Texas (TX) — Expungement & Record Clearing

Remedy

Expunction (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. ch. 55A, arts. 55A.002, 55A.051–55A.054, 55A.101)

Waiting period

None after an acquittal or a qualifying dismissal. If no indictment or information was presented: 180 days after arrest (Class C misdemeanor), 1 year (Class B or A misdemeanor), or 3 years (felony), or sooner if the prosecutor certifies the records are not needed. Otherwise, when the limitations period expires.

A person is entitled to expunction of arrest records after a trial-court acquittal, or—if released, the charge did not end in a final conviction and is no longer pending, and there was no court-ordered community supervision (other than for a Class C misdemeanor)—when no indictment or information was presented within set periods, when the charge was dismissed or quashed for listed reasons (such as completing a pretrial intervention, veterans or mental health court program, or absence of probable cause), or when the limitations period has expired; a court may also expunge on the prosecutor's recommendation before trial. Relief normally requires an ex parte petition in district court (or a justice or municipal court of record for fine-only offenses); after a trial-court acquittal, an order is entered within 30 days at the acquitted person's request (or the prosecutor's, with the person's consent).

• ✗Acquittal of an offense from a criminal episode in which the person was convicted of, or remains subject to prosecution for, another offense
• ✗Cases with court-ordered community supervision, including deferred adjudication, for anything above a Class C misdemeanor
• ✗Arrests on a warrant for violating community supervision
• ✗People who intentionally or knowingly absconded after release (for the waiting-period and limitations routes)
• ✗Driver's license suspension/revocation records, except as the Transportation Code allows

Source: Tex. Code Crim. Proc. ch. 55A (Art. 55A.002 (heading and lead-in); Art. 55A.002(2); Art. 55A.051(2); Art. 55A.051(3); +15 more)

Remedy

Order of nondisclosure (Tex. Gov't Code §§ 411.073, 411.0735 for convictions; §§ 411.072, 411.0725 for deferred adjudication)

Waiting period

After conviction with community supervision: on completion, or 2 years after completion for misdemeanors under Penal Code chapters 20, 21, 22, 25, 42, 43 or 46. After conviction with a sentence: on completion for a fine-only misdemeanor, otherwise 2 years after completing the sentence. Deferred adjudication: § 411.072 order at discharge if at least 180 days after placement; § 411.0725 petition on discharge, or 2 years after discharge for the listed Penal Code chapters.

A first-time offender convicted of an eligible misdemeanor can petition for an order of nondisclosure after completing community supervision (§ 411.073) or the full sentence, including fines, costs and restitution (§ 411.0735); the court must find the order is in the best interest of justice, and under § 411.0735 it cannot grant one if it finds the offense was violent or sexual in nature (Penal Code § 22.01 assault excepted). Misdemeanor deferred adjudication (which ends in dismissal, not a conviction) can be nondisclosed by petition under § 411.0725 even with a prior record, and for first-time offenders outside the excluded offense chapters § 411.072 directs the court to issue the order without a petition, once the person shows eligibility and pays a $28 fee.

• ✗Any prior conviction or deferred adjudication other than a fine-only traffic offense (§§ 411.072, 411.073, 411.0735)
• ✗Any new conviction or deferred adjudication (other than fine-only traffic) during supervision/sentence or the waiting period
• ✗Offenses requiring sex-offender registration, aggravated kidnapping, and offenses under Penal Code §§ 19.02, 19.03, 20A.02, 20A.03, 22.04, 22.041, 25.07, 25.072 or 42.072
• ✗Any offense involving family violence, or a court finding of family violence
• ✗DWI and other intoxication misdemeanors under Penal Code §§ 49.04, 49.05, 49.06 and 49.065, Alcoholic Beverage Code § 106.041, and organized crime under Penal Code ch. 71 (for §§ 411.073 and 411.0735)
• ✗Offenses the court finds violent or sexual in nature, other than § 22.01 assault (§ 411.0735)

Sources: Tex. Gov't Code ch. 411, subch. E-1 (§ 411.073(a)(1); § 411.073(b); § 411.073(d); § 411.073(d)(2); +18 more); Office of Court Administration, An Overview of Orders of Nondisclosure (rev. Aug. 2026) (Section 411.072, item 5; Section 411.072 discussion; Basic Eligibility Requirements, item 1(C); Question 7 (offenses excluded from §§ 411.073/411.0735))

Remedy

Order of nondisclosure after felony deferred adjudication (Tex. Gov't Code § 411.0725); expunction of a pardoned conviction (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. arts. 55A.003, 55A.004)

Waiting period

5 years after the discharge and dismissal (felony deferred adjudication nondisclosure)

Apart from narrow programs (such as veterans treatment court completion under § 411.0727), Texas's nondisclosure sections for adult convictions cover only misdemeanors, so a felony conviction generally cannot be nondisclosed; a felony conviction that is later pardoned (or overturned on the basis of actual innocence) can be expunged. A felony that ended in deferred adjudication with a discharge and dismissal can be the subject of a nondisclosure petition 5 years after the discharge and dismissal, if § 411.074 is met and the court finds the order is in the best interest of justice.

• ✗Felony convictions (other than pardoned convictions or narrow program-based relief) — no nondisclosure
• ✗Offenses requiring sex-offender registration, aggravated kidnapping, murder, capital murder, trafficking, injury to a child/elderly/disabled person, abandoning or endangering a child, protective-order/bond violations (§§ 25.07, 25.072), stalking
• ✗Any offense involving family violence
• ✗Any new conviction or deferred adjudication (other than fine-only traffic) during supervision or the 5-year wait
• ✗Felony DWI/BWI deferred adjudication (§ 411.0725 excludes Penal Code §§ 49.04 and 49.06)

Sources: Tex. Gov't Code ch. 411, subch. E-1 (§ 411.073(a)(1); § 411.0727(c); § 411.0725(e)(3); § 411.0725(d); +5 more); Office of Court Administration, An Overview of Orders of Nondisclosure (rev. Aug. 2026) (Question 6); Tex. Code Crim. Proc. ch. 55A (Art. 55A.003; Art. 55A.004 (heading and lead-in); Art. 55A.004(2))

Remedy

Order of nondisclosure for driving while intoxicated (Tex. Gov't Code §§ 411.0726, 411.0731, 411.0736)

Waiting period

Deferred adjudication: 2 years after completion and discharge and dismissal. Conviction with community supervision: 2 years after completion if an ignition-interlock condition was complied with for at least 6 months, otherwise 5 years. Conviction with a sentence: 3 years after completing the sentence with at least 6 months of interlock, otherwise 5 years.

A first-time DWI that was not punishable as a Class A misdemeanor for an alcohol concentration of 0.15 or more (Penal Code § 49.04(d)) can be the subject of a nondisclosure petition after deferred adjudication (§ 411.0726), after a conviction with community supervision (§ 411.0731), or after a conviction and completed sentence (§ 411.0736); the court cannot grant it if the prosecutor shows the offense caused a motor vehicle collision involving another person, including a passenger. Records of a driver's license suspension or revocation are not expunged under Chapter 55A except as the Transportation Code allows.

• ✗Any prior conviction or deferred adjudication other than a fine-only traffic offense
• ✗DWI punishable under Penal Code § 49.04(d) (0.15 or more) for §§ 411.0731/411.0736; deferred adjudication itself is unavailable for DWI at 0.15 or more or for commercial license/permit holders
• ✗Offense resulted in a motor vehicle collision involving another person (including a passenger)
• ✗Driver's license suspension/revocation records (expunction barred except under Transportation Code §§ 524.015, 724.048)

Sources: Tex. Gov't Code ch. 411, subch. E-1 (§ 411.0726(a); § 411.0726(b)(3); § 411.0726(f); § 411.0731(a)(1); +6 more); Tex. Penal Code § 49.04 (§ 49.04(d)); Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 42A.102 (Art. 42A.102(b)(1)(B); Art. 42A.102(b)(1)(B)(i)); Office of Court Administration, An Overview of Orders of Nondisclosure (rev. Aug. 2026) (Section 411.0726, item 7); Tex. Code Crim. Proc. ch. 55A (Art. 55A.152)

Remedy

Order of nondisclosure under the general rules (Tex. Gov't Code §§ 411.072–411.0735); expunction after dismissal following a pretrial intervention program (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 55A.053)

Waiting period

Same as the misdemeanor and felony rows (e.g., 2 years after completing the sentence for a non-fine-only misdemeanor conviction; 5 years after discharge and dismissal for felony deferred adjudication)

Drug possession cases follow the general misdemeanor and felony rules. Possession of 2 ounces or less of marijuana is a Class B misdemeanor, but possession of even less than 1 gram of a Penalty Group 1 substance is a state jail felony, which falls under the felony rules (no nondisclosure for a felony conviction; nondisclosure petition 5 years after a felony deferred adjudication discharge). A charge dismissed because the person completed a pretrial intervention program can be expunged; a narrow nondisclosure route also exists for trafficking victims convicted of certain offenses, including Class B marijuana possession (§ 411.0728).

• ✗Felony possession convictions are not eligible for nondisclosure
• ✗Prior convictions or deferred adjudications (other than fine-only traffic) bar the first-offender sections

Sources: Tex. Health & Safety Code § 481.121 (§ 481.121(b)(1); § 481.115(b)); Tex. Gov't Code ch. 411, subch. E-1 (§ 411.073(a)(1); § 411.0725(e)(3); § 411.072(a)(2) (same wording in §§ 411.073(b)(2), 411.0735(b)(2)); § 411.0735(d)(2)); Office of Court Administration, An Overview of Orders of Nondisclosure (rev. Aug. 2026) (Question 6; Section 411.0728, item 1); Tex. Code Crim. Proc. ch. 55A (Art. 55A.053(a)(2)(C)-(E))

Remedy

Sealing of juvenile records (Tex. Fam. Code ch. 58, subch. C-1, §§ 58.253–58.256); separate expunction for certain fine-only convictions of a child (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 45A.463)

Waiting period

Without application: age 19 (delinquent conduct, no felony-grade adjudication) or age 18 (conduct indicating a need for supervision only). By application: age 17, or under 17 if at least one year after final discharge in each matter.

Records are sealed without an application at age 19 for a person referred for delinquent conduct who was never adjudicated for felony-grade conduct (after DPS certification and a juvenile court order), at age 18 for records of conduct indicating a need for supervision only, and immediately when a court finds the allegations not true. Others, including people with felony-grade adjudications, can apply to the juvenile court (no filing fee) at age 17, or earlier if one year has passed since final discharge, unless an exclusion applies. Sealing vacates the adjudications and treats the proceedings as though they never occurred; juvenile records under Chapter 58 are not subject to expunction.

• ✗Felony-grade adjudications are not sealed automatically (application required)
• ✗Transfer to adult criminal court
• ✗Adult felony conviction (and, for automatic sealing of delinquent-conduct records, an adult jailable misdemeanor conviction), or pending adult felony/jailable misdemeanor charges
• ✗Determinate sentence for listed serious offenses or habitual felony conduct
• ✗Currently required to register as a sex offender
• ✗Commitment to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department or a post-adjudication secure facility, until discharged
• ✗Gang-database and sex-offender registration records are exempt from sealing

Sources: Tex. Fam. Code ch. 58, subch. C-1 (§ 58.253(b); § 58.262(c)(4); § 58.253(b)(2); § 58.253(b)(4)-(5); +18 more); Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 45A.463 (Art. 45A.463(c); Art. 45A.463(c)(1))