How long does the expungement process take?
The process has two stages and both take time.
The FDLE certificate of eligibility. Reporting indicates this step alone currently takes more than twelve weeks from receipt of a complete packet. Incomplete packets restart the clock — the application, fingerprints, certified disposition, and fee all have to be right.
The court petition. After the certificate arrives, a petition is filed, parties are served, and a hearing is scheduled. Court scheduling drives the timeline from there, and it varies by county.
Total time commonly runs six months to more than a year.
What that means practically. If you have a deadline — a job application, a licensing decision, an enlistment, a housing application — start now rather than when the deadline approaches. There is no expedited path.
The most common cause of delay is a defective packet. Getting the certified disposition right, and confirming there are no outstanding obligations before applying, saves months.
Start it before you need it. There's no way to speed this up once it's running. ---
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