El Paso County Offense Guide
Expunging Public Intoxication in El Paso County
How a public intoxication charge gets erased through the El Paso courts — eligibility, local filing practice, and why it's worth doing.
Statute
Tex. Penal Code § 49.02
Offense level
Class C misdemeanor (fine only)
About the charge
Public intoxication is charged when someone in a public place is intoxicated to the degree they may endanger themselves or others. It's a Class C, fine-only misdemeanor — often issued outside bars, at festivals, or during traffic stops involving passengers.
PI is a subjective, officer-discretion charge with no breathalyzer requirement, which is why so many of these cases are dismissed or deferred when actually contested.
Where your case gets cleared in El Paso County
El Paso County expunctions are filed in the district courts at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse in downtown El Paso. Felonies run through the district courts and misdemeanors through the County Criminal Courts at Law.
Typical records holders are the El Paso Police Department, the county Sheriff's Office, the clerks, and DPS — with Fort Bliss making military-related records questions a regular feature of El Paso practice.
Local practice notes
El Paso's employment market leans heavily on government, military, healthcare, and cross-border logistics — all sectors that screen records carefully. Service members and their families at Fort Bliss frequently need Texas records cleared for clearances and reenlistment. The county has also used diversion programs whose dismissals create expunction eligibility; timelines in the district courts are generally moderate compared to the state's largest counties.
Can a public intoxication charge be expunged?
Like nearly every Texas offense, eligibility turns on how the case ended. An arrest for this charge is generally expungable under Chapter 55A of the Code of Criminal Procedure if:
- The charge was dismissed and the applicable waiting or limitations period has passed
- You were acquitted at trial
- A grand jury declined to indict (felony no-bill)
- You were arrested but never charged, once the waiting period runs
- You completed a Class C deferred disposition and the charge was dismissed
As a Class C offense, public intoxication has a fast track to expunction: if the charge was dismissed, if you completed deferred disposition, or if you were acquitted, the record is expungable — and the waiting period for a never-charged or dismissed PI arrest is only 180 days. Like all Class C charges, the mistake is paying the fine, which converts a clearable arrest into a conviction.
If expunction isn't available: sealing
A PI conviction from paying the fine may still qualify for a fine-only misdemeanor order of nondisclosure, hiding it from employers even though it can't be destroyed. Learn how orders of nondisclosure work →
Why clearing this record matters
An alcohol-related offense on a background check invites questions in any hiring process and matters disproportionately for jobs involving driving, security clearances, healthcare, and work with minors. For students and young professionals, a PI from one bad night is a permanent public record that takes one short legal proceeding to erase — few records offer this much cleanup for this little effort.
Common questions
Is public intoxication a criminal record in Texas?
Yes. Even though it's a fine-only Class C misdemeanor, the arrest or citation creates a criminal record visible on background checks until it is expunged or sealed.
I was a minor when I got a PI. Are the rules different?
Alcohol offenses committed as a minor have additional relief options, including expunction under the Alcoholic Beverage Code once you turn 21. These are often the cheapest, simplest expunctions available.
How fast can a dismissed PI be expunged?
For a Class C charge that was dismissed or never filed, the statutory waiting period is 180 days from the arrest — one of the shortest in Texas expunction law.
I'm stationed at Fort Bliss. Can you clear my off-post Texas arrest?
Yes — off-post arrests by El Paso agencies are Texas records handled through the El Paso district courts, and eligible cases can be expunged without you appearing in most instances.
Where do I file an expunction for an El Paso arrest?
In an El Paso County district court at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse. We handle the filing, service on agencies, and the hearing.
Statewide guide
Public Intoxication expunction in Texas →
County guide
All El Paso County expunctions →
Disclaimer: This page is general legal information about Texas law, not legal advice about your case, and reading it does not create an attorney‑client relationship. Eligibility depends on the complete details of your criminal history — get a free case review for a definitive answer.
Clear a public intoxication charge in El Paso County
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