Expunging a Class A misdemeanor in Texas is possible, but only when the case ended in a specific way: an acquittal, a qualifying dismissal, an innocence-based pardon from the governor, a reversed conviction, or an expired statute of limitations with no charges ever filed. A conviction will not qualify, and neither will deferred adjudication, which is where most people get caught. If deferred adjudication is on your record, the available remedy is an order of nondisclosure, which seals the record rather than destroying it.
When a Class A Misdemeanor Qualifies for Expunction
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55A sets the ground rules. You must have been arrested and released, the charge cannot be pending or have ended in a final conviction, and no court-ordered community supervision can have been imposed.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55A.051 – Applicability of Subchapter Clear that threshold, and one of the following paths applies.
Acquittal. A judge or jury found you not guilty. The trial court must enter an expunction order within 30 days of the acquittal at your request or at the prosecutor’s request with your consent.2State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55A.201 – Expunction Procedures for Acquittals
Pardon based on actual innocence. You were convicted, but the governor later pardoned you specifically on grounds of actual innocence.
Dismissal for a qualifying reason. The charge was dismissed because the indictment rested on a mistake or false information, the indictment was void, or you completed a pretrial intervention program, a veterans treatment court program, or a mental health court program.3State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55A.053 – Indictment or Information Dismissed or Quashed A dismissal for other reasons, such as the prosecutor simply declining to pursue the case, does not automatically trigger this path.
Statute of limitations expired. If no charges were ever filed and the prosecution window has closed, you can seek expunction. For a Class A misdemeanor, the limitations period is generally two years.4State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55A.054 – Limitations Period Expired
Conviction overturned on appeal. If a court of appeals or the Court of Criminal Appeals reversed your conviction, the district court may grant expunction. A prosecutor can also recommend expunction before trial.5State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55A.101 – Expunction by Trial Court
Why Deferred Adjudication Blocks Expunction
Deferred adjudication feels like a win. You plead guilty or no contest, the judge defers a finding of guilt, you complete supervision, and the case gets dismissed. No conviction. But Chapter 55A’s threshold specifically excludes cases where the court ordered community supervision, and deferred adjudication is community supervision.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55A.051 – Applicability of Subchapter The only carve-out is for Class C misdemeanors, the lowest tier. A Class A misdemeanor resolved by deferred adjudication cannot be expunged. Full stop.
Nondisclosure: The Remedy When Expunction Is Off the Table
If deferred adjudication closed the door on expunction, an order of nondisclosure is what you’re left with. It does not destroy records. It seals them from public view, so most private employers, landlords, and ordinary background checks will not see them. Government agencies, including law enforcement and licensing boards, keep access.6Texas Public Law. Texas Government Code Section 411.0765 – Disclosure of Sealed Criminal History Record Information You also cannot legally deny the arrest happened, unlike with expunction.
To petition, you need a discharge and dismissal of the case and must meet the eligibility rules in Government Code Section 411.074.7State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.0725 – Procedure for Deferred Adjudication Community Supervision
Waiting Periods by Offense Type
How long you wait depends on which chapter of the Penal Code your offense sits under.
- No waiting period for a Class A misdemeanor outside the chapters below. You can petition immediately after discharge and dismissal.
- Two-year waiting period for misdemeanors under Penal Code Chapters 20 (kidnapping), 21 (sexual offenses), 22 (assaultive offenses), 25 (offenses against the family), 42 (disorderly conduct), 43 (public indecency), and 46 (weapons).7State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.0725 – Procedure for Deferred Adjudication Community Supervision
A Class A theft (Chapter 31) could be sealed as soon as supervision ends. A Class A assault (Chapter 22) requires a two-year wait from that same point.
First-Offense DWI Has Its Own Statute
A first-offense DWI under Penal Code Section 49.04 is excluded from the general nondisclosure statute and governed by Government Code Section 411.0726. You must wait two years after completing supervision. You cannot have prior convictions or deferred adjudications for anything beyond fine-only traffic offenses. And the court cannot grant the order if the prosecutor shows the offense involved a collision with another person.8State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.0726 – Certain Misdemeanors Under Section 49.04 or 49.06
Offenses That Can Never Be Sealed
Some offenses are permanently off the table. If you were convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication for any of the following, no nondisclosure order is available for any offense on your record:
- An offense requiring sex offender registration
- Murder or capital murder
- Human trafficking
- Injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual
- Stalking or violation of a protective order
- Any offense involving family violence
The family violence bar is broad. An affirmative finding of family violence on the judgment makes you ineligible even when the underlying charge would otherwise qualify.9State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.074 – Certain Ineligible Offenses Many Class A assault cases come out of domestic situations, so this disqualifier catches a lot of people.
What Expunction Gets You That Nondisclosure Doesn’t
Expunction is the stronger remedy. Every agency holding records related to the arrest must destroy them or return them to you, including the Texas Department of Public Safety, the arresting agency, the prosecutor’s office, the court, and the jail. Afterward, you have the legal right to deny the arrest ever happened. On job and housing applications, and under oath in most proceedings, you can truthfully say you were never arrested for that offense. Nondisclosure hides the record. Expunction treats it as if it never existed.
Filing the Petition
You file a Petition for Expunction in the district court of the county where the arrest occurred. The petition needs your identifying information (name, date of birth, driver’s license number, Social Security number, and address at the time of arrest) and the arrest details (date, arresting agency, county, offense charged, cause number, and the court that handled the case). You also list every agency that may hold records.
That list typically includes DPS, the prosecutor’s office, the arresting agency, the jail, and any courts involved. Any agency you leave off keeps its records, so thoroughness here is not optional. Each listed agency is served with notice and gets a chance to respond. The court then holds a hearing. For acquittal-based petitions, the order must be entered within 30 days.2State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55A.201 – Expunction Procedures for Acquittals Other types run on the court’s schedule, usually several weeks to a few months.
What It Costs
Court filing fees vary by county but generally run $250 to $300. Service of process on each listed agency adds roughly $50 to $200 depending on how many you list. Attorney fees for a misdemeanor expunction typically range from about $500 to $2,500, with straightforward cases on the lower end. Filing without an attorney is allowed, but mistakes, especially missing agencies or incorrect case details, can produce an incomplete expunction that defeats the point.
A Note for Non-Citizens
A Texas expunction order does not bind federal immigration authorities. USCIS uses its own definition of “conviction”: if you pleaded guilty or no contest and a judge imposed any form of punishment or restraint on your liberty, a conviction exists for immigration purposes even after the state vacates or expunges the judgment. A state court order is recognized federally only when the clearing was based on a constitutional or procedural defect, such as ineffective assistance of counsel. Clearing a record for rehabilitative reasons or to avoid immigration consequences does not change the federal result.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part F Chapter 2 – Adjudicative Factors Talk to an immigration attorney before assuming a Texas expunction resolves anything on that side.