Call (941) 866-4352 Request a Record-Clearing Review
Read the statewide Florida eligibility guide
“I don’t want my clients to feel like a number, so I’m the one personally overseeing each case and calling each individual myself.” — Adam Dunn
Who handles what in Polk County
| Office | Its role |
|---|---|
| Polk County Clerk | Maintains the criminal court file, supplies certified dispositions, and receives the petition filed in the existing case. |
| Tenth Circuit State Attorney | Usually handles the prosecutor certification required for an expunction when that office prosecuted the case. The docket must be checked because another authority may have prosecuted it. |
| Florida Department of Law Enforcement | Reviews the statewide application and decides whether to issue a Certificate of Eligibility. The certificate permits a petition; it does not grant relief. |
| Assigned judge | Decides the petition and whether a hearing, proposed order, or additional filing is required. |
Record-clearing for an arrest in Lakeland, Bartow, Winter Haven or elsewhere in Polk County requires more than a statewide form. Polk’s Clerk maintains the criminal docket and certified court records, the Tenth Judicial Circuit State Attorney handles the prosecutor side of the criminal case, FDLE determines certificate eligibility, and the assigned court decides the petition.
The Dunn Law Firm handles Florida record-sealing and expungement matters. Eligibility turns on the complete incident, every charge and disposition, adjudication, supervision, prior adult and juvenile history, and any earlier sealing or expungement. A public docket or online quiz cannot replace that review.
The Polk County process
- Find the correct criminal docket. Polk’s official Criminal and Traffic Records portal can be searched anonymously and displays docket activity, case status, filed documents, charges, court dates, fines and fees. The Clerk cautions that the online system is not the official court record and must be independently verified.
- Order a certified disposition. FDLE requires a certified disposition for every charge included in the application. Use Polk’s records-request process rather than submitting an uncertified printout from the public portal. If the case involved probation, diversion or another program, obtain the official completion or termination record as well.
- Complete the appropriate prosecutor step. For an expunction, FDLE’s current application ordinarily requires Section B to be completed by the appropriate prosecutor; a sealing application does not use that expunction-only certification. Confirm the submission route with the Tenth Judicial Circuit State Attorney office responsible for the case.
- Apply to FDLE. Submit the complete, current packet with fingerprints, certified disposition, supervision-completion documents when applicable, notarization, prosecutor certification for expunction and the current FDLE fee. A Certificate of Eligibility is required before the court petition, but it does not guarantee that a judge will grant relief.
- Prepare and file the Polk County petition. After FDLE issues the certificate, prepare the petition and sworn affidavit under current Florida law. The Clerk does not provide those post-certificate forms. Polk permits criminal e-filing, but the assigned division’s filing, service, proposed-order, and hearing instructions must be confirmed. The Clerk lists a $42 charge for sealing a court file or expunging a record; copy, certification, FDLE, and fingerprint expenses are separate.
- Follow the assigned division and preserve records. The Clerk’s general expungement page directs applicants to FDLE but does not publish one universal hearing or proposed-order process for every criminal division. Confirm current filing and hearing instructions in the actual case, serve the required agencies, and preserve certified copies that may be needed later.
Polk’s official-record warning matters
Polk’s public portal contains useful docket and document information, but the Clerk expressly says it is not the official record and should not be relied on for legal action without verification. That distinction is central to a sealing or expungement file: an online entry may help identify the case, while the certified disposition establishes what happened to each count for the FDLE application. A missing or abbreviated online entry should be treated as a records-retrieval issue, not an eligibility conclusion.
Use current FDLE timing, not Polk's older estimate
Polk’s Clerk FAQ still describes a six-to-ten-month FDLE process. FDLE’s current statewide page instead says Certificate of Eligibility processing is typically about 12 weeks, and its FAQ says applications are taking over 12 weeks. Timing can change, but the current FDLE source should control—not a conflicting local estimate.
The same Clerk FAQ adds two useful local points: the Clerk does not supply the petition forms, and after a certificate and proper documents are filed, the prosecutor reviews the request before the assigned division judge decides it. Polk permits e-filing in circuit and county criminal matters through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal and lists $42 for sealing a court file or expunging a record.
Polk does not publish a dedicated State Attorney certification route, one mandatory local packet, or one hearing-setting procedure for every division. Confirm those details for the actual docket. Do not infer that a general State Attorney office address is the correct Section B destination.
My Polk County charges were dropped. Was the record automatically sealed?
Possibly, but dismissal alone does not answer the question. Section 943.0595 automatically seals some qualifying nonconviction records after the required agency process, subject to statutory exclusions. The docket, disposition, charge, and actual public-record status should be checked. If automatic sealing did not apply or did not reach every relevant record, court-ordered relief may still require an FDLE certificate and petition.
Frequently asked Polk County questions
Can I search a Polk criminal case without registering?
Yes. The Clerk says its criminal portal can be searched anonymously, although access varies by user role. The online information is not a certified official record and should be independently verified.
Where do I obtain the paperwork after FDLE issues a certificate?
The Polk Clerk says it does not provide the post-certificate petition forms and directs applicants to an attorney, paralegal, or law library. The filing event, service list, any proposed-order route, and hearing procedure should be checked against the assigned criminal case and current division instructions.
What is the Polk County filing charge?
The Clerk’s current fee schedule lists $42 for sealing a court file or expunging a record. FDLE’s application fee, fingerprints, certified copies and other case-specific charges are separate.
Does a Certificate of Eligibility clear the Polk County case?
No. It means FDLE found the record eligible to be presented to the court under the requested statutory process. The petition still must be properly filed and served, and the judge retains discretion.
Call (941) 866-4352 or request a Polk County record-clearing review. Have the case number, arrest date, all charges and dispositions, and supervision or diversion completion information available if known.
What to have ready when you contact Dunn Law
Gather the case number, arrest date, every charge and disposition, arresting agency, and any probation, diversion, or program-completion record. Also identify any other Florida arrest and any earlier sealing or expungement. If some records are missing, the first step is to identify what must be ordered.
Want a straight answer about the record? Call (941) 866-4352 or ask Dunn Law to review the case. The firm can retrieve missing court records, review every count and the Florida history, prepare the FDLE application, draft and file the petition, serve the required agencies, and prepare for any hearing the assigned judge requires. Do not send confidential documents until the firm confirms representation.
General information, not legal advice. Eligibility and procedure depend on the complete record, current law, agency instructions, and the assigned court. No result is guaranteed.
Official sources checked
Sources checked September 18, 2026. Filing instructions can change; the route should be confirmed for the actual case.
Recent Comments