Probation in Texas — formally called community supervision — lets a person convicted of a crime serve the sentence at home under court-ordered rules rather than in jail or prison, with a local Community Supervision and Corrections Department handling day-to-day oversight. How probation works in Texas depends heavily on which of two versions the judge orders: regular (straight) probation, which enters a conviction up front, or deferred adjudication, which holds the conviction back and can end with the case dismissed. Term length, conditions, and the price of failure all follow from that choice.
Straight Probation vs. Deferred Adjudication
The difference between the two types matters more than most people realize.
With straight probation, the court finds you guilty, enters the conviction, and then suspends the jail or prison sentence in favor of supervision. The guilty finding is permanent from day one. Even a flawless completion leaves the conviction on your record, where it can affect employment, housing, and professional licensing indefinitely.1Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Opinion No. KP-0383 Regarding Community Supervision
Deferred adjudication works differently. You plead guilty or no contest, the judge acknowledges the evidence would support a guilty finding, but the judge holds off on entering one and places you on supervision instead. Finish the term successfully and the court dismisses the case; no final conviction is entered.1Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Opinion No. KP-0383 Regarding Community Supervision That’s why defense attorneys push for deferred adjudication during plea talks. One boundary: only a judge can grant deferred adjudication. A jury cannot.
Who Can Get Probation in Texas
A judge can order community supervision after a guilty plea, a no-contest plea, or a conviction at trial for most offenses. A jury can also recommend probation during the punishment phase, and if it does, the judge must follow the recommendation. The defendant must not have a prior felony conviction to be eligible for a jury recommendation.
Texas law blocks judges from granting community supervision for a list of serious offenses, including:
- Murder and capital murder
- Aggravated kidnapping
- Human trafficking and continuous trafficking of persons
- Sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, indecency with a child, and continuous sexual abuse of a child
- Aggravated robbery
- Injury to a child charged as a first-degree felony
- Stalking
- Sexual performance by a child and possession or promotion of child pornography
- Compelling or aggravated promotion of prostitution
- Certain drug offenses involving children or repeat drug-free zone violations
Probation is also unavailable if you used or displayed a deadly weapon during a felony, or were involved in a felony where you knew a deadly weapon would be used.2State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 42A.054 – Limitation on Judge-Ordered Community Supervision The deadly weapon finding alone disqualifies more defendants than any single offense on the list.
How Long Probation Lasts
The term depends on the type of probation and the level of the offense. For straight community supervision:
- Most felonies: up to 10 years
- Certain third-degree felonies (property crimes under Title 7 of the Penal Code and drug offenses under the Health and Safety Code): up to 5 years
- Misdemeanors: up to 2 years
The minimum for a felony matches the minimum prison sentence for that offense level, so a second-degree felony carries at least a two-year supervision term.3State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 42A.053 – Judge-Ordered Community Supervision
Deferred adjudication follows a similar framework: up to 10 years for felonies and up to 2 years for misdemeanors.4State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 42A – Community Supervision Judges can also extend deferred adjudication beyond the original term in some circumstances, which surprises people who think they are nearly done.
The Rules You Have to Follow
Every probationer is subject to a set of standard conditions. You report to a probation officer on a schedule, allow the officer to visit your home or workplace, commit no new offenses, and notify your officer of any change in address or employment. Any single violation can put you back in front of the judge.
What You’ll Pay
Probation is not free. Expect to pay all fines, court costs, and any restitution owed to victims. On top of that, you owe a monthly supervision fee to the Community Supervision and Corrections Department. Texas law sets that fee between $25 and $60 per month, and most jurisdictions charge the $60 maximum. Over a multi-year term, fees alone run into the thousands. You also pay for any court-ordered testing; individual drug screens typically run $12 to $50 each.
Conditions Tailored to the Offense
Beyond the standard rules, judges add conditions that fit the case. DWI probation almost always includes a substance abuse education course, random alcohol and drug testing, and an ignition interlock device on your vehicle. The interlock is mandatory when your blood alcohol level was 0.15 or higher at the time of arrest, and you pay for the device yourself.5State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 42A.408 – Use of Ignition Interlock Device6Texas Department of Public Safety. Ignition Interlock Devices
For assault cases, judges commonly issue no-contact orders barring communication with the victim. Other special conditions include community service hours, substance abuse or anger management counseling, earning a GED, and holding steady employment. A judge can also order confinement in county jail as a condition of probation for certain offenses, meaning you serve up to 180 days behind bars before continuing supervision in the community.
Traveling and Moving While on Probation
Most probation terms restrict your movement. Travel inside Texas usually just requires notifying or getting approval from your probation officer. Out-of-state travel typically needs advance written permission, with details about destination, purpose, and duration.
International travel is a separate matter. Leaving the country usually requires the judge to sign off on a specific request, and you’ll need a legitimate reason like work, a family emergency, or medical treatment. If your case involved serious charges or had any international dimension, the court may refuse. Even approved trips can carry conditions like check-ins before departure and immediately on return. Your passport is not automatically revoked, but the court’s order effectively blocks you from using it without permission.
Moving permanently to another state runs through the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision, a formal agreement among all 50 states. You cannot pack up and go; the receiving state must accept the transfer first, and no court or probation authority can authorize you to leave beforehand. Eligibility generally requires more than 90 days remaining on your supervision, a plan that includes housing and employment or financial support in the new state, and a clean compliance record. Being a resident of the receiving state or having close family there simplifies the process. Misdemeanor probationers face tighter rules and can only transfer if the term is at least one year and the underlying offense involved physical harm, a firearm, a second-or-later DWI, or a sex offense requiring registration. Each state charges its own application and supervision fees.
What Happens If You Violate
A violation triggers a formal process that can end your time in the community. When the probation officer reports the violation, the prosecutor files a motion. On straight probation it’s a Motion to Revoke Probation; on deferred adjudication it’s a Motion to Adjudicate Guilt. The judge then issues a warrant for your arrest.
This part catches people off guard: there is generally no automatic right to bond while you wait for the revocation hearing. You may sit in jail for weeks before the court hears the case, and whether you can post bail is largely at the judge’s discretion.
The hearing itself uses a lower standard of proof than a criminal trial. The prosecutor only has to show by a preponderance of the evidence that a violation occurred — more likely than not. The rules of evidence are more relaxed. There is no jury; the judge decides everything.
What the Judge Can Do
If the judge finds a violation, options range from continuing your probation on the same terms, to modifying it with stricter requirements like more reporting or additional community service, to revoking it outright.
Revocation is where the two types of probation diverge sharply. On straight probation, your sentence was set at the start. Revocation means you serve that original sentence, and the judge cannot exceed it. Five years probated means five years in prison at most.
Deferred adjudication carries far higher stakes. Because no sentence was ever formally imposed, the judge first enters the finding of guilt and can then sentence you to anything within the full punishment range for the original charge. Someone on deferred adjudication for a first-degree felony like aggravated robbery could face 5 to 99 years in prison if adjudicated, even if the original plea deal looked lenient. That is the single most important thing to understand about deferred adjudication: the upside is real, but the downside if you fail is potentially far worse than straight probation.
Ending Probation Early
You don’t necessarily have to serve every day. Texas law lets judges grant early discharge, and the timing rules differ by type. On straight probation, a judge can consider ending supervision after you have completed one-third of the original term or two years, whichever is less. On deferred adjudication, the rules are more generous: a judge can dismiss the case and release you at any point if doing so serves the best interest of both the defendant and society.
Approval requires more than staying out of trouble. You need to have completed every condition: fines, court costs, and restitution paid in full; all classes, treatment, and community service hours finished; and a clean compliance record. Your attorney files a motion, the judge reviews the record, and the court either grants or denies the request. If denied, you continue under your existing terms.
Sealing Your Record After Deferred Adjudication
Completing deferred adjudication means dismissal and no final conviction, but the arrest and the deferred adjudication itself still show up on background checks. To keep most private employers and landlords from seeing them, you have to petition the court for an order of nondisclosure under the Texas Government Code.
The waiting period depends on the offense. Some lower-level misdemeanors qualify for nondisclosure immediately on dismissal. Other misdemeanors carry waiting periods that range from 180 days to two years. Felonies generally require a five-year wait after supervision ends. Picking up a new conviction or a new deferred adjudication during that waiting period makes you ineligible.
Certain offenses are permanently ineligible regardless of how much time passes: offenses requiring sex offender registration, murder, capital murder, human trafficking, aggravated kidnapping, injury to a child or elderly individual, stalking, and any offense involving family violence. For those, the deferred adjudication stays visible on background checks indefinitely.
When granted, a nondisclosure order blocks most private entities from accessing the sealed record. Law enforcement and certain government licensing bodies can still see it. The order restricts access; it does not erase the record. For many people, this is the real payoff of deferred adjudication and the reason they push through every condition to the end.