A dismissal doesn't erase an arrest. It sits on your record where employers, landlords, and licensing boards can find it — until someone files to clear it. That part doesn't happen automatically, and it doesn't happen on its own.
People are surprised to learn that winning is not the same as clearing. If you were arrested and the case was dropped, acquitted, or no-billed, the arrest record still exists — and background check companies still report it. Every job application, apartment application, and license renewal can surface a charge you were never convicted of.
Texas gives you two tools to fix that. Which one applies depends entirely on how your case ended.
Agencies are ordered to destroy or return the records of the arrest and charge. In most situations you can then legally deny that the arrest ever happened — including on a job application.
The record is hidden from the general public and from most private employers and background check services — but law enforcement and certain licensing agencies can still see it.
General guidance only, not legal advice. Eligibility depends on your specific offense, disposition, and history, and Texas law in this area changes. Call for an assessment of your record.
Most people don't know exactly how their case ended, and the paperwork they have is rarely complete. I obtain the court and county records first — eligibility turns entirely on what those documents say.
Waiting periods differ by offense level and by remedy, and some are measured from the arrest rather than the disposition. Filing too early gets a petition denied, so the date matters as much as the facts.
An expunction is filed as a civil action naming every agency that holds a record — police, sheriff, DA, DPS, the courts, and often private database companies. Missing an agency means a record survives.
Agencies get notice and an opportunity to respond. The court sets a hearing, and if the petition is granted the judge signs an order directing the records to be destroyed, returned, or sealed.
The order is the beginning of the cleanup, not the end. Records propagate to private background check vendors, and those need to be chased. This is the step most people can't do on their own.
I recommend running a background check on yourself a few months after the order. If something is still showing, there is usually a fix — but only if someone looks.
This is the one area of criminal law where the client isn't in crisis. Nobody calls about an expunction at 2 a.m. It's the call people make when they've been passed over for a job, denied an apartment, or told a license application is under review — and they finally realize the old case never went away.
It's also usually a flat fee and a defined process, so you'll know the cost before we start.
An expunction destroys the records — in most situations you can legally deny the arrest ever happened. A nondisclosure seals the record from the public and most private employers, but law enforcement and certain licensing agencies can still see it. Expunction is stronger; fewer cases qualify.
Yes. A dismissal does not remove the arrest from your record. The arrest, the charge, and the disposition stay publicly visible and get reported by background check companies until you obtain an expunction or nondisclosure.
Generally no. Successfully completed deferred adjudication usually qualifies for a nondisclosure rather than an expunction. Class C misdemeanor deferred dispositions are the main exception and may be eligible for expunction.
It depends on the offense level and the remedy, and some waiting periods run from the date of arrest rather than the date the case ended. Some are immediate, some run several years. I check the exact date against your records before filing — an early petition gets denied.
Usually a few months from filing. The petition is filed, agencies holding records are notified and given time to respond, then the court sets a hearing. After the judge signs, it takes additional time for the records to actually clear from the various databases.
Yes. Texas excludes several categories from nondisclosure — including offenses requiring sex offender registration, murder, injury to a child, elderly or disabled individual, violation of a protective order, stalking, and any case with an affirmative finding of family violence. The rules are detailed, so it's worth confirming rather than assuming.
Often not. Many of these are resolved without the client appearing, though it depends on the court and whether any agency contests the petition. I'll tell you up front what to expect in your county.
Bring me your case number or the county you were arrested in. The eligibility check is free.
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