Expunction & Nondisclosure

Criminal Offenses that Cannot be Nondisclosed

The Nondisclosure laws in Texas are intended to provide a person with a fresh start, unburdened by a prior criminal charge due to a one-time mistake or lapse in judgment. For that reason, some of the higher criminal offenses and those that are considered particularly egregious are excluded from all the 8 Categories of Nondisclosure. In other words, a person cannot get a Nondisclosure of criminal records for the following offenses:

  1. any offense requiring registration as a sex offender under Chapter 62 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure
  2. an offense of Aggravated Kidnapping under Section 20.04 of the Texas Penal Code, regardless of whether the offense is a reportable conviction or adjudication requiring sex offender registration;
  3. an offense of Murder or Capital Murder under Sections 19.02 and 19.03 of the Texas Penal Code;
  4. an offense of Human Trafficking or Continuous Human Trafficking under Sections 20A.02 and 20A.03 of the Texas Penal Code;
  5. an offense of Injury to a Child, Elderly or Disabled Person under Sections 22.04 of the Texas Penal Code;
  6. an offense of Abandoning or Endangering a Child under Sections 22.041 of the Texas Penal Code;
  7. Violations of certain Court Orders or Conditions of Bond in a Family Violence, Child Abuse or Neglect, Sexual Assault or Abuse, Indecent Assault, Stalking or Human Trafficking under Sections 22.07 of the Texas Penal Code;
  8. Repeated Violations of certain Court Orders or Conditions of Bond in a Family Violence, Child Abuse or Neglect, Sexual Assault or Abuse, Indecent Assault, Stalking or Human Trafficking under Sections 22.072 of the Texas Penal Code;
  9. an offense of Stalking under Sections 42.072 of the Texas Penal Code;
  10. any other offense involving family violence, as defined by Section 71.004 of the Texas Family Code; and
  11. an Affirmative Finding of any other offense involving family violence, as defined by Section 71.004 of the Texas Family Code

Some of the 8 Categories of Nondisclosure also contain specifically prohibited offenses in addition to the offenses listed above. For example, Category 3, which deals with Nondisclosures after misdemeanor community supervision (probation) and Category 4, which deals with misdemeanor convictions not involving probation, exclude ALL felony charges and some misdemeanors, including offenses under Chapter 106 of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code (possession or consumption of or selling alcohol to minors), Texas Penal Code sections 49.04 (driving while intoxicated), 49.05 (flying while intoxicated), 49.06 (boating while intoxicated), 49.065 (operating an amusement park ride while intoxicated), and Texas Penal Code Chapter 71 (engaging in organized criminal activity).

Likewise, Categories 5 and 6 prohibit all offenses other than first-time Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) offenses involving blood alcohol contents of less than .15% and resulting in probation, jail time or fine only.

The specific offenses excluded from Categories 3, 4, 5 and 6 apply only to those categories. Those enumerated offenses are not necessarily precluded in other Categories.

Expunction Practice Pages