NONDISCLOSURE – Determining Eligibility Flow Chart: For Offenses Occurring Before 09-01-2015:
1. GENERAL ELIGIBILITY: Was person placed on deferred community supervision (probation) and completed probation, and case dismissed and discharged from probation, and has not received a conviction or probation (except a traffic offense probation or conviction) during the probation and during waiting period if applicable.
2. IS THE OFFENSE ELIGIBLE? Some Offenses Are Prohibited Generally: The person is not eligible if they are requesting nondisclosure for the following offenses or if they have ever been convicted or placed on probation for the any of the following offenses:
* Any Offense Requiring the Person To Register as Sex Offender Under Chapter 62 of Texas Code of Criminal Procedure
* Aggravated Kidnapping
* Murder
* Capital Murder
* Trafficking of Person
* Continuous Trafficking of Person
* Injury to Child/elderly/disabled
* Abandoning/endangering Child
* Violation of Court Order Conditions of Bond in Cases Involving Sexual Assault, Abuse, Stalking, or Trafficking
* Any Offense Involving Family Violence, as Defined Under Family Code 71.004
* Any Offense Where Judge Made Affirmative Finding of Family Violence as Defined by Family Code 71.004
3. WAITING PERIOD:
* Felonies: 5 Years From the Successful Completion of Probation
* Misdemeanor: 2 Years From the Successful Completion of Probation on Following Cases:
- Unlawful Restraint
- Public Lewdness
- Indecent Exposure Assault
- Terroristic Threat, Deadly Conduct
- Disorderly Conduct
- Obstructing Highway
- Causing a Riot, Harassment
- Silent/abusive 911 Call
- Abuse of Corpse
- Cruelty to Animals
- Dog Fighting
- Discharge of Firearm in City
- Illumination of Aircraft by Light
- Prostitution
- Obscenity
- Display Material Harmful to Minor
- Unlawful Carrying Weapon
- Making Firearm Accessible to Child
4. BEST INTEREST OF JUSTICE: If the offense is eligible, it is still the burden of the petitioner to show the court that it is in the interest of justice to grant the nondisclosure. They are discretionary, not mandatory.
NONDISCLOSURE For Arrests After September 1, 2015.
Previously, Texas law required a person to have successfully completed deferred adjudication community supervision to be eligible to apply for an order of nondisclosure, which seals the criminal history information from the general public. The new law expands the eligibility for nondisclosure to people who have been convicted of certain misdemeanor offenses for arrests after September 1, 2015. This law excludes most alcohol-related offenses, such as DWI.
To be eligible for this, you cannot have ever been previously convicted or placed on deferred adjudication for any offense besides a traffic violation. For most misdemeanors, you can apply as soon as your sentence was completed or you completed probation. However, there is a waiting period of 2 years from the date your sentence was completed if the offense was under any of the chapters in the previous section.
DISQUALIFIERS FOR NONDISCLOSURE
There are certain circumstances in which a person is never eligible to apply for an order of nondisclosure, no matter when the offense occurred. These circumstances include if a person has ever been convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication for:
- Any Offense Requiring Registration as a Sex Offender
- Aggravated Kidnapping
- Murder, Injury to a Child, Abandoning or Endangering a Child, Violation of Protective Order, Stalking, Trafficking of Persons
- An Offense Involving Family Violence
You will also not be eligible for an order of nondisclosure if you were convicted and/or placed on deferred adjudication for an offense during the term of probation or during any applicable waiting period.
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