A private attorney and Expeal are different tools. The honest comparison starts there.
What an attorney provides that Expeal does not
A licensed attorney gives you advice about your specific situation, exercises judgment on the parts of your record that do not fit the common path, represents you in court, and answers for the work under the rules of their profession. Expeal does none of that. Expeal is not a law firm, using it creates no attorney-client relationship, and the documents we prepare are driven by the information you supply.
If your record is complex — several arrests, out-of-state history, unresolved court-ordered amounts, federal charges, immigration consequences, or active supervision — an attorney's judgment is worth more than any document service. Our disclosures say the same thing, state by state.
What is the same either way
Florida's eligibility rules do not change with representation. The certificate of eligibility from FDLE and the court's discretion over the petition are set by Fla. Stat. § 943.0585 and Fla. Stat. § 943.059; the fees the government and your county charge are set by statute too — and none of it changes with representation. FDLE processes certificate applications in the order received and expedites no one, so the typically-12-week wait is the same with or without counsel.
What the costs look like
Attorney prices vary with the market, the scope of the work and the complexity of your record. One Florida record-clearing firm lists its entry package at $1,995 (Erase the Case — Erase Pro, read 2026-09-27); its other packages cost more. Expeal's DIY+ package is $199, flat: we create all the necessary documents and send them to you, and you handle the filing yourself. The government fees on our pricing page apply in either case: the state and your county charge them whoever prepares the paperwork.
Choosing
If you want representation, start with your state bar's referral pathway — our bar-referral directory lists every state's, with the phone number the bar publishes. If your record fits the common path and you are comfortable filing yourself, the eligibility check is where Expeal starts.
Sources
- The eligibility rules, the certificate-of-eligibility prerequisite, and the government fees are set by statute and apply whether or not you have a lawyer — Fla. Stat. 943.0585 (2025), leg.state.fl.us (retrieved )
- FDLE processes every certificate application in the order received, typically in 12 weeks — no filer is expedited — FDLE Seal and Expunge Process (retrieved )
- Expeal's DIY+ package prepares the documents and sends them to you; you handle the filing yourself — Expeal — how it works in Florida (quoting the application's own package description) (retrieved )
- Each state bar's lawyer-referral pathway, with phone numbers and verification dates — Expeal bar-referral directory (retrieved )
- A Florida record-clearing firm's published entry price for an attorney-prepared petition — Erase the Case — Erase Pro (retrieved )
Methodology
We name a provider only to cite a published price, with its source and the date we read it. The attorney figure is one firm's published entry price, not a typical fee: attorney prices vary with the market, the scope of the work and your record. Every other factual claim above cites a primary source with the date we read it. Figures shown for Expeal come from the application's own published price data. Re-checked when any cited source or the Expeal price changes.
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