Clearing Your Record in Texas: Expunctions and Orders of Nondisclosure
QUICK ANSWER
What is the difference between an expunction and an order of nondisclosure in Texas?
An expunction destroys the records of an arrest. An order of nondisclosure seals them from the public, but they stay visible to law enforcement and to a list of state agencies and licensing boards. They are two different remedies with two different sets of rules, and which one is available to you depends on how your case ended, not on which one you would rather have.
The Question Underneath Every Other Question
Almost everyone who calls a criminal defense lawyer eventually asks some version of the same thing. Is this going to follow me forever.
Sometimes it comes up on the first call, in the middle of a case. More often it comes years later, from someone whose case ended a long time ago and who has just been turned down for a job, or a lease, or a license, and has finally learned that the thing they thought was behind them is still sitting there in a database.
If that is where you are, the useful news is that Texas has two separate remedies, and a lot of people who assume they do not qualify for either actually qualify for one of them. The unhelpful news is that most of what gets written about this online blurs the two together, and the words are not interchangeable.
So this page does one job. It explains what each remedy actually does, and it points you toward the question that decides which one is yours.
Expunction and nondisclosure are not two words for the same thing
This is the distinction everything else rests on, so it is worth getting straight first.
| Expunction | Order of nondisclosure | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does to the record | Destroys it | Seals it from public view |
| Who can still see it | Nobody. The records are destroyed | Law enforcement, and a list of agencies and licensing boards set out in the statute |
| Where it lives in the law | Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55A | Government Code Chapter 411, Subchapter E-1 |
| Who it is generally for | Cases that did not end in a conviction | Deferred adjudication, and certain cases with community supervision |
Nondisclosure is usually called “sealing,” which is a fair description. It is not erasing. Any page telling you that an order of nondisclosure wipes your record is describing something Texas law does not do.
Which one applies to you depends on how your case ended
Not on the charge. Not on how long ago it was. On the disposition, meaning the way the case actually finished.
That is why two people arrested for the same offense on the same night can end up with completely different options. It is also why a lawyer’s first question in a record-clearing case is almost always “what happened to the case,” not “what were you charged with.”
Expunction is the stronger remedy, and it is generally for cases that did not end in a conviction. Texas expunction law is Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55A, which took effect January 1, 2025. The chapter is organized by how the case ended, so there is a separate route for an acquittal, for a pardon, for an arrest by mistaken identity, for an arrest where no charge was ever filed, and for a charge that was dismissed.
Nondisclosure is the remedy for many of the people expunction cannot reach. Its central use is deferred adjudication. If you completed deferred adjudication on anything above a Class C misdemeanor, you fall outside the expunction rule, and this is usually the remedy you are actually looking for. Government Code Subchapter E-1 sets out several separate routes, each with its own conditions and its own waiting period.
Neither one is instant, and in most cases neither one is automatic. Most routes require a petition, notice to the state, and a hearing. Nothing falls off a record by itself just because enough time has passed.
TWO REMEDIES, NOT TWO WORDS FOR ONE
Expunction and nondisclosure do different things
Which one is available to you depends entirely on how your case ended.
| Expunction | Nondisclosure | |
|---|---|---|
|
WHAT IT DOES TO THE RECORD |
Destroys it. | Seals it from public view. |
|
WHO CAN STILL SEE IT |
Nobody. The records are gone. | Law enforcement, and many licensing agencies. |
|
A COMMON ROUTE IN |
An arrest with no final conviction, an acquittal, a pardon, a dismissal. | Deferred adjudication above a Class C misdemeanor. |
|
WHERE IT LIVES IN THE LAW |
Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55A |
Government Code Chapter 411, Subchapter E-1 |
They are not interchangeable, and applying for the wrong one costs you the wait all over again.
The distinction this whole page rests on. Which remedy is available depends on how the case ended, not on which one a person would prefer.
Some offenses cannot be sealed at all
Government Code Section 411.074 sets out the offenses that are permanently barred from an order of nondisclosure. In general terms, the list covers offenses that require sex offender registration, the most serious violent offenses, human trafficking, offenses against children and vulnerable adults, violations of certain protective orders, stalking, and any offense involving family violence as family violence is defined in the Family Code.
That last one catches more people than the rest of the list combined, and it usually catches them late. A family violence finding is the most durable thing on a Texas criminal record, and it is a large part of why a family violence case is defended differently from the very start.
If any of that describes your case, it is worth finding out early rather than after you have spent time and money on a petition.
What a sealed record actually does for you
This is where the practical value sits, so it is worth being precise.
Under Government Code Section 411.0755, a person whose record is subject to an order of nondisclosure is not required, in any application for employment, information, or licensing, to state that they were the subject of a criminal proceeding related to that record.
That is a real and specific protection, and it is the answer to what most people are actually asking when they call about sealing a record.
At the same time, a sealed record does not disappear. Government Code Section 411.0765 sets out who can still see it. That includes law enforcement and other criminal justice agencies, and it includes a list of state agencies and licensing boards, among them the bodies that license teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers and a number of other regulated professions.
If you work in a licensed field, that matters to you. It is not a reason to skip sealing, and for most people sealing is still very much worth doing. It is a reason to know what you are getting before you file rather than after.
Situations that work differently
Driving while intoxicated has its own rules. DWI is carved out of the general nondisclosure routes and given dedicated provisions, with their own waiting periods and their own conditions. If your record is a DWI, the general answer on this page is not your answer.
A juvenile record is a third thing entirely. It is neither adult expunction nor adult nondisclosure. Records covered by Family Code Chapter 58 cannot be expunged by any court. Sealing is the remedy that exists on the juvenile side, and it runs on different rules. If you are a parent asking about your child’s record, that is a separate body of law from everything on this page.
Deferred adjudication does not avoid sex offender registration. Deferred adjudication avoids a conviction for most purposes, which is exactly why this one surprises people. Registration is not one of those purposes.
What it costs
There is no single statewide figure, and any site that gives you one is guessing.
Filing costs are set county by county and court by court, so the amount in Rockwall County is not necessarily the amount in Collin, Hunt, Kaufman or Dallas County. Confirm the current figure with the district clerk in the county where the petition would be filed.
Working through it with someone
Which remedy fits your record turns on details in your own case file, and the file usually remembers them better than you do. Whether there was court-ordered community supervision, what class the offense was, whether the case was dismissed or discharged, and exactly what the disposition says are the things that decide this. None of them are things most people carry around in their head years later.
We can look at what your record and your case file actually show and tell you plainly which route is available to you and which is not. If it would help to gather your own information first, the firm’s Criminal Defense and Juvenile Crimes Questionnaire walks through what to bring.
CONTACT US · www.lbdlawfirm.com/contact · 214-304-6640
If your old case is a job or a license problem
Most people who reach this page are not here for a legal education. They are here because a background check came back and something on it is now a problem for a job, a promotion, a lease, or a license they are trying to keep or get.
That situation has its own page, written for exactly that reader.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an expunction the same as getting a record sealed in Texas?
No. An expunction destroys the records of an arrest under Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55A. An order of nondisclosure, which is what people usually mean by sealing, hides the record from the public under Government Code Chapter 411, Subchapter E-1, but leaves it visible to law enforcement and to a list of agencies and licensing boards named in the statute. They are different remedies with different eligibility rules.
I completed deferred adjudication. Can I get an expunction?
Generally no, if the deferred adjudication was for anything above a Class C misdemeanor. That puts you outside the expunction rule in Chapter 55A. An order of nondisclosure is usually the remedy for someone in that position.
Do I have to tell an employer about a sealed record?
Under Government Code Section 411.0755, a person whose record is subject to an order of nondisclosure is not required, in any application for employment, information, or licensing, to state that they were the subject of a criminal proceeding related to that record. Note that the licensing agencies listed in the statute can still see the record itself.
Can a family violence case be sealed in Texas?
No. Government Code Section 411.074 bars an order of nondisclosure for an offense involving family violence, and that bar does not expire.
Which one applies to me?
It depends on how your case ended rather than on what you were charged with. What decides it is whether there was a conviction, whether there was court-ordered community supervision, what class the offense was, and exactly what the disposition in your file says.
Key Takeaways
- Expunction destroys the records of an arrest. An order of nondisclosure seals them from the public but leaves them visible to law enforcement and to a list of agencies and licensing boards.
- Texas expunction law is Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55A. Nondisclosure is Government Code Chapter 411, Subchapter E-1.
- Which remedy is available depends on how the case ended, not on the charge and not on how long ago it was.
- A person with an order of nondisclosure is not required to state that criminal proceeding on an application for employment, information, or licensing.
- Some offenses are permanently barred from nondisclosure, including any offense involving family violence.
Where to Start
An old record has a way of feeling permanent, and for a long time nobody tells you otherwise. Then one background check makes it urgent, usually at the worst possible moment, and suddenly you need an answer about a case that closed years ago.
Texas gives you two remedies here. One of them is probably available to you and working out which one is a question about your file rather than a question about you.
If you want to know which route applies to your record and what the path looks like from here, we can review what your case file and your criminal history actually show and tell you plainly what is available.