A withhold of adjudication is one of the most misunderstood entries an employer or hiring manager will ever see on a Florida background check. The candidate may say the case was “dismissed” or that they were “never convicted,” and in a narrow legal sense they are right. Florida judges use withhold of adjudication constantly, and for the person who received one it can feel like a second chance rather than a criminal record. But the underlying record does not disappear. It sits in the court file and in state criminal history systems, and depending on how the case is coded and whether it was ever sealed, it can still surface on a screening report years later. Understanding the difference between what a withhold of adjudication means legally and what actually shows up on a report is the part employers, applicants, and even some screening staff get wrong most often.
This guide walks through what a withhold of adjudication is under Florida law, why it is not the same thing as a conviction, how it typically appears on Level 1 and Level 2 background screening, when a person becomes eligible to have the record sealed, and what employers need to do to handle it correctly under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Florida law.
What a withhold of adjudication actually is
Under Florida Statute 948.01, a judge who accepts a plea or receives a jury verdict has discretion, in many cases, to either adjudicate the defendant guilty or “stay and withhold the adjudication of guilt.” In plain terms, the court can place the person on probation, impose conditions, and decline to formally enter a judgment of conviction. The case is resolved, but the person is not, on paper, a convicted felon or convicted misdemeanant for that charge. This is different from a case that was dismissed, no billed, or resulted in an acquittal. In a withhold, the person typically entered a plea or was found to have committed the offense. The court simply chose not to enter the adjudication.
Florida law does not make a withhold of adjudication available for every charge. Capital offenses are excluded outright, and a number of specific felony categories carry restrictions on when a withhold can be entered, particularly for repeat offenders or certain violent and sexual offenses. Whether a specific case qualified for a withhold depends on the charge, the defendant’s prior record, and the judge’s discretion, so it varies case by case rather than following one blanket rule.
For the person who received it, a withhold often matters a great deal in day to day life. It generally means the person can honestly answer “no” to some questions that ask specifically about being “convicted,” since no adjudication of guilt was entered. It does not mean the case was erased, and it does not automatically restore rights or remove the record from public view.
Why a withhold of adjudication is not a conviction, but the record still exists
The confusion starts with the word “conviction.” Several federal and state contexts define conviction narrowly enough that a true withhold falls outside it, which is why a person with a withhold may correctly say they were not convicted on a license application or in casual conversation. Employers should not assume that language carries over to how a background check reports the case, or that a “no” answer on a job application is dishonest just because a record exists.
The court record itself is a public record unless and until it is sealed or expunged by court order. The arrest occurred, the charge was filed, and the disposition, withhold of adjudication with probation or another sentence, was entered into the same court and law enforcement databases that hold conviction records. Nothing about the word “withhold” removes the record from the Clerk of Court’s files or from the state criminal history repository maintained by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. That is the core fact that trips people up: legally not a conviction, but functionally still a searchable record until relief is granted.
How a withhold of adjudication shows up on Level 1 and Level 2 screening
Florida uses two tiers of background screening for employment, and a withhold of adjudication can appear on either one, though the mechanics differ.
| Screening type | How it is run | How a withhold typically appears |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Name and date of birth based check, generally run against Florida criminal history and a statewide or national name based database, often combined with employment history checks | Reports as a disposition of “adjudication withheld” tied to the arrest and charge, unless the record has been sealed or expunged |
| Level 2 | Fingerprint based state and national criminal history check submitted through a livescan device, run against Florida Department of Law Enforcement and FBI records | Reports through the same fingerprint based identification used for convictions, since the disposition field, not the identification method, is what shows the withhold |
A common misconception is that Level 1, being name based, is more likely to “miss” a withhold, while Level 2 fingerprinting is what actually catches it. In practice, both levels pull from underlying criminal history repositories that record the disposition accurately, including a withhold of adjudication, as long as the record has not been sealed or expunged. The bigger practical difference between the two levels is accuracy of person matching and the breadth of records searched, not whether a withhold specifically is visible. Level 2 checks are required by Florida law for positions of trust or responsibility, such as roles involving vulnerable populations, and they are built to surface disqualifying offenses precisely because a withhold does not erase the underlying conduct from consideration for those statutory purposes.
This is also why Florida statute treats a withhold of adjudication the same as a conviction for many licensing and employment screening purposes even though it is not a conviction in the criminal sense. State agencies evaluating disqualifying offenses for regulated positions frequently look at whether the underlying offense occurred and how it was resolved, not only at whether a formal adjudication of guilt was entered.
When a withhold of adjudication becomes eligible for sealing
A withhold of adjudication is generally what makes a record eligible for court ordered sealing under Florida Statute 943.059, since sealing eligibility turns on the person never having been adjudicated guilty of the offense in question, along with meeting other criteria such as having no disqualifying prior record. A person who was adjudicated guilty of the current charge, rather than given a withhold, is not eligible to seal that specific case. This is the practical legal reason withholds matter so much to defendants: it is often the only path to sealing.
Sealing is not automatic. The person must apply to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for a Certificate of Eligibility, and a court must then enter an order sealing the record. Florida law also generally allows only one court ordered sealing or expungement in a person’s lifetime, and certain offenses are excluded from eligibility regardless of the disposition. Full expungement, which is a further step beyond sealing, generally requires that a sealed record has existed for a set number of years, with a narrower exception for cases where the charges were dismissed before trial or resulted in an acquittal. Until a record is sealed or expunged by court order, it remains subject to disclosure on background checks that are legally entitled to search sealed and unsealed criminal history.
Employers should not assume that a candidate who mentions a withhold of adjudication has necessarily had the record sealed, and should not assume the opposite either. The only way to know is what the screening report actually returns, since sealing status is a legal outcome separate from the disposition itself.
How employers should handle a withhold of adjudication under the FCRA and Florida law
When a background check used for employment purposes is obtained through a consumer reporting agency, it is a consumer report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and a withhold of adjudication appearing on that report does not change the employer’s underlying duties. Employers still need a standalone disclosure, written authorization from the applicant, and, if the record may factor into an adverse decision, a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and a summary of rights, followed by a genuine opportunity for the applicant to respond before a final adverse action notice is sent.
Because a withhold of adjudication is not a conviction, employers should be careful about internal policies that treat it identically to one without any further review. A defensible process generally looks at the nature and gravity of the underlying offense, the time that has passed, and the nature of the job, an approach that lines up with how the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has described individualized assessment of criminal history in hiring decisions. Automatically excluding every applicant with a withhold of adjudication, regardless of role or how long ago the case occurred, increases the risk of a discrimination claim and does not reflect what a withhold actually establishes about the person’s conduct.
Employers should also not assume a withhold of adjudication will always appear or will never appear on a report. What is visible depends on whether the record has been sealed, how the reporting agency’s databases are populated, and state law that governs what a background check may report and for how long. Treat any absolute claim about what a Florida background check “will show” with caution, and rely on the actual report returned for that applicant rather than assumptions about how withholds generally behave.
Frequently asked questions
Does a withhold of adjudication count as a conviction on a background check?
No, not in the legal sense. A withhold of adjudication means the court did not enter a formal judgment of guilt. However, the underlying record of the arrest and disposition still exists and can appear on a background check unless it has been sealed or expunged by court order.
Will a withhold of adjudication show up on a Florida Level 1 background check?
It can. A Level 1 check searches criminal history using name and date of birth, and if the record has not been sealed or expunged, the disposition of adjudication withheld will typically appear along with the original arrest and charge.
Will a withhold of adjudication show up on a Florida Level 2 background check?
Yes, in most cases. Level 2 checks are fingerprint based and search Florida Department of Law Enforcement and FBI records. The fingerprint identification method does not remove disposition detail, so an unsealed withhold of adjudication generally still reports.
Can a withhold of adjudication be sealed in Florida?
Generally, yes, since sealing eligibility under Florida law typically requires that adjudication was not entered for the offense. The person must apply to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for a Certificate of Eligibility and obtain a court order, and eligibility can still be affected by prior record, the type of offense, and the one sealing per lifetime limit.
Can an employer deny a job to someone with a withhold of adjudication?
State and federal law generally do not prohibit considering it, but employers should apply an individualized review that weighs the nature of the offense, how long ago it occurred, and its relevance to the job rather than an automatic exclusion, and must still follow FCRA adverse action steps when the check was obtained through a consumer reporting agency.
Is a withhold of adjudication the same as an expunged or sealed record?
No. A withhold of adjudication is a court disposition entered at sentencing. Sealing and expunction are separate legal processes that a person may become eligible for because of that disposition, but the record is not sealed or expunged automatically just because adjudication was withheld.
Sources
- Florida Statute 948.01, Probation and Community Control
- Florida Statute 943.059, Court Ordered Sealing of Criminal History Records
- Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Seal and Expunge Process
- Florida Department of Law Enforcement, State and National Criminal History Record Check
- United States Code, Title 15, Section 1681c, Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports
Related reading: What Is a Level 2 Background Check? Florida’s Fingerprint Standard Explained and Sealed vs Expunged Records: What Each Hides From a Background Check.
Get Level 1 and Level 2 Florida screening built for accurate, FCRA aligned hiring decisions at Reveal Background.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Consult qualified counsel for guidance specific to a particular case or hiring decision.
