You can expunge a Class A misdemeanor in Texas, but only if the case ended in one of a few specific ways. An acquittal, a qualifying dismissal, an innocence-based pardon from the governor, or an expired statute of limitations with no charges filed will all support expunction. A conviction won’t. Neither will deferred adjudication, which is the outcome that catches most people off guard. When expunction isn’t available, a nondisclosure order may be, and the difference between the two matters.
Which Outcomes Qualify You for Expunction
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55A sets the rules. The threshold is that you were arrested, you’ve been released, the charge isn’t pending and didn’t end in a final conviction, and no court-ordered community supervision was imposed.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55A.051 – Applicability of Subchapter If you clear that, one of the following paths has to fit your case.
Acquittal. A judge or jury found you not guilty. The process here is largely automatic: the trial court must enter an expunction order within 30 days of the acquittal at your request or the prosecutor’s request with your consent.2State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55A.201 – Expunction Procedures for Acquittals
Pardon based on actual innocence. You were convicted, later pardoned by the governor, and the pardon was granted because you were actually innocent of the offense.
Qualifying dismissal. The charge was dismissed because the indictment rested on a mistake or false information, the indictment was void, or you completed a pretrial intervention program, veterans treatment court, or mental health court program.3State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55A.053 – Indictment or Information Dismissed or Quashed A dismissal for other reasons, including a prosecutor simply declining to pursue the case, doesn’t fit this provision.
Expired statute of limitations. No charges were ever filed and the prosecution window has closed. For a Class A misdemeanor, that window is generally two years.4State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55A.054 – Limitations Period Expired
Conviction overturned on appeal. If a court of appeals or the Court of Criminal Appeals reversed your conviction, the district court may grant expunction. A prosecutor can also recommend expunction before trial, even after charges have been filed.5State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55A.101 – Expunction by Trial Court
Why Deferred Adjudication Blocks Expunction
Deferred adjudication feels like a win. You plead guilty or no contest, the judge defers a finding of guilt, you complete supervision, and the case is dismissed. No conviction on your record.
But Chapter 55A’s threshold specifically excludes cases where the court ordered community supervision, and deferred adjudication is community supervision.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55A.051 – Applicability of Subchapter The only exception is for Class C misdemeanors. A Class A misdemeanor resolved by deferred adjudication cannot be expunged. Someone acquitted at trial gets full record destruction; someone who completed every condition of deferred supervision still has an arrest record showing up on background checks.
Nondisclosure When Expunction Isn’t Available
If deferred adjudication is on your record for a Class A misdemeanor, an order of nondisclosure is the remedy that may still be open. It doesn’t destroy records; it seals them from public view. Most private employers, landlords, and members of the public won’t see the record through standard background checks. A long list of government entities keeps access, including law enforcement, licensing boards, school districts, and the Department of Family and Protective Services.6Texas Public Law. Texas Government Code Section 411.0765 – Disclosure of Sealed Criminal History Record Information
To petition, you need a discharge and dismissal of your case and must meet the eligibility requirements in Government Code Section 411.074.7State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.0725 – Procedure for Deferred Adjudication Community Supervision
Waiting Periods by Offense
The wait depends on which Penal Code chapter your offense falls under.
- No waiting period for a Class A misdemeanor not listed in the chapters below. You can petition immediately after discharge and dismissal.
- Two-year waiting period for misdemeanors under Chapters 20 (kidnapping), 21 (sexual offenses), 22 (assaultive offenses), 25 (offenses against the family), 42 (disorderly conduct), 43 (public indecency), or 46 (weapons).7State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.0725 – Procedure for Deferred Adjudication Community Supervision
A Class A theft (Chapter 31) on deferred adjudication can be sealed right after supervision ends. A Class A assault (Chapter 22) requires a two-year wait from that same point.
First-Offense DWI on a Separate Track
A first-offense DWI under Penal Code Section 49.04 is excluded from the general nondisclosure statute and has its own provision under Government Code Section 411.0726. You must wait two years after completing supervision, you cannot have prior convictions or deferred adjudications for anything other than fine-only traffic offenses, and the court can’t grant the order if the prosecutor shows your offense involved a collision with another person.8State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.0726 – Certain Misdemeanors Under Section 49.04 or 49.06
Offenses That Can Never Be Sealed
Some offenses permanently disqualify you from nondisclosure. If you were convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication for any of these, no nondisclosure order is available for any offense on your record:
- An offense requiring sex offender registration
- Murder or capital murder
- Human trafficking
- Injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual
- Stalking or violation of a protective order
- Any offense involving family violence
The family violence disqualifier is broad. An affirmative finding of family violence on the judgment makes you ineligible even where the underlying charge would otherwise qualify.9State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.074 – Certain Ineligible Offenses Many Class A assault charges come out of domestic situations, and that finding closes the door for good.
What Expunction Gets You That Nondisclosure Doesn’t
Expunction goes further than any other Texas record remedy. When the court grants the order, every agency holding records related to your arrest must destroy them or return them to you. That reaches the Department of Public Safety, the arresting agency, the prosecutor’s office, the court, and the jail.
After expunction, you can legally deny the arrest ever happened. On job applications, housing applications, and under oath in most proceedings, you can truthfully say you were never arrested for that offense. The record is treated as though it never existed. Under a nondisclosure order, the record still exists behind a seal, and you cannot deny the arrest occurred.
Filing, Timing, and Cost
You file a Petition for Expunction in the district court of the county where the arrest occurred. The petition needs your identifying information, the details of the arrest (date, arresting agency, county, offense charged, cause number, and court), and a list of every agency that may hold records related to the arrest.
That agency list usually includes the Department of Public Safety, the prosecutor’s office, the arresting law enforcement agency, the jail or detention facility, and any courts involved. If you leave an agency off the list, its records survive the order. Being thorough here matters more than most people expect.
Every listed agency must be formally served so it can respond or contest. The court then sets a hearing. Acquittal-based petitions carry the 30-day statutory deadline noted above. Other types depend on the court’s schedule and typically take several weeks to a few months from filing. At the hearing, you or your attorney show that you meet the statutory requirements; if the judge agrees, the order goes out directing every listed agency to destroy or return records.
Filing fees vary by county and generally run $250 to $300. Service of process on each agency adds another $50 to $200 depending on how many agencies you list. Attorney fees for a misdemeanor expunction typically run $500 to $2,500, with straightforward cases on the lower end. Filing without an attorney is allowed, but errors in the petition, especially missing agencies or incorrect case details, can leave records behind and defeat the point of the process.
A Texas Expunction Does Not Bind Federal Immigration Authorities
If you are not a U.S. citizen, a state expunction order will not resolve the record for immigration purposes. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services applies a federal definition of “conviction” that treats a guilty or no-contest plea combined with any punishment or restraint on liberty as a conviction, even if the state later vacated or expunged the judgment.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part F Chapter 2 – Adjudicative Factors
Federal authorities recognize a state vacatur or expunction only when it was based on a constitutional or procedural defect in the original proceedings, such as ineffective assistance of counsel. A record cleared for rehabilitative reasons or to avoid immigration consequences still counts against you federally.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part F Chapter 2 – Adjudicative Factors Talk to an immigration attorney before assuming a Texas order fixes the problem.