Texas nondisclosure eligibility — Gov § 411.074

Texas nondisclosure eligibility is governed by Government Code § 411.074. The rule defines the State's required steps, the defendant's rights at this stage, and the consequences of noncompliance. Below: the statutory text, the standard of practice in Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant Counties, and what a defendant should know before this stage.

The controlling statute

Texas Government Code § 411.074 sets the master eligibility rules for orders of nondisclosure across all Chapter 411 subchapters. The threshold inquiry: was the underlying offense a 'disqualifying' offense under § 411.074(b)? If so, no nondisclosure is available regardless of disposition or waiting period. Disqualifying offenses include offenses requiring sex-offender registration, family-violence offenses, capital and aggravated kidnapping, certain firearm offenses, stalking, and aggravated assault under certain circumstances. Petitioners must also have no excluded intervening convictions and must satisfy the waiting period applicable to their specific path.

Classification & punishment range

Elements the State must prove

To convict on a Texas Gov § 411.074 charge, the State must prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. Offense not on the § 411.074(b) excluded list
2. No excluded intervening convictions during the waiting period (other than Class C traffic)
3. Applicable waiting period for the specific nondisclosure path elapsed
4. Successful completion of supervision (deferred or community supervision) with all conditions satisfied
5. Best-interest-of-justice finding by the court
6. Procedural requirements of § 411.074 satisfied (petition, service, fees)

Defense strategies

L and L Law Group, PLLC develops the following defense strategies on every Nondisclosure Eligibility case:

• Conduct a comprehensive intake screening: pull criminal-history record, verify every disposition, and check each § 411.074(b) subsection
• Distinguish between disqualifying convictions and disqualifying deferreds — § 411.074(b) often covers both
• Identify rare exceptions and carve-outs (e.g., DWI nondisclosure under § 411.0731 has its own framework)
• Where the petitioner has a borderline disqualifying offense, develop legal arguments distinguishing the conduct from the statutory bar
• If a single excluded offense bars all nondisclosure, consider whether expunction is available for some of the other matters
• Plan multi-step strategy where the petitioner has multiple charges across multiple courts

Enhancements & collateral consequences

Permanent disqualifications under § 411.074(b) include: sex-offender registration offenses (regardless of registration status), murder, capital murder, aggravated kidnapping, trafficking of persons, continuous family violence, family-violence offenses (where the defendant or victim relationship triggers Penal Code § 71.0021), continuous sexual abuse, injury to a child/elderly/disabled, abandonment of a child, certain firearm offenses, and stalking. The full list is regularly amended by the Legislature; current version of § 411.074 must be consulted.