Expungement, also known as expunction, refers to the complete elimination of your criminal record. This means the file, and all pertaining documentation, is destroyed. Your record is if it never existed.

The following categories of cases can be expunged or sealed in Texas:

1. Chapter 55 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure (expunction)
2. Texas Government Code Section 411.071 (order of non-disclosure)
3. Family Code Section 58.003. (juvenile sealing)
4. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 42.12 Sec. 20 (setting aside of conviction)

Our law firm provides legal services for the following sealing cases:

1. Chapter 55 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure (expunction)
2. Texas Government Code Section 411.071 (order of non-disclosure)
3. Family Code Section 58.003. (juvenile sealing)

An order of nondisclosure is a court order prohibiting public entities such as courts and police departments from disclosing certain criminal records. You may be eligible for a non-disclosure if you have been placed on deferred adjudication for a felony or a misdemeanor A or B, and the deferred adjudication was successfully completed and the charge was dismissed. Certain state agencies may still obtain information concerning an offense that is the subject of an order of nondisclosure. A non-disclosure seals case records from the public view, but it does not seal it from government entities. This means that law enforcement agencies, licensing agencies, and similar government-related entities still have access. Among them are agencies that deal with children such as school districts .

You are NOT eligible for an order of nondisclosure if the offense for which you are requesting an order of nondisclosure or any other offense you have ever been convicted or placed on deferred adjudication for was one of the following offenses:

1. an offense requiring registration as a sex offender under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure;
2. an offense under Texas Penal Code Section 20.04 (aggravated kidnapping); an offense under any of the following Texas Penal Code Sections:
3. 19.02 (murder);
4. 19.03 (capital murder);
5. 20A.02 (trafficking of persons);
6. 20A.03 (continuous trafficking of persons);
7. (injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual);
8. 22.041 (abandoning or endangering a child);
9. 25.07 (violation of court orders or conditions of bond in a family violence, sexual assault or abuse, stalking, or trafficking case);
10. 25.072 (repeated violation of certain court orders or conditions of bond in family violence, sexual assault or abuse, stalking, or trafficking case);
11. 42.072 (stalking); or
12. any other offense involving family violence, as defined by Section 71.004, Family Code. You are not eligible for an order of nondisclosure if the court makes an affirmative finding that the offense for which you are requesting an order of nondisclosure involved family violence, as defined by Section 71.004, Family Code.
13. You are not eligible for an order of nondisclosure if, during the period after you were convicted or placed on deferred adjudication for the offense for which you are requesting an order of nondisclosure, and during any required waiting period after completion of the sentence or deferred adjudication, you were convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication for any offense other than an offense under the Transportation Code punishable by fine only.
14. Note: There are waiting periods prior to being eligible for some of the orders of nondisclosure. After determining which nondisclosure law applies to you, confirm that you have not been convicted of any other offense other than an offense under the Transportation Code punishable by fine only during the waiting period.

Effective September 1, 2015, the following new laws address the types of nondisclosure petitions and orders available:

1. 1. Section 411.072, Government Code (deferred adjudication community supervision; certain nonviolent misdemeanors);
   2. Section 411.0725, Government Code (deferred adjudication community supervision; felonies and certain misdemeanors);
   3. Section 411.0728, Government Code (victims of trafficking of persons);
   4. Section 411.073, Government Code (community supervision following conviction; certain misdemeanors);
   5. Section 411.0735, Government Code (conviction and confinement; certain misdemeanors).

 Petitioner has met the waiting period requirement of Section 411.0725(e) as indicated below:

1. on or after the fifth anniversary of the discharge and dismissal (Petitioner’s offense was a felony);
2. or on or after the second anniversary of the discharge and dismissal (Petitioner’s offense was a misdemeanor under Chapter 20, 21, 22, 25, 42, 43, or 46, Penal Code);
3. or on or after the discharge and dismissal (Petitioner’s offense was a misdemeanor which was not under Chapter 20, 21, 22, 25, 42, 43, or 46, Penal Code).

 You are not required to disclose information related to an offense that is the subject of an order of nondisclosure.

Anyone who was taken into custody or referred to court for delinquent conduct, which is generally Class A or B misdemeanor or felony offenses, or conduct indicating a need for supervision (CINS), including class C misdemeanors and conduct that would not be against the law if committed by an adult (like drinking or running away), or certain specific offenses such as prostitution and “sexting” has a juvenile record. Juvenile records are kept in probation, law enforcement, and court files as well as computer databases such as the Juvenile Justice Information System (JJIS) maintained by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Beginning on September 1, 2015, juvenile records may be automatically sealed. Sealing of records is a process that allows you to have your records “sealed” so that no one can access them. Records that are sealed are treated as though they never existed and you may legally deny that you were ever involved in the juvenile system. Records can be “unsealed” for very limited purposes. The most important change in the law is that you do not have to file an application with the court. If your records were eligible for sealing before September 1, 2015, it will still be necessary to file an application with the court to have your juvenile record sealed.

Your juvenile record cannot be sealed if you were certified to stand trial as an adult, were placed on determinate sentence probation or committed to TJJD with a determinate sentence, or have a continuing obligation to register as a sex offender.

Restricted access is the method of limited disclosure of juvenile records only to criminal justice agencies. These records are not destroyed but remain in place. Your records may be “unrestricted,” or removed from restricted access, however, for adult convictions or deferred adjudications that occur after age 17. If this happens, your delinquency history may once again become available to certain agencies and organizations that conduct background checks. Juvenile records that become eligible for sealing after you turn 17 will initially be placed on restricted access. Any new criminal history may also impact whether your records can be sealed later.

If your juvenile records are sealed or placed on restricted access, you are allowed to:

1. deny the existence of the records; and
2. deny the arrest, prosecution, or adjudication ever happened.

Restricted access does not apply to gang records, but disclosure will be limited to federal, state, and local criminal justice agencies for a criminal justice purpose.

The only juvenile records that are not eligible for restricted access are cases that:

1. were handled as determinate sentence cases by the juvenile court;
2. were certified (transferred) to adult criminal court;
3. were prosecuted in a justice or municipal court; or
4. involve youth who are still on probation, have pending court proceedings, or have been committed to a TJJD institution.

There are several ways to get a copy of your criminal record:

1. County Courthouse (Court Disposition)
2. Texas Department of Public Safety (Morpho Trust)
3. FBI
4. Your Lawyer

CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, TITLE 1. CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, CHAPTER 55. EXPUNCTION OF CRIMINAL RECORDS