Orders of Nondisclosure
Seal your record from public view
An order of nondisclosure doesn't destroy your record, but it hides it from the public — including private employers, landlords, and background-check companies. For many Texans who completed deferred adjudication or a first-time misdemeanor sentence, it's the difference between explaining your past and moving past it.
What an order of nondisclosure does
Issued under Subchapter E-1 of Chapter 411 of the Texas Government Code, an order of nondisclosure prohibits courts, clerks, police agencies, and the Department of Public Safety from releasing your criminal record to the public. Private background checks come back clean, and in most private-sector contexts you may deny the offense. Law enforcement, prosecutors, and certain state licensing agencies (for example, in healthcare and education) can still see sealed records.
Common paths to sealing a record
Deferred adjudication — misdemeanors
Successfully completed deferred adjudication for most misdemeanors can be sealed, in many cases immediately upon discharge and dismissal; some categories require a two-year wait.
Deferred adjudication — felonies
Most felony deferred adjudications can be sealed five years after discharge and dismissal, if the offense and your history otherwise qualify.
First-time misdemeanor convictions
Certain misdemeanor convictions — including ones that ended in probation or even jail time — can be sealed for essentially first-time offenders after the applicable waiting period.
First-time DWI
Texas allows sealing of many first-time DWI convictions (BAC under 0.15, no accident involving another person) after a waiting period — typically two years with an interlock history or five years without.
Victims of trafficking
Special provisions allow survivors of human trafficking to seal certain offenses committed as a result of being trafficked.
Offenses that can never be sealed
Texas law excludes certain offenses from nondisclosure regardless of outcome, including offenses requiring sex-offender registration, murder, aggravated kidnapping, human trafficking, injury to a child or elderly person, abandoning or endangering a child, violation of a protective order, stalking, and any offense involving family violence. A disqualifying event during your waiting period — like a new conviction other than a fine-only traffic offense — can also bar relief.
Expunction vs. nondisclosure at a glance
| Expunction | Nondisclosure | |
|---|---|---|
| What happens | Records destroyed or deleted | Records sealed from the public |
| Typical cases | Dismissals, acquittals, no charges filed | Deferred adjudication, some convictions |
| Who can still see it | Effectively no one | Law enforcement and certain licensing agencies |
| Can you deny it? | Yes, with narrow exceptions | In most private contexts, yes |
Wondering if your record can be sealed?
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