Expungement in Texas

Texas expungement law[1] allows expungement (referred to as "expunction" Texas statutes) of criminal records which did not lead to a finding of guilt, certain class C misdemeanors when the defendant successfully completed deferred adjudication, successful completion of deferred prosecution agreements.

[2] Juvenile offenses potentially eligible for expungement include "misdemeanor[s] punishable by fine committed prior to the age of 17, [offenses] committed by [minors] under the Alcoholic Beverage Code and [convictions] for Failure to Attend School" under the Education Code.

[4] The 78th Texas Legislature failed to gain consensus for HB-384, which would have granted automatic expungement in the cases of acquittal, pardoning, or upon dropping of charges.

[5] The 82nd Texas Legislature's passing of HB-351 and SB-462 reformed the expungement code to include relief for those convicted but later determined to be innocent.

[12] In 2017, major changes were made to Texas law relating to deferred adjudication, permitting the sealing of certain first-time DWI convictions if specific requirements were satisfied.