Texas Expungement (Expunction), Nondisclosure & Court Record Removal

Nondisclosure is available for individuals who successfully completed deferred adjudication community supervision (probation). Deferred adjudication means the court deferred a finding of guilt, placed the defendant on community supervision, and upon successful completion, dismissed the case without a formal conviction.

Nondisclosure Waiting Periods (as of 2026)

• Felonies: Generally 5 years after discharge from community supervision before filing for nondisclosure (some serious felonies are excluded entirely).
• Misdemeanors (most): 2 years after discharge, or immediately upon discharge for many misdemeanor categories under recent reforms.
• DWI first offense (misdemeanor): 2 years after discharge, subject to specific requirements including no prior criminal history.
• Automatic nondisclosure for certain offenses: Texas HB 3016 (2017) and subsequent legislation created automatic nondisclosure pathways for some first-time, low-level offenses after successful completion of deferred adjudication - no petition filing required.

Excluded from nondisclosure entirely: offenses requiring sex offender registration, capital felonies, family violence offenses, stalking, trafficking, certain aggravated offenses, and others listed in § 411.074.

What Records Can Be Removed in Texas?

Why Your Texas Record Still Shows Online After Expunction or Nondisclosure

Texas expunction is extraordinarily thorough within the official system - DPS destroys its records, the arresting agency shreds its files, and the court clerk removes the case from public access. But none of those actions reach the servers of private companies that scraped and indexed Texas court records years before your case was resolved.

The Texas Online Records portal (search.txcourts.gov), maintained by the Office of Court Administration, provides public access to appellate and some trial court records. Individual county clerk portals - including Harris County District Clerk, Dallas County District Clerk, and Bexar County District Clerk - maintain their own publicly searchable databases. These portals update after expunction or nondisclosure orders are served, but the timeline varies, and data already scraped by third-party sites remains in those databases until specifically requested for removal.

CourtListener indexes Texas federal and appellate decisions. Justia publishes Texas opinions and case data. BeenVerified, Spokeo, and similar data brokers compile public arrest records, court docket entries, and news archives into searchable profiles. None of these platforms receive automated feeds from the Texas court system, and none are legally required to update their data based on Texas expunction or nondisclosure orders - at least not without a specific, documented request.

How to Remove Your Texas Record from Google: Step-by-Step

1. 1
   Obtain certified copies of your expunction or nondisclosure order

   Request multiple certified copies from the district court clerk at the time of issuance. You will need these when submitting removal requests. Platforms require proof of the legal order - screenshots or uncertified documents are typically insufficient.

2. 2
   Audit all search results and third-party sources

   Search your full name plus city, arrest year, and offense type in Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo. Identify every URL showing your record. Common sources in Texas: search.txcourts.gov pages, county clerk portal pages, CourtListener, Justia, FindLaw, local news archives, and data broker profiles (BeenVerified, Spokeo, TruthFinder).

3. 3
   Submit removal requests to each third-party platform

   For legal databases (CourtListener, Justia, FindLaw), submit written requests with a certified copy of your expunction or nondisclosure order. For data brokers, use each platform's opt-out or deletion request form and reference your legal order. For local news sites, contact editorial staff directly - some have policies on removal for expunged records.

4. 4
   Confirm county clerk portal updates

   Check that Harris, Dallas, Bexar, or your specific county clerk portal has updated the case record status. If it still shows publicly, contact the clerk's office with your certified order and request that the case be restricted from public access.

5. 5
   Submit Google Personal Information Removal Tool requests

   After source pages have been removed or restricted, submit Google removal requests for any remaining indexed URLs. Attach evidence that the underlying page has been removed or restricted. Google typically processes requests within 2-6 weeks.

6. 6
   Follow up persistently and document all correspondence

   Many platforms require follow-up. Keep records of every request, response, and confirmation. If a platform does not act on a documented expunction request, escalation options include legal demand letters, regulatory complaints, and professional reputation management services.

Texas-Specific Sites Where Records Commonly Appear

• search.txcourts.gov: The Texas Judiciary's public case search portal for appellate court records. Maintained by the Office of Court Administration.
• Harris County District Clerk (hcdistrictclerk.com): Houston-area court records - one of the most-indexed county clerk portals in Texas due to Harris County's population.
• Dallas County District Clerk (dallascounty.org): Comprehensive public criminal and civil case search.
• Bexar County District Clerk (bexar.org): Covers San Antonio; active public case search system.
• Texas Department of Public Safety sex offender registry: dps.texas.gov - updated separately from court records; requires specific petition for removal if applicable.
• CourtListener Texas filings: Federal Fifth Circuit and Texas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals decisions indexed extensively.
• Local news archives: Texas has a robust local news ecosystem. Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, San Antonio Express-News all maintain deep online archives of crime and court coverage.

Attorney vs. Reputation Management in Texas

You need a Texas criminal defense attorney if:

• You have not yet filed for expunction or nondisclosure and need an eligibility assessment.
• You completed deferred adjudication and need to determine whether your specific offense qualifies for nondisclosure given the exclusion list in § 411.074.
• The state is opposing your expunction petition.
• You need guidance on automatic nondisclosure eligibility under recent legislative changes.

You need a reputation management company if:

• You have an expunction or nondisclosure order but your record still appears prominently online.
• One or more platforms have not yet acted on your removal requests.
• You need systematic, managed removal across all platforms, not piecemeal outreach.
• Background checks are returning data from third-party aggregators that haven't updated despite your legal order.