To check your record in Texas, you go through two different processes at the Department of Public Safety. A personal criminal history review costs $25 and requires fingerprinting through IdentoGO. A driving record costs between $4 and $22 and can be ordered online for instant delivery or by mail using Form DR-1. Neither request is complicated once you know which one you actually need.
Requesting Your Criminal History Record
The DPS Crime Records Service handles personal criminal history reviews. The record covers arrests, charges, court outcomes, and final dispositions such as convictions or deferred adjudications. You cannot pull it online. DPS requires fingerprinting to verify your identity before releasing the information.
Texas contracts with IdentoGO for the fingerprinting step. Start at the DPS Crime Records website, complete a Personal Review form, and book an appointment at an IdentoGO location. The total fee is $25: a $15 DPS criminal history record fee plus a $10 fingerprinting service fee. Payment is by credit or debit card at the appointment. Cash and personal checks are not accepted.1Legal Information Institute. 37 Texas Admin Code 27.1 – Right of Review
After your prints are captured, choose email or mail delivery. Email results arrive within three business days. Mail takes up to ten business days.2Texas Administrative Code. 37 Texas Admin Code 27.1 – Right of Review
Ordering Your Texas Driving Record
You can order a driving record online or by mail through DPS. Online is faster: enter your information, pay, and immediately view, print, or save the record.3Department of Public Safety. How to Order a Driver Record The online system does not mail a copy, so you need a printer or a way to save a PDF.
To order online you need four things:
- Your Texas driver license, commercial driver license, or ID card number
- The audit number from the card
- Your date of birth
- The last four digits of your Social Security number, which must already be on file with DPS
The audit number is a separate number printed on the card and is what most people miss. The DPS website shows a diagram indicating where the audit number appears on each card format.4Texas Department of Public Safety. Driver Request System – Frequently Asked Questions
To order by mail, download Form DR-1, complete it, and send it with a check or money order to Texas Department of Public Safety, PO Box 149008, Austin, Texas 78714-9008. Allow three weeks from when DPS receives the request.3Department of Public Safety. How to Order a Driver Record
Which Driving Record Type You Need
Texas offers six driving record types. Mail-in fees are:3Department of Public Safety. How to Order a Driver Record
- Type 1, Status Record, $4.00. Name, date of birth, license status, current address. No violations.
- Type 2, 3-Year History, $6.00. Adds crashes and violations from the past three years.
- Type 2A, Certified 3-Year History, $10.00. Certified version of Type 2. Not accepted for defensive driving.li>
- Type 3, Complete History, $7.00. All crashes and violations, no time limit.
- Type 3A, Certified Complete History, $10.00. The only record type courts and driving schools accept for a defensive driving course.
- Type AR, Abstract Record, $20.00. Certified abstract of the complete record.
Online prices run slightly higher: $4.50 for Type 1, $6.50 for Type 2, $12.00 for Type 2A, $7.50 for Type 3, $12.00 for Type 3A, and $22.00 for Type AR.4Texas Department of Public Safety. Driver Request System – Frequently Asked Questions
If a court or driving school sent you to pull the record for a defensive driving course, order Type 3A. Other record types will be rejected for that purpose.
Fixing Errors on Your Criminal Record
If your criminal history report contains inaccurate information, you can challenge it through the DPS Error Resolution Unit. Submit an Error Resolution Form along with certified documents supporting the correction. The form is available on the DPS website, and the unit answers questions by email at error.resolution@dps.texas.gov before you submit.5Department of Public Safety. Criminal History Error Resolution
Identity misuse is handled separately. If someone gave your name or identifying information during an arrest, that is not a data error in the ordinary sense, and DPS provides different instructions for it, linked from the Error Resolution page.
If You Want Something Off the Record Entirely
Checking your criminal history sometimes turns up entries you may be able to remove or seal. Texas offers two mechanisms.
Expunction erases the record of an arrest. You may qualify if you were acquitted, your case was dismissed, or charges were never filed and enough time has passed. The waiting period is 180 days from arrest for a Class C misdemeanor, one year for a Class B or A misdemeanor, and three years for a felony.6State Law Library. General Information – Expunctions and Nondisclosure Orders Expunction requires filing a petition in court.
An order of nondisclosure seals the record instead of destroying it. Courts, law enforcement, and certain government agencies can still see it, but private employers and the public cannot, and you are legally free from having to disclose the sealed offense on job applications. Nondisclosure is available for many misdemeanors after deferred adjudication or community supervision, and for some felonies. Certain offenses can never be sealed, including murder, capital murder, trafficking of persons, and any offense requiring sex offender registration.7Texas Courts. An Overview of Orders of Nondisclosure
When You Also Need a Federal Check
A Texas criminal history only covers what Texas agencies have reported. If you have lived in other states, served in the military, or need a record for immigration or international adoption, request the FBI Identity History Summary in addition.
The FBI charges $18. You can submit electronically through a participating U.S. Post Office location for fingerprinting, or by mailing a completed fingerprint card. Electronic submissions process faster, and neither method offers an expedited option. If you cannot afford the $18 fee, you can request a waiver by contacting the FBI at (304) 625-5590 or identity@fbi.gov before submitting.8FBI. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions
Extra Records for CDL Holders
Your Texas driving record covers the same violations and crashes for a commercial driver as for anyone else, but CDL holders have one more database to check. The FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is a federal database tracking drug and alcohol testing violations for CDL holders. Register for an account at the Clearinghouse website to view your own record. As of November 2024, a “prohibited” status in the Clearinghouse results in denial or downgrade of your CDL, and you must complete a return-to-duty process before you can hold a CDL again.9Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Welcome to the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse
Before an Employer Runs the Same Check
Many people pull their own records because an employer is about to. Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, an employer cannot obtain your criminal history or driving record through a consumer reporting agency without first giving you a written disclosure, in a standalone document, and getting your signed authorization. The disclosure cannot be buried in application paperwork or mixed with liability waivers.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681b – Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports
If the employer decides not to hire you, or to fire, demote, or reassign you, based on something in the report, the law requires a two-step process. Before the final decision, the employer must give you a copy of the report and a summary of your rights so you can review the information and flag anything wrong. After the final decision, the employer must send an adverse action notice with the name and contact information of the reporting company, a statement that the company did not make the employment decision, and notice of your right to dispute the report and obtain a free copy within 60 days.11Federal Trade Commission. Using Consumer Reports: What Employers Need to Know
Background reports contain errors more often than people expect. Pulling your own records first lets you spot and correct problems before an employer sees them, which is the practical case for spending the $25 on a criminal check and $6 to $10 on a driving record.