A DUI cannot be expunged in Texas if it ended in a conviction. Expunction, which destroys the record entirely, is only available when the arrest did not result in a final conviction, such as an acquittal, a dismissal after the statute of limitations expires, a pardon based on innocence, or a case where charges were never filed. If you were convicted, the only option is an order of nondisclosure, which seals the record from most private employers and landlords but leaves it visible to law enforcement and dozens of licensing agencies.
One vocabulary note before going further. Texas calls the offense Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) under Penal Code Section 49.04, not DUI. The terminology on your court paperwork, your driving record, and every statute cited below will say DWI. Everything here applies to what most people mean when they say DUI.
When a DWI Arrest Can Be Expunged
Expunction wipes the arrest out. Once the order is granted, you can legally deny the arrest ever happened on job and housing applications. The tradeoff is that the qualifying grounds are narrow. You may be eligible if:
- A judge or jury acquitted you at trial.
- The charges were dismissed and the statute of limitations has since expired, meaning prosecutors can no longer refile.
- You received a pardon from the governor based on actual innocence.
- You were arrested but the prosecutor never filed formal charges, and the statute of limitations has run.
These grounds come from Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55A. The petition is filed in a district court in the county where the arrest happened or where the offense allegedly occurred.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 55.02
Why a Conviction Closes the Door
A DWI conviction permanently disqualifies you from expunction. It doesn’t matter how old the case is, whether it was your first offense, whether you served jail time, paid fines, or completed community supervision. The moment a court enters a guilty finding, expunction is off the table.
A first-offense DWI in Texas is a Class B misdemeanor carrying up to 180 days in jail, a fine of up to $2,000, a license suspension of up to one year, and a separate state surcharge of $3,000 to $6,000 assessed at sentencing.2Texas Department of Transportation. Impaired Driving and Penalties – DUI/DWI The legislature created nondisclosure as a partial remedy for people who would otherwise carry that conviction on their public record forever.
Nondisclosure: The Only Option After a Conviction
An order of nondisclosure seals the record from public view. Private employers, landlords, and most commercial background-check companies won’t see it. Law enforcement and government licensing agencies still can. That’s a real limit, and it matters for certain careers, but for most day-to-day background checks nondisclosure gets the record out of sight.
Texas Government Code Sections 411.0731 and 411.0736 created this option specifically for people convicted of a first-time DWI. Before these provisions existed, a DWI conviction left no options at all.
Who Qualifies
To petition for nondisclosure of a DWI conviction, every one of these has to be true:
- The offense was a first-time DWI under Penal Code Section 49.04, and you have never been convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication for any other offense besides a fine-only traffic violation.3State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.0736 – Procedure for Community Supervision Following Conviction: Certain Intoxication Offenses
- Your blood alcohol concentration was below 0.15. The enhanced-penalty provision in Section 49.04(d) applies at 0.15 or higher and disqualifies you from nondisclosure.3State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.0736 – Procedure for Community Supervision Following Conviction: Certain Intoxication Offenses
- The DWI did not involve a motor vehicle collision with another person, including a passenger in your own vehicle. A judge has no discretion to override this if the prosecutor shows a collision occurred.4State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.0731 – Procedure for Community Supervision Following Conviction: Certain Intoxication Offenses
- You have no prior conviction or deferred adjudication for any offense listed in Section 411.074, which includes sex offenses, murder, kidnapping, assault, stalking, and offenses involving family violence.5State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.074 – Required Conditions for Receiving an Order of Nondisclosure
- You have fully completed your sentence, including any jail time, fines, restitution, and community supervision, without revocation.
How Long You Have to Wait
Sentence completion is the starting line, not the finish. The waiting period depends on which statute applies and whether you used an ignition interlock device.
Section 411.0731 covers community supervision following a DWI conviction. The wait is two years after completion if you used an interlock device for at least six months, or five years if no interlock was required.4State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.0731 – Procedure for Community Supervision Following Conviction: Certain Intoxication Offenses
Section 411.0736 applies to people who completed their sentence without qualifying under 411.0731. The wait is three years with an interlock device or five years without one.3State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.0736 – Procedure for Community Supervision Following Conviction: Certain Intoxication Offenses Agreeing to the interlock shortens your wait significantly.
Who Can Still See a Sealed DWI
Nondisclosure isn’t invisibility. Criminal justice agencies always retain access. Beyond that, Texas Government Code Section 411.0765 authorizes disclosure to a long list of licensing and government entities: school districts, the Texas Medical Board, the Board of Law Examiners, the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Board of Nursing, the Department of Family and Protective Services, hospital districts, banking and financial regulators, the Texas Department of Insurance, and fire departments.6Texas Public Law. Texas Government Code Section 411.0765 – Disclosure by Criminal Justice Agency
If your career touches healthcare, education, law, finance, insurance, or public safety, a sealed DWI can still surface in a licensing or hiring review. Outside those regulated fields, nondisclosure keeps the record off standard commercial background checks, which is what most private employers run.
Filing the Petition
Both expunction and nondisclosure start with a petition filed in the court that handled your DWI case. The petition is verified under oath. For expunction, you have to list every law enforcement agency, court, jail, prosecutor’s office, and background-check company you believe holds records of the arrest, so the court can order them all to destroy their copies.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 55.02
Filing fees generally run from $200 to $400 depending on the county and petition type. After you file, the court gives certified-mail notice to every agency named and sets a hearing at least 30 days later.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 55.02 The prosecutor can appear and object. Nondisclosure petitions are more likely to be contested than expunction petitions, particularly on the collision issue, which is why a lawyer is more useful for nondisclosure than for a straightforward expunction.
What Sealing Doesn’t Fix
A few consequences of a Texas DWI run on their own tracks. A nondisclosure order does not touch them.
Commercial Driver’s License
Federal law disqualifies you from operating a commercial motor vehicle for at least one year on a first DUI offense. If you were hauling hazardous materials, the minimum is three years. A second DUI violation triggers a lifetime CDL disqualification. Refusing a chemical test carries the same consequences as a conviction.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 31310 – Disqualifications Sealing your state record does not shorten or reverse these federal timelines.
Immigration
Immigration authorities can access sealed records, and the federal immigration system operates independently of Texas courts. A single DWI conviction is not by itself a ground for deportation or inadmissibility. But a person with two or more convictions of any type where the combined sentences total five years or more becomes inadmissible, and suspended sentences count toward that total.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens A single DWI arrest within the last five years, or two within the last ten, can also trigger a panel physician evaluation for an alcohol-related disorder, which can lead to a health-related inadmissibility finding. A DWI weighs against discretionary decisions on bond, good moral character for naturalization, and DACA eligibility.
Traveling to Canada
Canada treats impaired driving as serious criminality and can turn you away at the border. Two paths exist. A Temporary Resident Permit allows short-term entry for a specific purpose, from one day up to three years, and should be applied for in advance through a Canadian consulate. Criminal Rehabilitation is the permanent fix and requires at least five years to have passed since you completed your entire sentence, including probation, fines, and license suspension.9Government of Canada. Overcome Criminal Convictions Once approved, you are no longer inadmissible for that offense and don’t reapply for future trips.
Federal Employment
A sealed DWI can still surface in the background investigation for federal employment. The agency weighs the seriousness of the conduct, how much time has passed, and evidence of rehabilitation.10USAJOBS. Can I Work for the Government if I Have a Criminal Record? The conviction itself is rarely an automatic bar. Failing to disclose it when the application asks is far more damaging. If your record is sealed, disclose it on the federal form anyway.