Expunctions of Criminal Records 
Under certain circumstances, a person in Texas can have criminal records erased, or “expunged.” Generally speaking, the person’s criminal charges must have been dismissed, or the person must have been found not guilty after a trial. Contrary to popular belief, a successfully served deferred adjudication probation cannot be expunged, except in the case of certain class C misdemeanor offenses. For persons who have completed deferred adjudication they may be eligable for orders of non disclosure. Records subject to an expunction order may include those of the arresting agency, the Department of Public Safety, the court of prosecution, and the prosecutor’s office. After the expunction order is entered, the person can deny the occurrence of the arrest and offense, as well as the existence of the expunction order.
In some cases persons who successfully complete a term of deferred adjudication probation to obtain an order of nondisclosure of criminal records pertaining to the arrest and offense. There are restrictions on eligibility, focusing on the person’s previous criminal history and conduct between the termination of supervision and the filing of the petition for nondisclosure. For many misdemeanor offenses, an eligible person may file the petition immediately upon discharge from the deferred adjudication supervision. For some misdemeanors, the person may not file the petition until 2 years after the discharge from supervision. For felonies, the person may not file until 5 years after the discharge from supervision.
- Sealing of Juvenile Records in Texas
AREN’T JUVENILE RECORDS CONFIDENTIAL?
Not always. Juvenile records can be viewed by police, sheriff’s officers, prosecutors, probation officers, correctional officers, and other law enforcement officials in this state and elsewhere. Juvenile records may also be seen by potential employers, educational institutions, licensing agencies, etc. whenever applies for work or school.
WHAT ABOUT “AUTOMATIC RESTRICTION OF ACCESS TO RECORDS”?
For JUVENILE RECORDS created after September 1, 2001, Texas has a system that partially limits access to these records after you reach 21 years of age IF you commit do not break the law after you turn 17. This is called “Automatic Restriction of Access to Records.” However, this “Automatic Restriction” does not mean your JUVENILE RECORDS are expunged, destroyed or sealed. They still exist but have restricted access. That means that once you reach age 21, these records are still available to criminal justice agencies for criminal justice purposes, such as investigating and prosecuting crimes. They are NOT available to all other inquiring parties (employers, schools, etc.). Should these entities inquire about your JUVENILE RECORD, the agency holding your records must say the records “do not exist.”
If asked about your JUVENILE RECORD, you may legally deny these incidents IF your JUVENILE RECORDS are restricted under this system. The best news is that you don’t have to do anything to get this RESTRICTED ACCESS. It happens automatically at age 21 IF since your 17th birthday, you have not committed any offense higher than a class C or have not received deferred adjudication probation for any offense higher than a class C.
DO ALL JUVENILE RECORDS GET “AUTOMATIC RESTRICTED ACCESS”?
No. Many JUVENILE RECORDS are NOT eligible for Automatic Restricted Access, such as:
- Cases that were handled as determinate sentence cases by the juvenile court;
- Cases that were transferred to adult court; or
- Cases that were prosecuted in justice or municipal court.
- Gang records
- Sex offender records
Sex offender registration records are excluded because the purpose of registration is to notify the public. If this applies to you, you may have a right to have your records sealed once your obligation to register expires.
HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE A JUVENILE RECORD?
If you were detained/arrested or charged with a criminal offense that was committed when you were at least 10 years old but younger than 17 years old, you probably have a JUVENILE RECORD.
If you were adjudicated for delinquent Conduct (Class A or B misdemeanor or any felony), there is probably a JUVENILE RECORD kept at the local law enforcement, the Texas Department of Public Safety and possibly the Federal Bureau of Investigation. These records are permanent and will remain unless you seek to seal them.
WHAT IF I WANT MY RECORDS SEALED?
You must initiate a formal court proceeding in the Juvenile court unless your JUVENILE RECORDS are in a justice or municipal court. If so, special expunction procedures apply.
You are eligible for sealing under Family Code 58.003 (a) if the court finds that:
- Two years have elapsed since the final discharge of the person or since the last official action in the person’s case there was no adjudication, AND
- since then the person hasn’t been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor crime of moral turpitude, etc.
But 58.003 (d) provides that the court may seal at any time after the final discharge of a person or after the last official action in the case if there was no adjudication. If you were referred to the juvenile court for conduct constituting any offense; and at the adjudication hearing, you were found “not guilty”, the court MUST order the sealing of the files.
Contact Heather Hollub to review the circumstances in your case.