Imagine, if you will, that you have just walked into a restaurant. Upon entering, you look around and suddenly see a man angrily slapping a woman around. You walk over to him and in a reasonable way try to restrain him. He takes a poke at you, so you duck and then lay him out with one good punch. The police come. The woman testifies that she and her boyfriend were having a slight disagreement and that you butted in. You hit her wonderful man for no good reason, says she. Your goose is cooked. Before you know what happened, you become a convicted felon. Now, you lose your right to vote and to hold specific licenses issued by the state. Most notably, for the purposes of this article, you lose the right to hold a motor vehicle dealer license. For the rest of your life you have to go around explaining yourself everytime you complete a job application. While it is not true that the average person who has been convicted of a past felony is this innocent or chivalrous, it is true that after he has paid for his crime he deserves a chance to prove that he can be a functioning part of society.
To twist an old saying: "you are only young once.... but immaturity can last a lifetime". Some felons will never be ready to rejoin society. Some will. It is for the purpose of making case-by-case determinations that the legislature set-up the "Clemency Board of the State of Florida", consisting of the governor and the members of his cabinet. They in turn set-up the "Office of Executive Clemency" to investigate and recommend whether or not a convicted felon should be completely or partially forgiven for past sins. Their job is not to grant or revoke paroles or probation. But, one of their jobs is to determine, after all prison and probation time has been served, whether to recommend the re-granting of civil rights, including the right to hold licenses such as a dealer license. Clemency is defined as "an act of mercy which absolves the individual upon whom it is bestowed from all or any part of the punishment that the law imposes". Thus, through clemency, a felon can regain his "civil rights" and can therefore be licensed as a motor vehicle dealer. Note, however that a recent change to the license renewal form for dealers means that if any additional felonies are committed by an existing dealer the license will be quickly taken away.
The Clemency Board has stated that it is not necessary to have an attorney represent a felon in the application or hearing process for getting his rights restored. Although the services of an attorney are often used to regain "civil rights", the Clemency Board is more interested in hearing from the felon and/or his family members and friends. They will not actually fill out the forms for people, nor will they obtain court documents for them. They will however answer questions about the clemency process and give directions on how to proceed. You can contact the Clemency Board at:
The first step in gaining clemency is to verify that you were actually found guilty. If adjudication was withheld, your rights were not actually lost and you don't need any of this. If you were found guilty then you should contact the address above. They will send you an "Application for Clemency" form and instructions for how to proceed. You are going to need a certified copy of the charging instrument (indictment or warrant with supporting affidavit) for each felony conviction and a certified copy of the judgement and sentence of each felony conviction whether from Florida or elsewhere. These court documents may be obtained from the agency involved such as the Clerk of the Court, State Attorney, Police Department, etc... If the records do not exist, you must include an original letter from the Clerk of the Court stating that it is not available and why not. Each application may include character references, letters of support, and any other documents that are relevant. These supporting letters and testimonials may mean a lot in the final decision for clemency. Proof that the felon has been leading a lawful life and is probably not going to get in trouble again is the kind of proof that can lead to the conclusion that you want.
The entire process can probably be accomplished without a hearing. You have to meet certain simple guidelines, but that should usually be no problem unless the felony was a really noteworthy one (grand theft auto, odometer tampering, attacking a police officer, etc...) or you have a history of mental instability or drug or alcohol abuse. Any further arrests following the felony conviction will also be a problem.
The certificate evidencing restoration of civil rights can usually be received within one year. But, if you need it faster you may contact the "Office of Executive Clemency" and possibly get it within an earlier time frame. Every person and every situation is unique, so the amount of time required to clear things up may vary.