Can I Seal or Expunge an Assault or Battery Charge in Florida?

An assault and battery arrest can leave a black eye on your permeant record. In Florida, can you seal or expunge those charges? The answer is: it depends on the disposition.

In law school, I had a professor who would answer every question with “It depends.” It was frustrating, but also very accurate in the field of law. Most legal answers depend on the situation. Assuming you otherwise qualify, sealing or expunging a an assault or battery depends on the final disposition of your case.

What was the disposition of your assault or battery case?

The disposition on a Florida criminal case is the current status or final outcome of the arrest or prosecution.

If your Florida misdemeanor or felony assault or battery charge was dropped, dismissed, nolle prosequi, or you received a “not guilty” verdict at trial, then you might be eligible to expunge the battery from your record.

If your Florida misdemeanor assault or battery charge was a withhold of adjudication, then you might be eligible to seal the battery from your record.

However, you are not eligible to seal or expunge the record, even if you received a withhold of adjudication, if the Florida assault or battery charge was classified as any of the following:

Domestic Assault Fla. Stat. § 784.011, when the victim is of one family or household member by another family or household member, as defined in Fla. Stat. § 741.28(3);
Domestic Battery Fla. Stat. § 784.03, when the victim is of one family or household member by another family or household member, as defined in Fla. Stat. § 741.28(3);
Aggravated assault, Fla. Stat. § 784.021
Felony battery, Fla. Stat. § 784.03
Domestic battery by strangulation, Fla. Stat. § 784.041
Aggravated battery, Fla. Stat. § 784.045

Too Long; Didn’t Read (TL;DR): Can I seal or expunge an assault or battery charge in Florida? It depends on the final disposition of the charge. Some types of assault and battery charges are not eligible to be sealed or expunged.

Defender Donahue Law PLLC represents clients seeking to clear their record. If you have a criminal record in the State of Florida, contact me, Patrick C. Donahue, Esq. to discuss the facts of your particular criminal record. To schedule a free and confidential consultation about your criminal record, call my cell phone (561) 888-0113, send me an email PCDEsq@gmail.com, or use my Contact Form.