Sealing in Florida
Court-ordered sealing under Fla. Stat. § 943.059 makes your record confidential. It is not destroyed. Courts and criminal justice agencies keep access. The public loses it. With specific exceptions, you may lawfully deny it. The exceptions matter. Some employers and licensing bodies keep access by law. Examples: jobs serving children or vulnerable adults.
Sealing usually fits a case where adjudication was withheld. You were not formally convicted. But the case did not end in your favor either. So expungement's stricter test is out of reach. The list in Fla. Stat. § 943.0584 applies to sealing too.
Florida also seals some records on its own under Fla. Stat. § 943.0595. It covers a case that ends with no charge, a dismissal, or an acquittal. The clerk reports it, and FDLE seals it. No application, no fee, no limit on how many times. The automatic path covers fewer cases than the court-ordered one. A record that misses it can still be sealed by petition.
A sealed record is also the door to expungement. After 10 years sealed, it may qualify for court-ordered expunction under Fla. Stat. § 943.0585. One check covers both remedies.