To get a full pardon in Florida, you wait at least ten years after completing every term of your sentence, submit an application with certified court records to the Office of Executive Clemency in Tallahassee, pass a background investigation by the Florida Commission on Offender Review, and then win an affirmative vote from the Governor and at least two of the three cabinet members at a Board of Executive Clemency hearing.1Florida Commission on Offender Review. Clemency A full pardon forgives your guilt and restores every right of citizenship you lost, including the right to own firearms. It is the most expansive clemency Florida grants, and the scrutiny matches that reach.
Confirm You Are Eligible Before You File
The eligibility bar is the highest of any clemency type in Florida, and applications that miss it get returned rather than considered. You must satisfy all of the following:
- You completed all terms of your sentence, including probation or parole, at least ten years ago. The clock does not start until every condition of supervision has ended.2Florida Office of Executive Clemency. Office of Executive Clemency – Clemency Information Sheet
- You owe no court-ordered financial obligations on the cases you are seeking clemency on, and no restitution anywhere in your criminal record. On misdemeanor, criminal traffic, or adjudication-withheld felony cases elsewhere in your record, you cannot owe more than $1,000.2Florida Office of Executive Clemency. Office of Executive Clemency – Clemency Information Sheet
- You have no pending criminal charges and no outstanding detainers.2Florida Office of Executive Clemency. Office of Executive Clemency – Clemency Information Sheet
- Your conviction is from a Florida state court. Federal, military, and out-of-state convictions do not go through this process. A federal conviction requires a separate petition to the President through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney.2Florida Office of Executive Clemency. Office of Executive Clemency – Clemency Information Sheet
Make Sure a Full Pardon Is What You Actually Need
A lot of people start down the pardon road when a simpler form of clemency would give them what they want. Florida grants a Pardon Without Firearm Authority, which forgives guilt and restores citizenship rights but withholds firearm rights, and it grants Restoration of Civil Rights, which restores the same rights as a pardon (except firearms) without forgiving guilt for the underlying conviction.1Florida Commission on Offender Review. Clemency3Florida Commission on Offender Review. Frequently Asked Questions – Clemency If your concern is voting, jury service, or professional licensing rather than firearm ownership, RCR is the faster path.
Voting rights may also be handled without any application at all. Florida’s Amendment 4 automatically restores voting rights to most people with felony convictions once all terms of the sentence, including fines, fees, and restitution, are complete. The exceptions are people convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense.4Florida Commission on Offender Review. Apply for Restoration of Civil Rights (RCR), Pardon, Firearm Authority and Other Forms of Clemency If you fall inside one of those exceptions, a pardon may be your only route back to the ballot.
One boundary matters no matter which route you take. A full pardon does not expunge or seal your criminal history and does not by itself make you eligible for expungement unless the pardon says so on its face.5Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Frequently Asked Questions Your conviction will still show up on background checks. If clearing the record is the point, look at expungement or sealing separately with an attorney.
Assemble the Application Package
The application form is available from the Florida Commission on Offender Review and asks for personal information, complete criminal history, and employment and residence history. The form is only the start.
Florida law requires certified copies of specific court documents for every conviction you are seeking clemency on. At minimum you need a certified copy of the charging document (the indictment or information), the judgment of guilt, and the sentence if one was imposed.6Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 940 Section 03 You get these from the clerk of court in the county of conviction. Fees vary by county, typically running from a few dollars up to about $40 per document.
Beyond the required paperwork, the strength of your application is your rehabilitation evidence. Character reference letters from employers and community members carry real weight, as do records of education, community involvement, and completion of counseling or treatment. Assemble what a reasonable person would want to see before concluding that you have moved past the offense.
Submit and Wait Through the Investigation
Mail the completed package to the Office of Executive Clemency in Tallahassee. Commission staff screen every submission first to confirm completeness and basic eligibility. Incomplete applications are returned, not processed, so verify every attachment before it goes out the door.
Applications that pass screening move to a background investigation by Commission investigators, who verify what you submitted and may contact employers, references, and law enforcement agencies. This phase is slow. Depending on case complexity and workload, the investigation can take many months, sometimes more than a year. You will be notified when the application is received, but do not expect frequent updates during the investigation.
The Board of Executive Clemency Hearing
Not every applicant gets a hearing. Whether the Board schedules one depends on what the investigation turns up. The Board has four members: the Governor and the three cabinet officers, who are the Attorney General, the Chief Financial Officer, and the Commissioner of Agriculture.1Florida Commission on Offender Review. Clemency
If you are given a hearing, you or a representative may make a statement and answer questions from the members. Expect them to ask about the original offense, what you have done since, and why the Board should grant a pardon rather than a lesser form of clemency. Genuine accountability tends to help. Rehearsed or evasive answers do not.
Granting a pardon requires the Governor’s affirmative vote plus at least two of the three cabinet members.7Florida Laws. Florida Constitution Article IV Section 8 The decision is typically announced at the hearing, so you will know the outcome before you leave.
Do You Need an Attorney?
There is no right to a court-appointed attorney in a clemency proceeding. The Florida Legislature has said so explicitly.8Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 940 Section 031 You can hire a private attorney to prepare your application and appear with you at the hearing. That is worth considering if the underlying offense is serious or the record is complicated, because an experienced clemency attorney will know what the Board tends to focus on. Plenty of applicants also go through the process on their own. The form is straightforward, and the hearing is less adversarial than a courtroom.
What the Pardon Gets You Afterward
A full Florida pardon restores your right to own and possess firearms under state law.1Florida Commission on Offender Review. Clemency Federal law generally treats a state pardon that expressly restores firearm rights as removing the federal prohibition on firearm possession by a convicted felon. A Pardon Without Firearm Authority does not satisfy that federal test because it specifically withholds firearm rights, which is the practical reason the choice between the two pardon types matters.
International travel is a separate question. A foreign country makes its own decision about admitting someone with a criminal history. A Canadian border officer, for example, may consider a foreign pardon but keeps full authority to deny entry regardless of it.9Government of Canada. Overcome Criminal Convictions Check the entry requirements of your destination country before you rely on the pardon at the border.