Florida Expungements
Legal Fees and Costs
To Seal or Expunge Your Criminal Arrest History Record

A new beginning . . .

As a courtesy to you and in fairness we bifurcate (split) our fees so that you can better afford this service.  Since the sealing or expunging of a record takes at least six months  we spread the costs over time and notice you when the next amount is due.  When you receive our notice you pay us when you can - there is no rush except the rush you have in getting this done.  The only time constraint is that the Certificate of Eligibility is dated and may not be accepted by the court after several months have passed.  Once you receive our notice with a copy of the Certificate of Eligibility we have approximately 6 months to finish up.

LEGAL FEE:  Our initial legal fee is $425 to get started.  This initial legal fee is a non-refundable fee.  After the Certificate of Eligibility is received then the final payment of legal fees is required to petition the court ($425).  If the Florida Department of Law Enforcement denies the issuance of a Certificate of Eligibility then we will explain the reasons why and your options and not ask for the second legal fee payment.  Note: I will ask you specific questions prior to you hiring our office to determine whether or not you qualify for a Certificate of Eligibility in order to avoid as much risk as possible.

Upon receipt of the initial legal fee and the information submitted on the Get Started page we will begin the process of sealing (arrest resulting in a withholding of the adjudication of guilt) or expunging (arrest that results in the charges being dropped or dismissed) your arrest history record.

If you already have your Certificate of Eligibility and want to hire us to finish the process of petitioning the court, our legal fee is a flat $500.  All other costs still apply.

FDLE FEE:  This is the processing fee charged by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).  It is required and is needed when paperwork is ready to be filed requesting a Certificate of Eligibility.  The fee is $75 and must be in money order form (made out to FDLE).  We will notify you when this fee is needed.

FILING FEE OR CLERK OF COURT FEE:  A filing fee is needed when filing the Petition with the Court.  A filing fee is typically in lieu of other Clerk of Court Fees however this depends upon the county in which the Petition is filed.  The Clerk of Court Fee is needed after the Judge grants the Order sealing or expunging your record.  The Order must be sent to specific law enforcement agencies via certified mail.  This fee pays for the Clerk of Court (either in the form of a filing fee or cost) to mail your Order to the agencies that it effects.  There is a statutory fee of $37.50.  Additionally, many counties will also charge for the number of copies and certification costs.  The Article V revision to the Florida Constitution that took effect on July 1, 2004 has impacted on these costs.  We can expect higher court costs across all counties of Florida.

MILEAGE*:  Mileage is only charged if a hearing is necessary outside of Orange, Osceola, or Seminole Counties.  The rate is typically $0.61 per mile and some are flat rates.  You will be notified in advance of any necessary mileage expense.  Most cases do not entail mileage expenses.  However, certain counties require a hearing as a pro forma matter.  Dade, Hillsborough, and Martin counties are examples of this.  Calculation of mileage is done by use of Mapquest and calculating roundtrip from our office to the courthouse in which the hearing is to occur.

NOTE: Certain counties have set mileage fees that are not based on MapQuest.  Hillsborough $110.00; Miami-Dade $450.00; Broward $400; Palm Beach County is $350.00.  All Panhandle counties are $750-1,000 depending on county.  Monroe County (Key West) is $600.00.

*NOTE: As of January 1, 2008, we will no longer charge a mileage fee.  It will be replaced by a flat hearing fee for long distance counties.  Orange, Osceola, Lake, Brevard, and Seminole Counties will remain having no additional fee for hearings.  We will continue to try and keep your costs down by having local attorneys handle the hearings at a reduced rate.

RESEARCH FEE:  Some cases require some digging in order to determine if a person is eligible to have their record sealed or expunged.  If this is necessary, we will usually advise our client what they can do to help us make the determination or we can do the research ourselves.  When we do this it usually takes about 3 weeks and the cost is $99.00.  We would rather know if our client is eligible at the beginning before we charge him or her for something that may not be possible to accomplish.

TIMETABLE OF FEES

This is to show that you do not need all the money up front.  The fees are paid as the process moves along.  If you cannot immediately pay for the next step, no problem, we can wait for you and do the work at your speed.

Filing Fees vary from county to county.  Not all counties require a filing fee but if they do it is needed at the time of the filing of the petition.  Sometimes these fees take the place of the Clerk of Court Fee.  We will notify you if your county requires a filing fee.

Mileage is only necessary if a hearing is required.  The vast majority of cases do not require a hearing.

PAYMENTS can be made by money order, check, cash, or credit card.  If paying by credit card please call (407-841-5555) our Office and we can take the information over the phone.  Please do not send credit card information via email.

ADDITIONAL HEARINGS

Sometimes a seal or expunge case requires additional hearings in order to complete the client's request.  This can be for the following reasons: To determine if two arrests are related; to determine if the client is eligible for relief; to challenge FDLE's denial of the certificate of eligibility.  These are some but no all of the possible additional hearings that may come up.  It is important to understand that, although these hearings are rare, they have an additional legal fee that must be paid prior to setting the hearing.  The legal fees vary from $500-$1000 for these hearings depending on the complexity of the issue.  Additionally, there may be costs involved that will also have to be paid.  These fees are outside the scope of the agreement to seal or expunge a client's criminal history record because they are rare and unpredictable.

Why the Delays?

We estimate the amount of time it takes to seal or expunge a record.  Some delays we have no control over and, therefore, may extend the amount of time to complete a sealing or expungement.  Some of these delays are:

• How long it takes for Clerk of Court to forward certified copy of case disposition.

• How long it takes the State Attorneys Office to return application form (expungements only).

• How long it takes for FDLE to process application and send Certificate of Eligibility.

• How long it takes the Judge to sign the Order.

• How long it takes Clerk of Court to send billing for the mailing of the Orders.

• How long it takes FDLE to remove the record once it is ordered.

The key is for you not to delay.  We cannot speed up the procedures we have no control over.  Do not wait until it is too late.  Very often we have clients that have a job opportunity or promotion come up and need an expungement immediately.  Usually there is not enough time to have the record sealed or expunged before the opportunity passes.  Getting this done know will eliminate the possibility of a future lost opportunity.