A criminal trespass warning in Texas has no expiration date. Nothing in state law sets a clock on it, so once a property owner, their agent, or a peace officer tells you not to come back, that warning stays in effect until the owner affirmatively lifts it. Treat it as permanent unless you hear otherwise, in writing, from the person who gave it.
What Counts as a Trespass Warning
Texas Penal Code Section 30.05 defines criminal trespass as entering or staying on someone else’s property without permission after you had notice that entry was forbidden or were told to leave.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 30.05 – Criminal Trespass Notice can be given several ways. A verbal or written statement from the property owner, someone acting on the owner’s behalf, or a law enforcement officer all qualify. Physical signs, fencing, and certain crop markings also count under the statute.
That is why a “warning” doesn’t have to come on a police form. If the manager of a store tells you to leave and not return, that itself is legally sufficient notice. A written warning from an officer is simply the version that leaves the least room for later argument about whether you were told.
Some local police departments print an expiration or time frame on their trespass warning forms. That is a department practice, not a legal requirement, and it doesn’t bind the property owner. The owner is the one whose permission was withdrawn, and only the owner can restore it.
How a Warning Gets Lifted
Because state law doesn’t provide an automatic end date, the only reliable way a warning goes away is for the property owner or their authorized agent to rescind it. A phone call or text can work, but it can also disappear or be denied later. Written confirmation that you are welcome back on the property eliminates ambiguity if the question comes up again.
If ownership or management of the property changes, the situation gets murky. The safe assumption is that the new owner inherits the prior no-trespass position until they tell you otherwise. Don’t test it.
The Two-Year Window to File Charges
Separate from the warning itself, prosecutors in Texas have two years from the date of the offense to file criminal trespass charges. This deadline applies to all three misdemeanor classes, whether the case would be charged as Class C, Class B, or Class A.2State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 12.02 – Misdemeanors Once two years pass without charges being filed for a particular incident, the state can no longer prosecute you for it.
The statute of limitations is easy to confuse with the life of the warning, but they aren’t the same thing. The two-year clock only limits how long prosecutors have to charge a past incident. It does not shorten the warning, and it does not stop the owner from having you arrested if you show up on the property again tomorrow.
What Happens if You Return
Going back onto property covered by an active warning is a fresh criminal trespass. The class of misdemeanor depends on where the property is and what you were carrying.
The default is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in county jail, a fine up to $2,000, or both.3State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.22 – Class B Misdemeanor
It drops to a Class C misdemeanor, capped at a $500 fine with no jail time, when the trespass happens on agricultural land within 100 feet of the boundary or on residential land within 100 feet of a protected freshwater area.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 30.05 – Criminal Trespass4State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.23 – Class C Misdemeanor A separate lower Class C tier, capped at a $200 fine, applies when the only posted restriction was on weapons and you brought a firearm.
The charge climbs to a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine up to $4,000, when the trespass occurs in a home, shelter center, Superfund site, critical infrastructure facility, or residential treatment center; when you carried a deadly weapon; or when you already have a prior trespass conviction on college or university property and the new offense is on the same type of property.5State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.21 – Class A Misdemeanor1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 30.05 – Criminal Trespass The weapons-on-posted-property offense also jumps to Class A if you personally receive notice that firearms aren’t allowed and refuse to leave.
How Long a Conviction Follows You
A criminal trespass conviction in Texas stays on your record permanently. Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, criminal convictions can be reported on background checks indefinitely, while arrest records that didn’t result in a conviction drop off after seven years.6Texas State Law Library. Background Checks – Restrictions After a Criminal Conviction Employers, landlords, and licensing agencies running a check can see the conviction for the rest of your life unless you take steps to clear or seal it.
Expunction
Expunction destroys the record entirely, as though the incident never happened. It is available only when the case didn’t end in a final conviction: you were acquitted, the case was dismissed, the charges were quashed, you completed a pretrial intervention program, or you were arrested but no charges were ever filed. When no charges are filed, the waiting periods before you can petition are 180 days for a Class C misdemeanor, one year for a Class A or B misdemeanor, and three years if a felony charge arose from the same incident.7State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 55.01 – Right to Expunction For Class C misdemeanors, the statute also allows expunction after deferred disposition even though completed community supervision would disqualify a higher misdemeanor.
Nondisclosure
An order of nondisclosure seals the record from public view rather than destroying it. Law enforcement and certain state licensing agencies still see it, but most employers and landlords will not. Criminal trespass isn’t listed among the offenses excluded from nondisclosure, so several paths can apply depending on how the case resolved.
If you were placed on deferred adjudication, received a discharge and dismissal on or after September 1, 2017, have no prior convictions beyond fine-only traffic tickets, and at least 180 days have passed since you were placed on deferred adjudication, the court is required to issue a nondisclosure order automatically, with a $28 filing fee.8State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.072 – Procedure for Deferred Adjudication Community Supervision, Certain Nonviolent Misdemeanors If the automatic route doesn’t apply, you can petition two years after the discharge and dismissal.9State of Texas. Texas Government Code 411.0726 Even a straight conviction may qualify: after completing community supervision, or after a two-year wait for Class A or B misdemeanors served without supervision, you can petition provided your only other criminal history is fine-only traffic offenses and the court finds the offense wasn’t violent or sexual.10Texas Courts. OCA Overview of Orders of Nondisclosure
If a warning is already in place and you aren’t sure whether it has ever been rescinded, assume it hasn’t. Contact the property owner in writing, keep their response, and stay off the property until you have clear confirmation you can return.