How it works in Texas

The steps

1. Get fingerprinted

   The Texas Department of Public Safety takes electronic fingerprints through one vendor, IdentoGO. Book an appointment for a personal review by phone at (888) 467-2080 or online, with the service code 11FT12. Bring photo identification and your payment; the vendor does not take cash or personal checks. You can instead mail the vendor a fingerprint card from a law enforcement agency, which may charge its own fee for the card.

   Fingerprint fee: $10.00

2. Request your record

   You pay this fee with the fingerprint fee. The Texas Department of Public Safety checks your prints against its records and mails or emails the results to the address you give. If they have not come, contact the department within 14 days of your appointment.

   Record request fee: $15.00

3. Review your record

   Check your history against the bars in Texas Government Code §§ 411.071 to 411.0775. You cannot get an order if you were ever convicted of or put on deferred adjudication for an offense that requires sex offender registration. The same is true for any offense involving family violence. It is also true for an offense under these Penal Code sections: 19.02, 19.03, 20.04, 20A.02, 20A.03, 22.04, 22.041, 25.07, 25.072 and 42.072. After your sentence or supervision began, and during your wait, you must not be convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication for another offense. A fine-only traffic offense does not count, and this rule does not apply to victims of trafficking under section 411.0728. Several sections also require that you had no earlier conviction or deferred adjudication, other than a fine-only traffic offense. After the veterans reemployment program, the court can enter an order even if you do not meet these rules. If there is something incorrect, follow the process to challenge the issue. If everything is accurate, make a copy for your file and keep the original somewhere safe.

4. Request certified documents

   Collect certified copies of relevant documents. These include a copy of the disposition of the case from the clerk of court that handled the original case and the arrest record from the arresting agency. If you had probation or parole, had to take classes, had to pay fees, or had any other obligations, you also need certified proof that you completed those requirements.

   Certified copy fee: $5.00 — to certify each document, plus $1.00 a page for the copies (Travis County)

5. Verify the final documents

   Review each document for accuracy. Confirm each one is certified and clearly shows you completed your obligations. Make copies of every original.

6. Prepare your petition

   Choose the petition form that fits your case. The court's forms page has a model petition for each section that takes one. Under Texas Government Code §§ 411.071 to 411.0775, many cases have a wait. It counts from your discharge and dismissal, or from the day you complete your probation, sentence or program. Many misdemeanors have no wait. Misdemeanors under Penal Code chapters 20, 21, 22, 25, 42, 43 and 46 wait two years. A misdemeanor conviction with no probation also waits two years, unless it was punishable by fine only. A felony on deferred adjudication waits five years. Driving while intoxicated waits two to five years. The wait depends on how the case ended and whether a court condition had you drive with an ignition interlock device for at least six months. Boating while intoxicated on deferred adjudication waits two years. A conviction punishable under Penal Code section 49.04(d) does not qualify. A court cannot grant either order if the state shows the offense caused a motor vehicle collision involving another person, even a passenger in your vehicle. Victims of trafficking wait one year. People who completed a veterans treatment court program wait two years. Most felony convictions do not qualify; the veterans sections (411.0727 and 411.0729) have their own rules. Check the wait for your case before you file.

7. Finalize your petition

   Take the completed petition from Step 6, the documents collected in Step 4, and the background check from Step 2, and put them together in a complete package. Include the evidence that you are entitled to file the petition; the court's form asks for it. Double-check every file in the package is the original and ensure you have a copy of the complete package for your personal file.

8. File your nondisclosure petition

   File the petition with the court that handled your case: the court that placed you on deferred adjudication or probation, or the court that sentenced you. A veteran files with the court that placed them in the veterans treatment court program. A victim of trafficking with more than one case can ask to combine the petitions in a district court in the county of the latest case. Under Texas Government Code §§ 411.071 to 411.0775, you can file in person, online or by mail, and the fee is the usual fee to file a civil case. Some first-time misdemeanors on deferred adjudication need no petition. Under section 411.072, the court issues that order itself at your discharge and dismissal, but not before the 180th day after it placed you on supervision. You give the court the evidence that you qualify and pay the clerk a fee before the order issues.

   Filing fee: Varies by court — Texas law sets it at the court's fee to file a new civil case (Texas Government Code § 411.0745(b)). That is $350.00 at the Travis County Clerk. An order under § 411.072, which needs no petition, carries a $28 fee to the clerk instead (§ 411.072(c)).

9. Work with the court

   Under Texas Government Code §§ 411.071 to 411.0775, the court sends notice of your petition to the state. The court holds a hearing before it decides. It can skip the hearing only if the state does not ask for one before the 45th day after it receives the notice. To grant most orders, the court must find that you are entitled to file the petition and that the order is in the best interest of justice. For a victim of trafficking, the clerk serves the petition on the state, which has 20 business days to respond, and the court must also find that you acted solely as a victim of trafficking of persons or compelling prostitution. Answer anything the court asks for, and prepare for the hearing if one is set.

10. Receive the court's order

    Once the judge rules, the court issues a written order either granting or denying your petition for nondisclosure. Review the order's terms carefully — they spell out exactly which records it covers. Under Texas Government Code §§ 411.071 to 411.0775, the order hides those records from the public. It does not destroy them. You do not have to mention the case the order covers on an application for a job, a license or information. If the order covers a conviction, a prosecutor can still get the record, and a court can admit it at a trial for a later offense where the rules of evidence allow. Keep a certified copy for your own files.

11. Verify the record is sealed

    Under Texas Government Code §§ 411.071 to 411.0775, the court clerk sends the order to the Texas Department of Public Safety within 15 business days. The department seals its records within 10 business days of receiving it. It then sends the order to law enforcement agencies, jails, magistrates, courts, prosecutors, correctional facilities and other state and local agencies. Each of those seals its records within 30 business days. The department also sends the order to federal record centers and to private companies that buy records from it or are likely to have them. The clerk seals the court's own records as soon as it can after the order goes to the department. Confirm with the clerk and the arresting agency that their records reflect the order.

If you have to mail anything, remember to keep a copy of whatever you send and to use a method with a tracking number like the USPS Flat Rate Envelope.