Eligibility for Obtaining a Criminal Record Expungement in Texas

When you have a criminal record, it most likely affects your life in more ways than you realize. Expungement of criminal records, sometimes referred to as pardons, is a mechanism to clear your criminal history and not show up on background checks. It empowers people who have made mistakes in the past and paid their dues to move forward and continue contributing to society.If you were arrested, but never convicted of a crime, you may be eligible to have your criminal records expunged. If your case was dismissed and there was not a conviction, you might have good grounds on which to have your records expunged. This information will walk through who is eligible for an expungement, how it works in Texas and what to consider.

• What is a criminal record?
• How can a person request a criminal record expungement in Texas?
• What are the steps to get my criminal record expunged?
• Filing a petition with the expunction court in the county of conviction.
• Prove eligibility for expunction.
• Provide notice of expunction to governmental agencies.
• Provide notice to each person who received a copy of your criminal history record.
• Send your criminal history record information file to each person or agency that received a copy of it before the court-ordered it is expunged.
• Obtaining an order for expunction from the court.
• What criminal records can be expunged in Texas?
• What Does Getting an Expungement Do For Me?
• Is it possible to have more than one record expunged?
• Factors to Consider
• Should I get assistance from a criminal defense attorney?

A criminal record is a criminal history record information of convictions, arrests, or accusations of wrongdoing. A criminal record can also include information that has been dismissed or acquitted. It can include information about you, your family members, and your friends. A criminal record is made up of documents that are kept on file at the courthouse. Your actual arrest records are kept by the city, county jail, or law enforcement agencies where you were arrested.

A criminal record is a history of any arrests and convictions that you have had in the past. This includes any arrests and convictions that were dismissed, diverted, or that resulted in deferred adjudication probation. A criminal record includes juvenile offenses if they were handled by adult courts.

When you apply for a job, a background check will be performed on you. This will include checking your criminal records. Employers may conduct additional background checks if you are being considered for hiring or promotion. When applying for an occupational license, like a work license or a marriage license, the state will check your arrest record as well as other background information, such as credit history and driving history.

When you are arrested and charged with a crime in Texas, your arrest is public information. That means that newspapers and other media outlets will report it. Your name will be posted in the courthouse for anyone to see. You may not be convicted of anything yet, but your name is already out there as someone who might have done something wrong. If you are convicted of a crime, even if it was something small like illegal possession of alcohol when you were 19 years old, it goes on your record.

Even if you have completed probation successfully and all charges against you have been dismissed, a dismissal usually does not remove the arrest from your record. The arrest can remain on your record indefinitely, until such time as it is removed by an expungement order from a judge or court commissioner in Texas.

To begin the expungement process, you will need to obtain a petition for non-disclosure from a law enforcement agency where you were arrested or from your local district clerk's office if no law enforcement agency exists in your jurisdiction.

You will need to check with the district clerk's office in your jurisdiction to find out where you should obtain your petition packet. If you cannot locate it at either of these locations, you may want to contact an attorney who can help guide you through the process.

Excerpted below are the basic steps to expunge your criminal record in Texas:

The petition must include your full name, date of birth, social security number, and Texas driver's license number or identification card number. You must also include information about the crime you were convicted of committing. In most cases, you will also need to submit a copy of the official judgment for your conviction, a copy of your complete criminal history, and any other documents that prove that you should be eligible for expunction under Texas law.

If you meet certain criteria outlined in Section 55.01 and Section 55.02 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, you will be eligible for expunction in Texas. As stated previously, you should already have submitted copies of these documents as part of your petition for expunction, but it's important to note that there are certain qualifications that must be met before you can actually get an order for expunction from the court.

Within 30 days after you are granted an order by the court, you must notify anyone who received your criminal history record information that the judge has ordered it to be expunged. This includes any law enforcement agencies, the Department of Public Safety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation or other agencies that you are aware may have received your criminal history record.

You must notify each recipient of your criminal history record that the judge has ordered it be expunged. For example, if you were convicted for DWI and during the course of your arrest, law enforcement searched your vehicle and found drugs in it, they would have likely arrested you on drug charges too. Since this is not related to your DWI conviction, the drug charge would not be expunged. However, you must still send a copy of the order for expunction to the law enforcement agency that received your criminal history record for this incident as well as notifies them it no longer exists. Many people make the mistake of only sending their criminal history record information file with each agency or organization once they learn about the expunction.

If you fail to send them a copy of the order, they may still have your criminal history on file and use it against you. Again, this is an area where legal guidance is very helpful in navigating the process.

Re-filing your expunction petition with every court where you have an open case.

If you are currently awaiting trial or have charges pending against you, you must re-file your expunction petition with the district court of that jurisdiction. You will need to do this before your criminal records can be expunged.

If you are eligible to have your criminal record expunged in Texas, the judge will grant your petition and send it to be filed with the Bureau of Criminal Identification at the Department of Public Safety. This process can take several months due to heavy caseloads so do not wait until the last minute. The Bureau will send an order for expunction to all agencies, organizations, and persons who received a copy of your criminal history record to be destroyed.

This means that it is no longer available for public access in most cases. You may want to check with each agency or organization you sent notice to as well as the local court to see if they have received this order from the Bureau. Having said that, there are many online databases where anyone can access your criminal history even if it has been expunged. You can subscribe to an online commercial database or use the public information that is available at your county courthouse for free.

Upon completion of the above steps, you may send a letter to each agency or organization that asked for your criminal history. You can simply state that you have had your criminal history expunged and are sending them a letter to let them know. Keep a copy of the letter and the envelope it was sent in for your records. The following agencies can still access your criminal history even if it has been expunged.

In order to be eligible for criminal record expungement in Texas, the person must meet the following requirements:

• The person must have been acquitted of the charge by the court of criminal appeals, the trial court, or the charge must have been dropped;
• The person must not have been convicted of any other felony or misdemeanor since the arrest or charge that is being expunged;
• The person must not currently be on probation or parole for any felony or misdemeanor; and
• The person must pay all court costs and fees.

If the person meets these requirements, they can file a petition for expunction with the court. The court will then hold a hearing to determine whether the person is eligible for expunction. If the court determines that the person is eligible, it will issue an order of expunction for the person.

The timeframe to file a petition for expunction varies from court to court, but it is usually between six months and one year after the charge is dropped. Even if there were no charges, there is a minimum waiting period before filing an application for expunction:

• Class C misdemeanors: 180 days
• Class A and B misdemeanors: 1 year
• Felonies: 3 years

If charges were brought, the statute of limitations must expire for every crime for which you were arrested (not just those you were charged with).

If a person has been arrested, but not charged with any crime, they may still be eligible for expunction if they have never been convicted of a crime. However, the timeframe to file an application for expunction is different.

As we have mentioned before, Expunction in Texas means that it is sealed from public view. If you were to request your criminal history from the state today, you would not see the arrests or charges that were expunged.

This will help or improve your chances of obtaining gainful employment. If you are applying for a job and an employer conducts a background check, the charges that were expunged will not show up.

Some other benefits you may receive from expunction would be:

• Preventing an out of state conviction from being used as a predicate offense in Texas to enhance punishment
• Preventing an out of state conviction from affecting your immigration status
• Eliminating the requirement to register as a Sex Offender
• Speeding up the process for obtaining your concealed handgun license
• And lastly, it will prevent you from being denied housing due to your criminal history.
  

Yes, you are allowed to file up to two expunctions, but you must wait for the first one to be completed before filing the second one. This is mostly because of the time it takes to gather the necessary records and reports and complete the actual process of a single expunction. However, if you have multiple arrests and only one of the charges was expunged, you can still file a petition for expunction for the remaining charges, so long as it has been at least one year since your last arrest.

What is the Difference Between Expunging and Sealing my Court Records?

The difference between expunging and sealing court records is that:

Expungement: the offense may not be reported by your background check. You can even say that you have never been arrested or convicted if asked by an employer, school, etc. This requires a petition to be filed with the court and a hearing with a judge. It also means that the public is automatically disqualified from viewing your criminal history, and you may request that they destroy all records.

Sealing: the offense may be reported by your background check, but it will say that you were not convicted of the offense. For this reason, sealing is NOT the same thing as having your criminal record expunged. This process is quite easy and does not require a hearing in front of a judge, however, the public is not automatically disqualified from viewing your criminal history. You can still apply to have this expunged in the future.

Before Applying to Have Your Record Expunged in Texas You must know that there are some factors that may affect your eligibility to have a record sealed or expunged depending on the type of misdemeanor or felony offense for which you were convicted.

If you have been convicted of a misdemeanor offense, then your eligibility for expunction or sealing of your criminal records will be based on the following:

• You were arrested and fingerprinted but the charges were dropped;
• You were granted deferred adjudication and completed probation successfully;
• You received a pardon from the Governor;
• If it has been five years since you completed your sentence (including parole, if any) for the offense or ten years, whichever is shorter, depending on the type of crime.
• If you have been convicted of a felony offense, then your eligibility for expunction or sealing of your criminal records will be based on the following:
• You were arrested and fingerprinted but the charges were dropped;
• You were granted deferred adjudication and completed probation successfully;
• You received a pardon from the Governor;
• If it has been five years since you completed your sentence (including parole, if any) for the offense or ten years, whichever is shorter, depending on the type of crime.

I think that you have all the information you need to know about requesting an expunction of your criminal records. If you have any questions, please contact our law office. We will be more than happy to help you.

If you want to get an arrest expunged and clean your texas criminal record, you must know that everything must be handled correctly to ensure that you don't have a future disadvantage.

If you have been arrested for a crime, getting the arrest expunged from your criminal record may be a possibility. However, there are different ways for an arrest to be expunged from your past. In some cases, the entire arrest record will be expunged. In other cases, just some of the details of your arrest may be removed from public records and the actual petition for expunction, based on certain criteria, will be disposed of.

If you are arrested or have past criminal offenses, hiring a criminal defense lawyer is important because they will know the possible strategies that can be used to expunge your Texas arrest record. If you’re in need of an attorney, it is important to find one that provides a good attorney-client relationship. A successful defense lawyer will work with their clients no matter what, ensuring your rights are protected and applying their extensive knowledge on how best to defend you.

At the Law Office of Rolando D. Cantu, we understand the texas law and rights of the accused. Under the law, anyone charged, arrested, or with an alleged offense is innocent until they are proven guilty. This is a right of all US citizens, no matter the crime they have been accused of. And this helps us fight your case till the end with an aggressive approach. 

We utilize our knowledge & understanding of the Texas penal code, criminal procedure, and hands-on experience to advocate your case, improving the result of the expunged offense and getting your texas criminal records expunged. We provide legal advocacy and representation you can trust and rely on. We will aggressively fight your case in front of judges and juries for your future and freedom. Contact Us and request your free case evaluation today!