Sealing or expunging a record in Florida is supposed to mean the case is behind you. As of July 1, 2026, that is still true for almost every purpose, but there is now one context where a sealed or expunged arrest can surface anyway, and a new law makes it a legal requirement to acknowledge it if it does. This is one of several criminal-law changes taking effect on the same date. See our companion post on Isaiah’s Law and the expanded habitual traffic offender statute for another July 1, 2026 change worth knowing about.
What House Bill 1069 Does
House Bill 1069, enacted as Chapter 2026-114, is not primarily an expungement bill. Most of it deals with Florida’s Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse, the state system used to screen people for positions working with children, the elderly, or people with disabilities. The bill adds athletic coaches and independent sanctioning authorities to that screening system and tightens how agencies share criminal history information through it.
Buried inside that broader bill is a provision that reaches anyone who has sealed or expunged a Florida criminal record. The law amends Florida Statutes 943.0585 and 943.059, the core expungement and sealing statutes, to address what happens when someone with a sealed or expunged record goes through Clearinghouse screening.
The Change: Acknowledgment Is Now Required in Clearinghouse Screenings
Under the new law, if a person is screened through the Clearinghouse by a qualified entity under Florida Statute 435.12, that person can no longer deny or fail to acknowledge an arrest covered by a sealed or expunged record. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now required to disclose the sealed record, or the existence of an expunged one, to the qualified entity conducting that screening.
A narrow privacy protection comes with it. An employee of the qualified entity who learns about the record generally cannot disclose it further, except to the person it belongs to or to someone with direct responsibility for the hiring or licensing decision.
What This Does Not Change
This law does not touch Florida’s general expungement and sealing framework. The core rules carry over from before July 1, 2026:
- Eligibility is unchanged. The criteria under 943.0585 and 943.059 still apply. A conviction still cannot be expunged, and a person is still limited to one sealing or one expungement in a lifetime, with narrow exceptions. See our full Expungement and Record Sealing page for how eligibility works.
- Most background checks are unaffected. An ordinary employer background check, most licensing applications, and general public record searches do not run through the Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse. For those, a sealed or expunged record continues to work the way it always has. See our companion post on what shows up on a background check after an arrest in Florida for how that plays out in practice.
- The record itself is not restored to the public. This law creates a disclosure channel to a particular type of screening entity. It does not put the record back into general circulation.
The practical effect is narrow but real: if someone’s future involves work or licensure connected to childcare, elder care, or a similarly screened field, a sealed or expunged arrest is no longer something they can safely leave off the table during that screening process.
Who This Provision Reaches
The Clearinghouse screening system reaches people applying for jobs or licenses in areas like childcare facilities, schools, youth sports organizations, elder care, and certain healthcare and caregiving roles. Someone whose expunged or sealed record involved an offense from years ago, now working toward a position in one of those fields, is who this provision is built around.
A practical example: someone sealed an arrest from a decade ago and has since built a clean record. That sealing still works as it always has for a standard job application, a landlord background check, or most licensing boards. But if that same person now applies for a position at a licensed daycare, the daycare’s background check runs through the Clearinghouse, and under this law, the sealed arrest can be disclosed to the daycare as the qualified entity conducting the screening. The applicant cannot deny it if asked.
Questions About Florida’s New Background Screening Law
Does this mean my expungement no longer works?
No. Your expungement or sealing still applies to the record for every purpose it always did. This law creates one exception: disclosure to a qualified entity conducting a Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse check. Outside that screening system, the record remains sealed or expunged.
When did this law take effect?
July 1, 2026. The bill was enacted in May 2026 as Chapter 2026-114, with an effective date of July 1, 2026.
What is the Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse?
It is a centralized state system, administered through Florida’s background screening laws, used by qualified entities to check the criminal history of people applying for positions involving contact with children, the elderly, or people with disabilities.
Can I still deny an arrest that was sealed or expunged in a normal job interview?
This law is limited to Clearinghouse screenings under Florida Statute 435.12. For screenings and background checks outside that system, Florida’s existing rules about how sealed and expunged records may be answered continue to apply.
What happens if the record surfaces during a Clearinghouse screening?
The qualified entity conducting the screening receives the disclosure from FDLE. An employee who receives that information generally cannot share it further, except with the person it belongs to or someone directly responsible for the hiring or licensing decision.
If You Have Questions About a Sealed or Expunged Record
Whether a certain record could surface in a background screening depends on the type of screening, the entity involved, and the position or license being sought. If you are unsure how this law applies to your situation, call me directly. Calls reach me, Andre Rouviere, not an intake center, and the first consultation is free with no obligation to hire the firm. If it’s after hours or the weekend, the office keeps a 24-hour answering service.