You can expunge a family violence charge in Texas only when the case ended in an acquittal, a qualifying dismissal with no court-ordered supervision, or a pardon. If you took deferred adjudication, expunction is blocked for anything above a Class C misdemeanor, and the usual backup remedy, an order of nondisclosure, is also unavailable for family violence offenses. A final conviction closes both doors for good. Which path, if any, is open to you depends entirely on how your case was resolved.
When Expunction Is Available
Expunction is the strongest remedy Texas offers. It destroys the records of your arrest and charge across every government agency and private entity that holds them, and once granted you can legally deny the arrest ever occurred.1Supreme Court of Texas. Ex Parte R.P.G.P. The eligibility rules are correspondingly strict. You qualify in these situations:
- Acquittal at trial. A judge or jury found you not guilty.
- Pardon. You were convicted but later received a formal pardon from the governor or president.
- Dismissal without court-ordered supervision. The prosecutor dropped the charge or a court dismissed it, and you were never placed on any form of court-ordered community supervision for that offense.
Most expunction-eligible family violence cases land in that third category. A prosecutor might dismiss because the complaining witness recanted, because the evidence was thin, or because the charge was filed on false information. What matters is that the case did not produce a conviction and that you were not placed on court-supervised probation as part of the resolution.2State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 55.01 – Right to Expunction
One narrow exception matters. If you completed a pretrial diversion or pretrial intervention program, you may still qualify for expunction even though the program involved some supervision. Several Texas counties operate domestic violence-specific pretrial intervention tracks. Completion followed by a dismissal can open the door, though the waiting period and specific terms vary by county.
How Long You Have to Wait Before Filing
Qualifying is not the same as being able to file today. Texas requires the statute of limitations to expire on every offense that arose from the arrest before you can petition. The waiting period exists because prosecutors retain the right to refile until the limitations period runs out.2State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 55.01 – Right to Expunction
For a misdemeanor family violence assault, the limitations period is three years from the date of the offense.3State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 12.02 – Misdemeanors Assault against a family member charged as a felony carries a five-year limitations period.4State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 12.01 – Felonies
There is a wrinkle that catches people off guard. The limitations clock pauses while charges are pending. If you were arrested and charged, and the charge was dismissed a year later, that year does not count toward the waiting period. The clock only runs during stretches when no charge is active, and that pause can add months or years to your timeline.
If you were arrested but never formally charged, shorter waiting periods apply: 180 days for a Class C misdemeanor, one year for a Class A or B misdemeanor, and three years for a felony.
Why Deferred Adjudication Blocks Expunction
This is the single most misunderstood part of Texas expunction law. Deferred adjudication community supervision is a plea deal where you plead guilty or no contest, the judge withholds a formal finding of guilt, and you serve a probationary period with conditions like counseling, community service, or anger management classes. Complete everything, and the judge dismisses the case.
That dismissal feels like a win. For record-clearing purposes it is not. Because you entered a plea and were placed on court-ordered community supervision, the statute bars expunction. The law requires that there be “no court-ordered community supervision” for the offense, and deferred adjudication is exactly that.2State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 55.01 – Right to Expunction
For most other offenses resolved through deferred adjudication, Texas offers an alternative called an order of nondisclosure, which seals the record from public view without destroying it. Family violence offenses are specifically excluded. If your offense involved family violence, or the judge made an affirmative finding of family violence in your case, you cannot get an order of nondisclosure no matter how long ago the case was resolved or how cleanly you completed supervision.5State of Texas. Texas Government Code GOV’T 411.074 – Required Conditions for Receiving an Order of Nondisclosure
The practical result is harsh. A person who took deferred adjudication on a family violence charge has no path to remove or hide that record. The arrest, the charge, and the plea all remain visible on background checks indefinitely. Many people accept the deal thinking the eventual dismissal will clean their record, and that misunderstanding can follow them for decades.
The Class C Misdemeanor Exception
One narrow carve-out exists. The expunction statute’s bar on cases involving court-ordered community supervision does not apply to Class C misdemeanors. If your family violence charge was a Class C, the least serious misdemeanor category and typically fine-only, you may still be eligible for expunction after completing deferred adjudication.2State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 55.01 – Right to Expunction Most family violence assault charges are filed as Class A misdemeanors or higher, so the carve-out is small, but it exists.
Family Violence Convictions Are Permanent
A final conviction is the worst outcome for record-clearing. A conviction happens when a judge or jury finds you guilty and imposes a sentence, or when you plead guilty or no contest and the court enters a judgment of guilt rather than deferring it. There is no dismissal at the end.
A family violence conviction in Texas cannot be expunged and cannot be sealed. The nondisclosure statute disqualifies anyone who has ever been convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication for an offense involving family violence.5State of Texas. Texas Government Code GOV’T 411.074 – Required Conditions for Receiving an Order of Nondisclosure That “ever” is doing heavy work. A family violence conviction from twenty years ago can block nondisclosure on a completely unrelated offense today.
The only route to clearing a family violence conviction is a pardon, which the governor grants rarely and only after extensive review. For practical purposes, a family violence conviction is permanent.
Consequences Expunction Does Not Fix
Two consequences of a family violence case sit partly outside the state record-clearing system, and a reader hoping expunction will undo them should know where it stops.
Federal law permanently prohibits anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing, shipping, or receiving a firearm or ammunition, and violating the ban is itself a federal felony.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts A state-level expunction of the charge does not automatically restore firearm rights under federal law if the conviction still exists in any form federal authorities recognize.
For non-citizens, a conviction can trigger removal. Federal immigration law makes any non-citizen convicted of a crime of domestic violence deportable, and the statute does not require a felony: a misdemeanor is enough.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens Texas family violence assault charges almost always fit the federal definition. Any plea decision in that situation should involve an immigration attorney alongside a criminal defense lawyer.
What Filing Costs
If you qualify, filing involves court costs and usually attorney fees. Texas courts charge a filing fee of at least $100 for expunction petitions, on top of other required court costs.8Texas Judicial Branch. Justice Court Civil Filing Fees District court filing fees, which apply to most felony and higher misdemeanor expunctions, are typically higher. If you were acquitted and file within 30 days of the acquittal, the filing fee must be waived.
Attorney fees for an expunction case in Texas generally run from roughly $1,000 to $3,000 for a straightforward petition, with complex or contested cases costing more. You can file without an attorney, but the petition must meet specific statutory requirements and must be served on every agency that holds records of the arrest. Errors in the petition or service can produce a denial or an incomplete expunction that leaves records scattered across databases, and courts do not refund the filing fee when they deny a petition. Confirm your eligibility before spending the money.