In Texas, a DUI can be expunged only if the arrest never resulted in a conviction. If you were convicted, expunction is permanently unavailable, and your only option is an order of nondisclosure, which seals the record from public view but leaves it accessible to law enforcement and a long list of government licensing agencies.
A Quick Note on “DUI” vs “DWI”
Texas calls the offense Driving While Intoxicated. Most other states call it DUI, and most people searching for help use that term, but every Texas statute, court record, and background-check entry will say DWI. The rules below apply to what you probably think of as a DUI; the official label on your paperwork is DWI.
When a DWI Arrest Can Be Expunged
Expunction destroys the arrest record. Once a court grants the order, you can legally deny the arrest ever happened when answering questions on job applications, housing forms, and similar paperwork. The threshold for this relief is high, and it turns entirely on whether the case ended without a conviction.
You may qualify if one of the following applies:
- A judge or jury acquitted you at trial.
- The charges were dismissed and the statute of limitations has run, so prosecutors can no longer refile.
- The governor granted a pardon based on actual innocence.
- You were arrested but no charges were ever filed, and the statute of limitations has expired.
These grounds come from Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55A, and the petition is filed in a district court in the county of arrest or alleged offense.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 55.02
Why a Conviction Closes the Door
A DWI conviction permanently disqualifies you from expunction in Texas. The age of the case doesn’t matter. Neither does whether it was a first offense, whether you served jail time, paid only a fine, or completed community supervision (probation). The moment a court entered a guilty finding, expunction became unavailable, and nothing you do later can revive it.
What the legislature did create, specifically because this result struck many people as too harsh, is a separate remedy that hides the conviction from most of the public without erasing it.
Sealing a DWI Conviction Through Nondisclosure
An order of nondisclosure seals the record. Private employers, landlords, and standard commercial background-check services will not see it. For most of the situations that shape daily life, this functions a lot like erasure. It is not erasure, though, and the gap matters: law enforcement, prosecutors, and a defined list of government agencies keep full access.
Texas Government Code Sections 411.0731 and 411.0736 created nondisclosure for people convicted of a first-time DWI. Before those provisions existed, a conviction left no options at all.
Who Qualifies
Every one of these conditions must be met:
- The offense was under Penal Code Section 49.04 and you have no other convictions or deferred adjudications besides traffic violations punishable by fine only.2State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.0736 – Procedure for Community Supervision Following Conviction: Certain Intoxication Offenses
- Your blood alcohol concentration was below 0.15, meaning the offense was not punishable under the enhanced provision in Section 49.04(d).2State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.0736 – Procedure for Community Supervision Following Conviction: Certain Intoxication Offenses
- The DWI did not involve a motor vehicle collision with another person, including a passenger in your own vehicle. If the prosecutor shows a collision, the judge has no discretion to grant the order.3State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.0731 – Procedure for Community Supervision Following Conviction: Certain Intoxication Offenses
- You have no prior conviction or deferred adjudication for any offense listed in Section 411.074, which covers sex offenses, murder, kidnapping, assault, stalking, and offenses involving family violence.4State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.074 – Required Conditions for Receiving an Order of Nondisclosure
- You have fully completed your sentence: any jail time served, all fines and restitution paid, and any community supervision finished without revocation.
How Long You Have to Wait
Finishing the sentence does not start the clock in the way most people assume. Two statutes set two different waiting periods, and whether you used an ignition interlock device changes the number significantly.
Under Section 411.0731, which applies to community supervision following a DWI conviction, you wait two years from completion if you used an interlock for at least six months, or five years if no interlock was required.3State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.0731 – Procedure for Community Supervision Following Conviction: Certain Intoxication Offenses
Under Section 411.0736, which covers sentences completed outside the 411.0731 track, the wait is three years with an interlock device or five years without one.2State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.0736 – Procedure for Community Supervision Following Conviction: Certain Intoxication Offenses Accepting the interlock cuts the wait by years.
Who Can Still See a Sealed Record
This is where nondisclosure gets less reassuring. Criminal justice agencies retain full access. Beyond that, Texas Government Code Section 411.0765 lists specific entities authorized to see sealed records, including school districts, the Texas Medical Board, the Board of Law Examiners, the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Board of Nursing, the Department of Family and Protective Services, hospital districts, banking and financial regulators, the Texas Department of Insurance, and fire departments.5Texas Public Law. Texas Government Code Section 411.0765 – Disclosure by Criminal Justice Agency
If you work in healthcare, education, law, finance, insurance, or public safety, a sealed DWI can still surface during licensing or employment review. Outside those regulated fields, nondisclosure usually keeps the conviction off the background checks private employers actually run.
Filing the Petition
Both expunction and nondisclosure start with a verified petition filed in the court that handled your original case. The petition identifies you, the arrest, every agency that may hold a record, and the legal basis for relief.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 55.02
Filing fees generally run from about $200 to $400 depending on the county and petition type. Attorney fees range from several hundred to several thousand dollars. An expunction is more realistic to handle on your own; nondisclosure is harder because it involves a contested hearing where the prosecutor can present evidence and argue against the order, particularly on the collision issue.
After filing, the court sends certified-mail notice to each agency named in the petition and sets a hearing at least 30 days out.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 55.02 The judge then rules based on the petition, the state’s response, and any evidence presented.
Consequences a Sealed Record Will Not Clear
Even a granted nondisclosure order leaves several consequences fully in place. These catch people off guard because they feel like they should be covered by sealing, and they are not.
Commercial Driver’s License
Federal law disqualifies a CDL holder for at least one year after a first DUI, three years if hazardous materials were involved, and for life after a second violation.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 31310 – Disqualifications A nondisclosure order does not shorten or reverse those periods, and refusing a chemical test carries the same consequence as a conviction.
Immigration Status
Immigration authorities are among the agencies that can access sealed records. A single DWI conviction is not by itself a ground for deportation or inadmissibility, but a non-citizen with two or more convictions of any type whose combined sentences total five years or more becomes inadmissible, and suspended sentences count toward that total.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens A DWI arrest within the last five years, or two within the last ten, can also trigger a medical evaluation for alcohol-related disorder, and the offense weighs against you in discretionary decisions about bond, good moral character for naturalization, and DACA eligibility.
Travel to Canada
Canada treats impaired driving as serious criminality and can refuse entry based on a Texas DWI, because Canadian immigration classifies the offense by the potential punishment under Canadian law rather than the sentence you actually received. A Temporary Resident Permit allows short-term entry for a specific purpose. Criminal Rehabilitation is permanent but requires at least five years to have passed since you finished every part of your sentence, including probation, fines, and license suspension.8Government of Canada. Overcome Criminal Convictions
Federal Employment
Federal background checks reach sealed records. A DWI does not automatically disqualify you from federal work, but failing to disclose it when asked is a separate ground for disqualification that often matters more than the underlying conviction.9USAJOBS. Can I Work for the Government if I Have a Criminal Record? If you have a sealed Texas record and a federal application asks about criminal history, disclose it.