Hillsborough County has a dedicated Clerk Expungement and Sealing
Unit (ESU). That local routing is important: the Clerk publishes
separate instructions for mail or in-person filing and Florida Courts
E-Filing Portal submissions, and it tells attorneys not to send
seal/expunge proposed orders through the Portal’s Proposed Documents
feature. Clerk staff route the required documents to the appropriate
Circuit or County administrative judge for review.
The Hillsborough process
- Audit the Tampa/Hillsborough case in HOVER. Confirm
the case number, court level, arresting agency, every charge, and final
disposition. Obtain a certified disposition rather than relying on the
public docket alone. - Gather completion documents. If probation, pretrial
intervention or another program was involved, FDLE may require certified
termination or successful-completion evidence. - Complete the correct FDLE pathway. Expunction
applications require the appropriate prosecutor’s certified statement;
sealing applications do not use that expunction-only step. Both require
FDLE eligibility review, fingerprints, the certified disposition and the
current fee. - Prepare the local court package. After FDLE issues
the certificate, complete the petition, sworn statement or affidavit,
and proposed order. Match the relief requested in every document. - File through the correct Hillsborough route. The
ESU supports mail, in-person and E-Portal instructions. Counsel should
follow the ESU’s specific direction that seal/expunge proposed orders
are not submitted through the Portal’s Proposed Documents link; the
Clerk routes the documents for judicial review. - Preserve records and verify downstream processing.
Hillsborough’s Clerk cautions that expunging the court record does not
remove copies already held in private, non-Clerk databases. Obtain
needed certified copies before access changes and separately address
private vendors after official compliance.
Why the ESU matters
This is not a generic “Tampa lawyer” page. Hillsborough’s specialized
unit, administrative-judge routing and E-Portal instruction create a
process different from counties that direct a petitioner to obtain forms
by email or schedule a hearing at a criminal division. A statewide firm
needs a county-specific filing checklist so the certificate does not
expire while an incorrectly routed petition sits unresolved.
Frequently asked Hillsborough County questions
Where can I search a Hillsborough criminal case?
Use the Hillsborough Clerk’s official HOVER system. It helps identify
the docket and documents, but FDLE requires a certified disposition for
the certificate application.
Can an attorney e-file the petition in Hillsborough County?
The Hillsborough Clerk publishes E-Portal instructions. Its
seal/expunge page specifically says attorneys should not submit the
required documents through the Portal’s Proposed Documents link because
Clerk staff route them to the appropriate administrative judge. The
current instructions should be checked at filing.
Does an FDLE certificate mean the ESU must clear the case?
No. The certificate permits the person to petition. The prosecutor or
arresting agency may respond, and the judge retains discretion.
Does a Hillsborough order remove online mugshots and private
databases?
Not automatically. The official order governs the agencies subject to
it. The Hillsborough Clerk expressly warns that non-Clerk databases that
already possess the information may require separate removal
requests.
Call (941) 866-4352 or request a Hillsborough record-clearing
review. Dunn Law can coordinate document review and filing
statewide, subject to the assigned court’s requirements.
Official sources
- Hillsborough
Clerk: Expungement and Sealing - Hillsborough
Clerk instructions - FDLE
Certificate of Eligibility instructions - Florida Rules of
Criminal Procedure
Information reviewed September 3, 2026 against the cited official sources. The Dunn Law Firm’s office is in Sarasota; no office in Hillsborough County is claimed.
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