Montgomery County Offense Guide
Expunging DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) in Montgomery County
How a DWI charge gets erased through the Conroe courts — eligibility, local filing practice, and why it's worth doing.
Statute
Tex. Penal Code § 49.04
Offense level
Class B misdemeanor (Class A at 0.15+ BAC); felony for repeat offenses
About the charge
Driving while intoxicated is one of the most commonly charged offenses in Texas — a Class B misdemeanor for a first offense, Class A if your blood alcohol concentration was 0.15 or higher, and a felony for a third offense or with a child passenger.
DWI cases are also among the most defensible: stops get suppressed, breath and blood tests get challenged, and prosecutors reduce or dismiss cases regularly. Many DWI arrests end in acquittal, dismissal, or a plea to a lesser charge like obstruction of a highway.
Where your case gets cleared in Montgomery County
Montgomery County expunctions are filed in the district courts at the courthouse in Conroe, serving The Woodlands, Conroe, Magnolia, and the fast-growing corridor north of Houston.
Typical records holders include the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Conroe PD, constable precincts — which are unusually active in this county — the clerks, and DPS.
Local practice notes
Montgomery County prosecutes conservatively, and fewer cases resolve through lenient diversion than in Harris County next door — but dismissals, no-bills, and acquittals happen everywhere, and those outcomes are just as expungable here. Petitions get genuine scrutiny from the DA's office, so statutory precision matters. Many clients are Woodlands-area professionals clearing old records ahead of energy-sector and corporate screening.
Can a DWI 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
If your DWI was dismissed, you were acquitted at trial, or you were arrested and never charged, the arrest can be expunged like any other. A common scenario: the DWI is dismissed as part of a plea to a different charge — whether the DWI arrest itself can be expunged then depends on how the plea was structured, which is exactly the kind of detail we review. A DWI conviction, however, can never be expunged.
If expunction isn't available: sealing
Texas law now allows many first-time DWI convictions to be sealed with an order of nondisclosure — generally if your BAC was under 0.15 and the incident involved no accident with another person, after a two-year wait with six months of ignition interlock or five years without. Learn how orders of nondisclosure work →
Why clearing this record matters
A DWI record raises auto insurance costs for years, blocks jobs that involve driving, and draws scrutiny from professional licensing boards from medicine to real estate. It's also the record employers most commonly ask about directly. Because DWI sealing is newer law, many eligible Texans with old first-time DWIs have no idea their record can now be hidden from public view.
Common questions
Can a DWI conviction be expunged in Texas?
No — a DWI conviction cannot be expunged. But a qualifying first-time DWI conviction can often be sealed with an order of nondisclosure, and a dismissed or acquitted DWI can be fully expunged.
My DWI was reduced to obstruction of a highway. What happens to the DWI record?
It depends on how the plea was papered. In some cases the DWI arrest can still be sealed or addressed; in others the plea to the related charge blocks expunction of that arrest. We review your plea documents to give you a definitive answer.
How long before I can seal a first-time DWI conviction?
Typically two years after completing your sentence if you had an ignition interlock for at least six months, or five years otherwise — assuming your BAC was under 0.15 and there was no accident involving another person.
The DA in Montgomery County opposed my friend's expunction. Does that happen often?
The DA's office reviews petitions carefully and will contest defective or ineligible ones. For eligible cases with precisely drafted petitions, opposition is the exception — that precision is our job.
My arrest was by a constable's office, not the sheriff. Does that change anything?
Only the agency list — constable precincts are active in Montgomery County and must be named and served like any other records holder. We build the complete list from your records.
Statewide guide
DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) expunction in Texas →
County guide
All Montgomery 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 DWI charge in Montgomery County
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