How Far Back Do Background Checks Go in Texas?

In Texas, background checks generally go back seven years for most negative information, but criminal convictions can be reported indefinitely under federal law, and the seven-year ceiling disappears altogether when the job pays $75,000 or more. So the honest answer to how far back background checks go in Texas is: it depends on what’s being reported and what the check is for.

The Seven-Year Rule and What It Covers

Texas Business and Commerce Code Section 20.05 caps most adverse items on a consumer report at seven years. Once the relevant date passes seven years before the report is pulled, the item has to be left off.¹ The categories inside that ceiling include:

Arrests and indictments where the date of disposition, release, or parole is more than seven years old.
Civil suits and judgments older than seven years, or older than the governing statute of limitations, whichever is longer.
Paid tax liens where the payment date is more than seven years old.
Any other adverse item older than seven years, under a catch-all clause.

The seven-year clock does not start on the same date for every record. For an arrest, it runs from disposition, release, or parole. For a civil judgment, it runs from the date the judgment was entered. For a tax lien, it runs from the date you paid it off. Wrong start dates are one of the most common reasons an old item still shows up on a report, so if something ancient appears, check which date the agency used.

Federal law tracks the state rule closely. The Fair Credit Reporting Act imposes similar seven-year limits on civil suits, judgments, paid tax liens, and collection accounts charged to profit and loss.² Bankruptcies get a longer window under both state and federal law: up to ten years from the date of the order for relief.¹

Why Convictions Can Follow You Forever

This is where the Texas rule and the federal rule part ways. Section 20.05 reads as if it limits reporting of “arrest, indictment, or conviction” after seven years.¹ But the federal FCRA carves “records of convictions of crimes” out of its own seven-year restriction and lets them be reported indefinitely.² Because federal law preempts state law on how long specific types of information may stay on a consumer report, Texas’s seven-year cap on convictions is effectively unenforceable.³

In practice, a conviction from twenty or thirty years ago can still appear on a Texas background check. Arrests and indictments that never led to a conviction age off at seven years. Dismissed charges age off at seven years. A guilty verdict stays visible permanently unless you take legal steps to seal or erase it.

When the Seven-Year Limit Doesn’t Apply

Even the seven-year limit on non-conviction items has exceptions. Both Texas and federal law let reporting agencies disregard the time limits for high-value transactions. Under Section 20.05(b), the limits do not apply when:

The position’s annual salary equals or is reasonably expected to equal $75,000 or more.
The credit transaction involves $150,000 or more.
The life insurance policy being underwritten is worth $150,000 or more.

¹ The FCRA uses the same thresholds.² If you’re applying for a mid-level professional role or higher, a screening company can surface old collection accounts, dismissed charges, and civil judgments that would otherwise be off-limits. The salary trigger is based on what the position is expected to pay, not what you earn now or earned before.

What Else Appears Besides Criminal History

A Texas background check usually covers more than a criminal record search. The exact mix depends on who ordered the report and why.

Criminal records. Agencies check county courthouse records, state criminal databases through the Texas Department of Public Safety, and federal court records. The results cover felony and misdemeanor convictions, pending charges, and, within the seven-year window, arrests and indictments that never led to a conviction.

Driving records. Employers hiring for roles that involve driving can order a driver record from the Texas Department of Public Safety showing violations, accidents, suspensions, and license status.⁴

Education and employment verification. Screeners contact schools and past employers to confirm degrees, titles, and dates. Discrepancies between a resume and verified records are caught more often than applicants expect, and a mismatch usually ends the candidacy.

Credit reports. For positions with financial responsibility, employers can pull a modified credit report showing debts, payment history, and public financial records like bankruptcies. Employment credit checks still require your written authorization under the FCRA.⁵

Texas has no statewide ban-the-box law for private employers, so most companies in the state can ask about criminal history on the first application. A few Texas cities have fair-chance ordinances for their own government hiring, but those don’t reach private employers.

Sealing or Erasing a Record

If an old conviction or arrest keeps surfacing, Texas offers two legal tools that can limit or eliminate what shows up. They work differently, and eligibility depends on how your case ended.

Expunction

Expunction is the stronger remedy. It destroys the record, as if the arrest never happened. You may qualify if you were acquitted at trial, your charges were dismissed and the statute of limitations has run, or you were arrested but never formally charged after a waiting period. The waiting period is 180 days for Class C misdemeanors, one year for Class A and B misdemeanors, and three years for felonies.⁶ Convictions generally don’t qualify for expunction unless you were later pardoned.

Nondisclosure Orders

If you completed deferred adjudication community supervision and received a discharge and dismissal, a nondisclosure order may be available. Nondisclosure doesn’t destroy the record; it seals it from the public, including most private employers and landlords. Law enforcement and certain government agencies can still see it.⁷

Some misdemeanor deferred adjudications qualify for automatic nondisclosure under Texas Government Code Section 411.072, meaning the court issues the order without a petition. The court must wait at least 180 days after placing you on deferred adjudication, and you can’t have other convictions on your record aside from fine-only traffic offenses. Automatic nondisclosure doesn’t cover felonies, DWI offenses, or misdemeanors falling under several Penal Code chapters on sexual, assaultive, weapons, and family-related crimes.⁷

Certain offenses permanently disqualify you from any nondisclosure order. Convictions or deferred adjudications for murder, capital murder, human trafficking, aggravated kidnapping, injury to a child or elderly person, stalking, or any offense requiring sex offender registration put nondisclosure out of reach, as does any offense involving family violence.⁸ Once granted, a nondisclosure order legally frees you from having to reveal the sealed offense on a job application.⁷

Fixing Errors on Your Report

Mistakes on background reports are more common than most people realize. Mixed files, outdated records that should have aged off, and convictions attributed to the wrong person all show up regularly. If you spot an error, federal law gives you a defined process to challenge it.

Send a written dispute to the consumer reporting agency that produced the report. Explain what’s wrong, attach any supporting documents, and keep copies. The agency generally has 30 days to investigate. If you filed after receiving your free annual report, the deadline extends to 45 days, and the investigation can be extended by another 15 days if you submit new supporting information during the initial 30-day window.⁹ Once the investigation finishes, the agency has five business days to tell you the results.

The federal statute of limitations for FCRA claims is two years from when you discover the violation. Timing matters for another reason too: if an employer sends you a pre-adverse action notice before making a final hiring decision, that notice includes a copy of the report and a summary of your rights under the FCRA.¹⁰ That gap between the pre-adverse notice and the final decision is your best chance to catch an error and get it corrected before it costs you the job.¹¹

1
State of Texas. Texas Business and Commerce Code Section 20.05 – Reporting of Information Prohibited
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports
3
Texas State Law Library. Background Checks – Restrictions After a Criminal Conviction
4
Texas Department of Public Safety. How to Order a Driver Record
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681b – Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports
6
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure CRIM P Art 55.01
7
Texas Office of Court Administration. An Overview of Orders of Nondisclosure
8
State of Texas. Texas Government Code GOV’T 411.074 – Required Conditions for Receiving an Order of Nondisclosure
9
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Long Does It Take to Repair an Error on a Credit Report?
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681b – Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports
11
Federal Trade Commission. Using Consumer Reports: What Employers Need to Know