⁴

Employers are expected to conduct an individualized assessment that weighs the nature of the offense, how much time has passed since the conduct, and the responsibilities of the specific job. The EEOC also draws a clear line between arrests and convictions. An arrest alone is not proof that a crime was committed, and employers should treat arrest records differently from conviction records. If an employer is considering rejecting you because of your criminal history, they should let you know and give you a chance to explain the circumstances before making a final decision.¹⁴

1
Florida Department of Law Enforcement. FDLE Criminal History Information on the Internet
2
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes Chapter 435 – Employment Screening
3
Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Criminal History Fee Chart
4
Justia Law. Florida Code 943.053 – Dissemination of Criminal Justice Information
5
MyFloridaLicense.com. Fingerprinting
6
Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Current Registered LiveScan Submitters
7
Florida Public Law. Florida Code 943.056 – Criminal History Records Access Review and Challenge
8
Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Personal Review
9
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 943.059 – Court-Ordered Sealing of Criminal History Records
10
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 943.0585 – Court-Ordered Expunction of Criminal History Records
11
Justia Law. Florida Code 943.0584 – Criminal History Records Ineligible for Court-Ordered Expunction or Sealing
12
Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Seal and Expunge Process
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681b – Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports
14
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Criminal Records