Administrative Expungement in Tampa

If you were mistakenly arrested in Tampa, you may be able to apply for an administrative expungement. The City of Tampa gives the public access to court records and police reports, along with other records. Records can be sought online, by mail, or in person. Generally, you need to direct a request for a copy of a specific record to the department responsible for the information. For an arrest record, you would apply to the Tampa Police Department. At Hanlon Law, our Tampa administrative expungement lawyers can assist you in seeking to clean your record if you are eligible.

Administrative expungements do not replace or substitute for a court-ordered expungement, but instead they constitute a different procedure with different benefits. The purpose of administrative expungement is to correct mistaken or illegal arrests. For example, if you were mistakenly arrested because you have the same name as someone suspected of a crime, you could apply for an administrative expungement. If an administrative expungement is obtained, it removes arrest data that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has compiled. With a judicial expungement, you can apply only once for expungement or record sealing. This is not the case for administrative expungement.

Unlike a judicial expungement, the administrative expungement procedure allows an innocent person to completely erase everything about the arrest, including the fingerprints.

Administrative expungement is governed by section 943.0581, which allows the Department to adopt a rule for administrative expungement of a non-judicial record of an arrest of an adult or child if it was mistaken or illegal. Rule 11C-7.008 has been adopted.

The application for administrative expungement can be made by a law enforcement agency if the agency determines that there was a mistaken or illegal arrest. However, in most cases, the agency is reluctant to acknowledge a mistake or unlawful action. Accordingly, our administrative expungement attorneys can assist Tampa residents with making this application.

Any adult or the parent or legal guardian of a child can apply to the Department for administrative expungement of a non-judicial record of an arrest that they claim was made by mistake or was against the law. The application needs to be supported with an endorsement of the head of the arresting agency or their designee, or the state attorney from the same judicial circuit where the arrest occurred. The application should be on the submitting agency letterhead, and the head of the agency should sign it. If this process is not feasible, you can support the application with a court order signed by a judge finding that your arrest was unlawful or mistaken.

If you were arrested on a pickup order, capias, or warrant, the county sheriff can make the request for an administrative expungement.

Your application for an administrative expungement is not admissible as evidence in an administrative or judicial proceeding. It cannot be construed as an admission of liability regarding the arrest. Our Tampa administrative expungement attorneys can explain the details of these benefits.

Rule 11C-7.008 provides that an application for administrative expungement submitted by an arresting law enforcement agency or supporting endorsement must identify the arrest to be administratively expunged by specifically referring to certain information. Reference should be made to your name, aliases, race, sex, date of birth, Social Security Number, date and time of arrest, original charges, FBI and FDLE numbers if they apply and are known, OBTS number, and reason for applying for administrative expungement.

Administrative expungement may be a good remedy to consider if you have been arrested and meet the criteria. It is less expensive and takes less time than does court-ordered expungement. If you are interested in applying for an administrative expungement in Tampa, you should consult Hanlon Law. Call us at 800.373.1974 or contact us through our online form to get advice from an administrative expungement lawyer in Tampa.