Can a Class B Misdemeanor Be Expunged in Texas? Rules and Waits

A Class B misdemeanor can be expunged in Texas, but only if your case ended without a conviction and without deferred adjudication. If you were acquitted at trial, had the charges dismissed, were arrested but never formally charged, or received a pardon, you likely qualify to have the arrest erased. If you were convicted or placed on deferred adjudication, expunction is not available, though a separate remedy called an order of nondisclosure can seal the record from most public view.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55.01 – Right to Expunction

These rules matter to a lot of Texans. First-offense DWI, theft of property worth $100 to $750, and criminal trespass are all Class B misdemeanors.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.22 – Class B Misdemeanor

Who Qualifies for Expunction

Texas treats expunction as all-or-nothing. The case must have ended in your favor, or never gone forward. You qualify if any of the following is true:

  • You were arrested, but the prosecutor never filed formal charges.
  • Charges were filed and later dropped by the prosecutor or dismissed by the court.
  • You went to trial and were found not guilty.
  • The governor pardoned you for the offense.

Deferred adjudication is the outcome that trips people up. The charge is dismissed after you complete the probation terms, but you were still placed on court-ordered community supervision in the meantime. That placement alone disqualifies you from expunction for anything above a Class C misdemeanor.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55.01 – Right to Expunction Standard probation after a conviction is likewise disqualifying. If either applies to you, skip ahead to nondisclosure.

How Long You Have to Wait

You cannot file the day after your case ends. The waiting period depends on how the case resolved:

One wrinkle on the dismissal path. The expunction statute lists specific reasons a dismissal qualifies, including completion of a pretrial intervention program, completion of a veterans or mental health court program, dismissal for lack of probable cause, and a void charging document.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55.01 – Right to Expunction A routine prosecutorial dismissal generally qualifies. If your case fits an unusual category, confirm the reason for dismissal before you spend money filing.

How to File the Petition

You file a petition for expunction with the district clerk’s office in the county where you were arrested. Gather this information before you start:

  • Your full legal name, date of birth, race, sex, and driver’s license number.
  • The date of the arrest, the law enforcement agency involved, and the specific offense.
  • The court that handled the case, the case number, and the date of dismissal or acquittal.
  • Every government agency that might hold records of the arrest: the arresting agency, county sheriff, county and district clerks, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the prosecutor’s office.

That last list matters more than people realize. Any agency you leave off the petition will not receive the expunction order and will keep your records on file. Include every agency that could have touched the case.

Costs

Filing fees vary by county but typically run a few hundred dollars for the base civil filing fee. On top of that, Texas charges $25 per agency that cannot receive electronic transmissions from the clerk for serving copies of the petition and notice of hearing, plus another $25 per agency for the expunction order itself once it is final.4Texas Judicial Branch. County-Level Court Civil Filing Fees List six or seven agencies and the service fees add up quickly. Attorney fees for a straightforward misdemeanor expunction generally run between $1,000 and $3,000. You can handle it yourself if you are comfortable with court paperwork.

The Hearing

After filing, the clerk serves notice on every listed agency and schedules a hearing at least 30 days out so agencies have time to respond. If your eligibility is clear-cut and no agency objects, many judges sign the order without requiring you to appear. Contested hearings are uncommon for straightforward dismissals and acquittals, but a prosecutor can object if they believe you do not meet the requirements.

What an Expunction Actually Does

An expunction order legally erases the arrest. Every agency named in the order must destroy its records of the offense. Once the order is final, you can deny the arrest ever happened on job applications, housing forms, and in casual conversation. Texas law grants you the right to deny both the arrest and the existence of the expunction order itself.5State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 55.03 – Effect of Expunction

One narrow exception: if you are questioned under oath during a criminal proceeding about the expunged arrest, you can only say the matter has been expunged. You cannot deny it in that context.5State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 55.03 – Effect of Expunction

Nondisclosure If You Had Deferred Adjudication

If your Class B misdemeanor ended in deferred adjudication, expunction is off the table. An order of nondisclosure can still seal the record from public view. Nondisclosure does not destroy anything. Government agencies keep the records, and law enforcement, prosecutors, and certain state licensing boards retain access.6Texas Judicial Branch. An Overview of Orders of Nondisclosure Private employers, landlords, and the general public will no longer see it on a standard background check. For most people trying to move past a Class B, that practical difference is what matters.

To petition, you must have completed all terms of your deferred adjudication and received a discharge and dismissal from the court. Timing depends on the offense:

The judge also has discretion. Even if you meet every requirement, the court must find that issuing the order is in the best interest of justice. A clean record since the offense and full compliance with probation terms help.

DWI Nondisclosure Rules

First-offense DWI is one of the most common Class B misdemeanors in Texas, and it follows a stricter set of nondisclosure rules than other offenses. There is a specific pathway under Government Code Section 411.0726 for people who completed deferred adjudication for a DWI, and a separate pathway under Section 411.0731 for those who were convicted and completed community supervision.6Texas Judicial Branch. An Overview of Orders of Nondisclosure

Both pathways share the same disqualifiers. You cannot obtain a DWI nondisclosure order if:

  • Your blood alcohol concentration was 0.15 or higher at the time of the offense.
  • The offense caused a motor vehicle accident involving another person, even if nobody was injured.
  • You have any prior conviction or deferred adjudication for a non-traffic offense.
  • You held a commercial driver’s license or commercial learner’s permit at the time.

On the deferred adjudication pathway, you must wait two years from discharge and dismissal before filing.8State of Texas. Texas Government Code 411.0726 On the conviction-with-probation pathway, the offense must have been punishable as a Class B misdemeanor, meaning BAC below 0.15 and no enhancements. Many people with DWI records will not qualify even with an otherwise clean history.

Offenses That Permanently Block Nondisclosure

Some offenses bar you from nondisclosure entirely, no matter the outcome or how much time has passed. If you have ever been convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication for any of the following, no nondisclosure order is available for any offense on your record:

  • Any offense requiring sex offender registration
  • Aggravated kidnapping
  • Murder or capital murder
  • Human trafficking
  • Injury to a child, elderly person, or disabled person
  • Violation of a protective order
  • Stalking
  • Any offense involving family violence

The family violence bar is the one that catches people off guard. A family violence finding on any offense in your history blocks nondisclosure for everything else too, not just the violent offense itself.9State of Texas. Texas Government Code 411.074

Why the Arrest May Still Show Up on Background Checks

Even after an expunction order is signed and agencies destroy their files, your arrest can linger in private background-check databases. Companies that compile criminal records often pull data from public court records before an expunction is granted. Once it is in their system, the expunction order does not automatically reach them. A 2026 federal court ruling in Smith v. InformData reinforced that background-check companies are not required under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to treat an expunged record as nonexistent, holding that a finding of guilt remains a reportable “record of conviction” even after state-level expunction.

If a private background check still shows your expunged arrest, you have options. Send the company a copy of the expunction order and ask them to update their records. Many will comply voluntarily. If they refuse, or the inaccuracy costs you a job or housing, talk to an attorney about your options under state and federal fair reporting laws. This area is still developing, and the protections are not as clean as most people assume.