How to Get a Governor’s Pardon in Texas: Eligibility and Filing

To get a governor’s pardon in Texas, you file an Application for Executive Clemency with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, gather a specific set of court records, criminal history documents, and letters of recommendation, and wait for the Board to investigate and vote. If a majority of the Board recommends the pardon, the application goes to the governor, who makes the final decision. The governor cannot grant a pardon without that written recommendation from the Board.¹ There is no filing fee, no formal appeal if you’re denied, and no way to speed the process up. Expect months at a minimum, and often longer.

Who Can Apply

Two pardon tracks exist in Texas, and eligibility differs sharply between them.

Full Pardon

A full pardon is available if you were convicted of a felony, misdemeanor, or traffic offense, or if you successfully completed a term of deferred adjudication community supervision.² If your case was disposed of through deferred adjudication, you cannot apply until the 10th anniversary of your discharge and dismissal.

Misdemeanor applicants face a much higher bar. The Board will only consider recommending a full pardon for a misdemeanor when exceptional, extreme, and unusual circumstances exist, and the burden of proving those circumstances is on you.³ In practice, you need to show the conviction creates a hardship well beyond what most people with similar records experience.

Pardon for Innocence

A pardon for innocence is a separate track for people who can demonstrate they did not commit the crime. The Board will consider your application only if you provide one of the following:⁴

Written recommendations from at least two current trial officials of the sentencing court, with one of them submitting documentary evidence of your actual innocence.
A certified order or judgment from a court that has recommended the Court of Criminal Appeals grant habeas relief based on actual innocence, along with a certified copy of the court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law.

The distinction matters after the pardon issues too. A pardon granted on the basis of actual innocence entitles you to expunction of the arrest records tied to the conviction; a standard full pardon does not carry that same entitlement.⁵

Documents to Gather

The application form is the “Application for Executive Clemency,” downloadable from the Board’s website.⁶ There is no fee. The form asks for detailed personal information and a full criminal history listing each offense as it appears in court records. Assembling the supporting documents is usually the longest part of the whole process. You need:

Offense reports — police or arrest reports for every arrest, obtained from the arresting agency (city police, county sheriff, or whichever agency made the arrest).
Certified court documents for every adult arrest: the complaint or indictment, judgment, sentence, order of dismissal or discharge certificate, and a clerk’s statement showing any fines or restitution are paid. These come from the district clerk, county clerk, justice of the peace, or municipal court clerk, depending on where the case was handled.⁷
An official criminal history statement from the sheriff of the county where you currently live. This is required even if you now live outside Texas.
Three letters of recommendation from non-family members who know you personally. Each must be a dated original (no photocopies or faxes), addressed to the Board of Pardons and Paroles, and must specifically recommend a full pardon by name. The writer must include their name, occupation, signature, phone number, and mailing address. Family letters are accepted only as supplemental material.
Evidence of rehabilitation: educational or vocational certificates, community service records, employment history, and similar documentation. Not strictly required, but it strengthens your case.

If an agency refuses to give you a document, write a letter to the Board explaining when you tried to obtain it, who you contacted, and why the agency would not cooperate. If you’re also asking for firearm rights restoration, include a letter from your employer or prospective employer on company letterhead explaining why firearm rights are necessary for the job.

Submitting the Application

You can send the completed application and all supporting documents to the Board’s central office by U.S. mail, email, fax, or in person.⁷ The mailing address is:

Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, Clemency Section
8610 Shoal Creek Blvd.
Austin, Texas 78757

The application must be typed or legibly printed in black or blue ink, signed, and dated. Do not reformat the application or bind the pages. Keep a complete copy of everything you send. The Board will not begin processing your case until all required documents are complete and satisfy the Board’s rules.

What the Board and Governor Do

Once the Clemency Section receives your application, staff verify that the documentation is complete. The Board then conducts an investigation that may include background checks and interviews with you, trial officials, and victims. Strong rehabilitation evidence and well-written recommendation letters carry real weight at this stage.

Individual Board members review each petition and vote independently. A majority must vote in favor for a recommendation to reach the governor. Even with a favorable recommendation, the governor makes the final call and can deny the pardon.¹ The full process frequently runs many months and sometimes years. There is no expedited track.

What a Pardon Restores, and What It Doesn’t

A full pardon restores citizenship rights that a conviction strips: serving on a jury, holding public office, and serving as the executor of an estate.⁸ It also releases you from the conditions and legal disabilities of your sentence.⁹

Three limits are worth knowing before you apply.

Voting rights. A pardon restores voting eligibility, but you probably already have it back. Texas law automatically restores your right to vote once you complete your full sentence, including incarceration, parole, community supervision, and probation.¹⁰ No pardon needed for that.¹¹

Firearms. A full pardon alone does not restore your right to possess firearms. After receiving the pardon, you must file a separate Restoration of Firearm Rights application with the Board, which considers firearm restoration only in extreme and unusual circumstances where the restriction prevents you from earning a livelihood. Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922 also independently prohibits firearm possession by people convicted of felonies, and a state pardon does not override that federal prohibition. Separate federal relief would be needed.

Your criminal record. A pardon does not automatically clear your record. If your pardon is granted on the basis of actual innocence and says so explicitly, you’re entitled to have arrest records expunged, but you still have to file a petition in the county where the arrest occurred and attend a court hearing.⁵ For a standard full pardon not based on innocence, the current statute ties the expunction entitlement to actual innocence, so the path to record clearing is less clear-cut and worth discussing with an attorney.

If You’re Denied

There is no formal appeal. If the Board denies your application, you’ll be notified by mail or email, and the notice will tell you when you can submit a new application.⁷ Treat a reapplication as a fresh submission: update your recommendation letters, add new rehabilitation evidence, and shore up anything that may have been weak the first time.

Other Clemency Options

If a full pardon is not realistic, particularly for a misdemeanor where the Board’s bar is very high, other forms of executive clemency are available on the Board’s recommendation:⁶

Conditional pardon, which carries specific conditions and can be revoked if you violate them.
Commutation of sentence, which reduces the length or severity of a sentence but does not erase the conviction.
Reprieve, a temporary postponement of punishment.

Each has its own application and criteria, posted on the same executive clemency page as the full pardon application.

1
Justia Law. Texas Constitution Art 4 – Sec 11 – Board of Pardons and Paroles; Parole Laws; Reprieves, Commutations, and Pardons; Remission of Fines and Forfeitures
2
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. What Is a Full Pardon
3
Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code 143.10 – Misdemeanor
4
Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code 143.2 – Pardons for Innocence
5
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 55A.003 – Pardon or Court Order Based on Actual Innocence
6
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. Executive Clemency
7
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles Clemency Process FAQ
8
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. Effects of a Full Pardon
9
Texas State Law Library. Clemency – Reentry Resources for Former Prisoners
10
Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Effect of Felony Conviction on Voter Registration
11
Texas State Law Library. Can a Person Convicted of a Felony Vote in Texas