The Texas non-disclosure statute map — six pathways, one exclusion list
Texas non-disclosure operates through six distinct statutory pathways under Government Code Chapter 411, Subchapter E-1. The applicable pathway depends on disposition type (deferred vs. straight probation vs. conviction), offense category (DWI vs. non-DWI), and whether a § 411.074 exclusion applies. Picking the wrong pathway dooms the petition.
- § 411.0725 — deferred adjudication, non-DWI
- The primary non-disclosure pathway for offenses other than DWI. Available after successful completion of deferred adjudication under CCP Art. 42A.101 followed by dismissal under Art. 42A.111. Waiting period varies: IMMEDIATE for many non-violent misdemeanors not on the § 411.0726 list; 2 years from dismissal for misdemeanors on the § 411.0726 list (assault, terroristic threat, deadly conduct, disorderly conduct involving a firearm, public lewdness, indecent exposure, certain weapons offenses); 5 years from dismissal for felonies. The trial court retains discretion to deny in the "interest of justice" under § 411.0725(d) per Ex parte E.H., 602 S.W.3d 486 (Tex. 2020).
- § 411.0727 — automatic / no-petition under HB 3016
- A no-petition pathway for limited categories under House Bill 3016 (effective September 1, 2017). Eligible petitioners — first-time misdemeanor offenders who completed deferred adjudication for offenses NOT on the § 411.0726 list — receive an order automatically without filing a petition, provided the court determines that the order is in the best interest of justice. This pathway is narrower than commonly assumed: the offense must be a first-time fine-only or Class C-equivalent disposition meeting strict statutory criteria. Most cases still proceed under the § 411.0725 petition path.
- § 411.0731 — straight probation with judicial set-aside
- The pathway for petitioners who completed straight community supervision (probation following a conviction, not deferred adjudication). Eligibility requires the trial court to FIRST grant a set-aside of the verdict under Code Crim. Proc. Article 42A.701. Without the § 42A.701 set-aside, the § 411.0731 petition cannot proceed. The set-aside dismisses the indictment or sets aside the verdict but does not undo the conviction’s collateral consequences (federal firearm disability under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) persists for felony convictions). Waiting periods mirror § 411.0725 — 2 or 5 years depending on offense grade — but the eligible offense list is narrower because conviction-based dispositions trigger more § 411.074 exclusions.
- § 411.0735 — DWI deferred adjudication (HB 3582)
- The DWI-specific non-disclosure pathway for petitioners who completed DWI deferred adjudication under HB 3582 (effective September 1, 2017). Waiting period: 2 years from dismissal. Eligibility requires the disposition to be first-offense DWI (BAC under 0.15 in many cases) and successful completion of supervision. Interlock device participation during deferred adjudication is typically required as a precondition. The statute excludes certain enhanced DWI dispositions (DWI with child passenger under PC § 49.045, intoxication assault, intoxication manslaughter) from the non-disclosure pathway.
- § 411.0736 — DWI conviction (HB 3016)
- The DWI-specific non-disclosure pathway for petitioners who were CONVICTED of first-offense DWI (rather than receiving deferred adjudication). Waiting period: 2 years from completion of sentence. Eligibility limited to single-prior-free first-offense DWI (BAC under 0.15) without aggravating factors (no accident, no child passenger, no enhanced grade). Interlock condition typically required during the underlying sentence as a precondition to later non-disclosure. This statute is unique because it allows non-disclosure of a CONVICTION — a possibility unavailable for most other offenses under Texas law.
- § 411.0728 — trafficking-victim pathway
- A specialized non-disclosure pathway for victims of human trafficking under Penal Code §§ 20A.02 / 20A.03 who committed offenses solely as a direct result of being a victim. The court must find the petitioner was a victim of trafficking and that the offense was committed as a direct result. Available for a broad range of offenses (prostitution, drug possession, theft) committed during the trafficking victimization. The pathway operates in addition to the standard expunction-by-acquittal route under CCP § 55.01 and provides relief for petitioners whose dispositions do not qualify for expunction.
The statute-mapping analysis is the first step in every non-disclosure case. A petitioner who completed deferred adjudication for misdemeanor possession of marijuana under PC § 481.121(b)(1) proceeds under § 411.0725. A petitioner convicted of first-offense DWI and sentenced to straight probation proceeds under § 411.0731 — but only after first obtaining a CCP § 42A.701 set-aside. A petitioner who completed DWI deferred under HB 3582 proceeds under § 411.0735. Picking the wrong pathway in the petition caption produces a dismissal for failure to state a claim under the applicable statute, even where the petitioner is substantively eligible.
Once the statute map is fixed, the second pass is the exclusion offense check under § 411.074. The exclusion list operates as an absolute bar — no waiting period, no rehabilitation evidence, and no judicial discretion can overcome a § 411.074 exclusion. The most commonly missed exclusion is family violence under Family Code § 71.004 — a misdemeanor assault disposition that received a CCP Art. 42.013 family-violence affirmative finding is excluded from non-disclosure entirely, regardless of whether the disposition was deferred adjudication or conviction. Counsel orders certified copies of the judgment, the affirmative-finding language, and the conditions of supervision at intake to confirm the exclusion status before filing any petition.
Section 411.0725 — deferred adjudication non-disclosure for non-DWI offenses
§ 411.0725 is the workhorse non-disclosure statute. It governs sealing after successful deferred adjudication for all non-DWI offenses. The waiting period depends on whether the offense appears on the § 411.0726 enhanced-wait list, and the trial court retains discretion to deny under § 411.0725(d) in the "interest of justice."
Government Code § 411.0725(a) sets the threshold eligibility: the petitioner must have received a discharge and dismissal under CCP Art. 42A.111 (or its predecessor, Art. 42.12 § 5(c)) for an offense other than one listed in § 411.0726. The discharge-and-dismissal requirement is precise — a defendant whose deferred adjudication was REVOKED and who was then adjudicated guilty under CCP Art. 42A.108 does NOT have a discharge-and-dismissal and cannot proceed under § 411.0725. The revocation and adjudication track converts the case to a conviction, and the petitioner must then proceed under § 411.0731 (straight-probation set-aside path) if eligible — usually they are not, because revoked-deferred petitioners typically did not receive a § 42A.701 set-aside.
The § 411.0725(b) waiting periods are tiered. Most non-violent misdemeanors qualify for IMMEDIATE non-disclosure — the petition can be filed the day after the Art. 42A.111 dismissal. The § 411.0726 enhanced-wait list (offenses requiring a 2-year wait from dismissal) includes: assault under PC § 22.01 (any grade), unlawful restraint, terroristic threat, deadly conduct, disorderly conduct with a firearm, public lewdness, indecent exposure, and certain weapons offenses. The list is precise — counsel cross-references the original charging instrument and judgment against § 411.0726 at intake. Felony deferred adjudication dispositions require a 5-year wait from dismissal under § 411.0725(e), with limited exceptions.
The "interest of justice" discretion under § 411.0725(d) is the most contested element of the statute. The Texas Supreme Court in Ex parte E.H., 602 S.W.3d 486 (Tex. 2020), held that the trial court retains genuine discretion to deny a non-disclosure petition even where the petitioner has met every statutory eligibility requirement. The court can consider: the nature of the underlying offense, the petitioner's conduct since dismissal, employment and family circumstances, opposition from the State or the victim, and any other factor bearing on whether sealing serves the interest of justice. The opinion in E.H. overturned a line of intermediate-court cases that had treated the statute as creating a ministerial duty — and confirmed that defense counsel must actually develop affirmative evidence of rehabilitation, employment stability, and continuing good conduct rather than relying on the bare statutory eligibility checklist.
Procedural framework: the petition is filed in the court of original disposition under § 411.0725(c). Service on the State (the prosecuting attorney) is required, and the State has 45 days to respond. The court holds a hearing if either party requests one or if the court determines a hearing is necessary. The order, if granted, is transmitted to the Department of Public Safety and to each agency identified in the petition for sealing under § 411.0755. Defense counsel identifies every agency that may have records — DPS, county jail, prosecutor's office, arresting agency, court clerk, probation department, and any other agency named in the police report — because an order that omits an agency leaves the underlying record visible at that agency.
Section 411.0727 — automatic (no-petition) non-disclosure under HB 3016
§ 411.0727 is the narrowest of the non-disclosure pathways — true automatic sealing without filing a petition. House Bill 3016 created the path in 2017, but it applies only to a tightly defined subset of first-time deferred-adjudication misdemeanors. Most petitioners still proceed under § 411.0725 with a filed petition.
House Bill 3016 was passed by the 85th Texas Legislature and took effect September 1, 2017. The bill created two pathways: § 411.0727 (automatic / no-petition non-disclosure) and § 411.0736 (DWI-conviction non-disclosure, discussed below). The automatic pathway under § 411.0727 applies only where (1) the petitioner received deferred adjudication for a misdemeanor offense; (2) the offense is NOT listed on the § 411.0726 enhanced-wait list and is NOT a § 411.074 exclusion; (3) the petitioner has no prior convictions or deferred adjudications other than fine-only traffic offenses; (4) the petitioner has completed all conditions of supervision and received a discharge and dismissal under CCP Art. 42A.111; and (5) the court determines that issuance of the order is in the best interest of justice.
The "automatic" label is partly misleading. The court still must make findings under § 411.0727(e) — the eligibility check is not self-executing. In practice, the trial court reviews the disposition file at the time of dismissal and either issues the order sua sponte or schedules a hearing if the criteria are not clearly satisfied. Defendants whose dispositions are unclear (multiple offenses charged, prior fine-only dispositions of uncertain grade, conditions of supervision incomplete) typically receive a notice from the court rather than an automatic order. Where the automatic order does not issue, the petitioner can still file a § 411.0725 petition — the two pathways are not mutually exclusive at the threshold.
The § 411.0727 statute interacts with § 411.0728 (the trafficking-victim pathway). A petitioner who qualifies under both pathways receives an automatic non-disclosure under § 411.0727 — the trafficking-victim pathway is invoked only where the standard pathway is unavailable. Counsel checking eligibility runs all three primary pathways (§§ 411.0725, 411.0727, 411.0728) at intake to determine which is operative for the specific facts.
Practical implications: counsel cannot rely on the automatic pathway to function correctly without verification. Petitioners who completed deferred adjudication in 2017 and later have sometimes assumed their record was sealed automatically — and then discovered, on a background check for employment or licensing years later, that the order was never entered. The remedy is a § 411.0725 petition filed retroactively, but the discovery delay can compound. Defense counsel verifies sealing within 60-90 days of dismissal by ordering a fresh DPS computerized criminal history search and confirming the record reflects the order.
Section 411.0731 — straight-probation non-disclosure with CCP § 42A.701 set-aside
Section 411.0731 is the only non-disclosure pathway for petitioners who were CONVICTED and sentenced to straight community supervision (not deferred adjudication). The petitioner must FIRST obtain a judicial set-aside under CCP Art. 42A.701 before the non-disclosure petition can proceed.
Government Code § 411.0731(a) restricts eligibility to petitioners who (1) were placed on community supervision following a conviction (not deferred adjudication); (2) successfully completed the supervision; (3) received a set-aside under CCP § 42A.701 from the trial court setting aside the verdict; (4) committed an offense that does not appear on the § 411.074 exclusion list; and (5) have no subsequent convictions or supervision other than fine-only traffic offenses during the waiting period. The set-aside is the critical prerequisite — without it, the petition fails as a matter of law regardless of whether every other element is met.
CCP Article 42A.701 itself is a discretionary remedy. The trial court "may" set aside the verdict and dismiss the indictment after successful completion of straight community supervision, but the statute does not create an entitlement. The court considers the nature of the offense, the petitioner's compliance during supervision, any restitution paid, the petitioner's post-supervision conduct, and any opposition from the State or the victim. Defense counsel files the § 42A.701 motion BEFORE the supervision period ends — judges who have lost contact with the case after years are less receptive than those who can pull the file at termination and act promptly.
The § 42A.701 set-aside does NOT undo every collateral consequence. The federal firearm prohibition under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) persists for felony convictions even after set-aside — the federal statute looks to the underlying conviction event, not its subsequent state-law treatment, and the BATFE position is that a state-law set-aside that does not "expunge, set aside, or pardon" the conviction in a full sense (which Texas set-aside arguably does not) leaves the federal prohibition intact. Sex-offender registration under CCP Chapter 62 persists where applicable. Future-case enhancement under PC § 12.42 persists. The set-aside is real but narrower than petitioners assume, and counsel must brief these limits before the petition is filed.
Waiting periods under § 411.0731 mirror § 411.0725: 2 years from set-aside for offenses on the § 411.0726 list, IMMEDIATE for non-listed misdemeanors, 5 years for felonies. Procedural framework parallels § 411.0725 — petition filed in court of original disposition, service on the State, 45-day response window, hearing if requested. The eligibility findings under § 411.0731(b) overlap substantially with § 411.0725 but require the additional set-aside predicate. Counsel handling a § 411.0731 petition routinely files it concurrently with the § 42A.701 motion in the same hearing to streamline the process — the trial court grants the set-aside, then immediately considers the non-disclosure petition on the same record.
The § 411.074 exclusion list — absolute bars to non-disclosure
Government Code § 411.074 lists offenses absolutely barred from non-disclosure regardless of disposition, waiting period, or rehabilitation. The exclusions cover family violence, registrable sex offenses, kidnapping, murder, aggravated assault SBI, child/elderly/disabled injury, court-order violations, and stalking. The exclusion check is the first-pass analysis.
Section 411.074(b) of the Government Code is the absolute-bar list. It excludes from non-disclosure: (1) offenses requiring sex-offender registration under CCP Chapter 62; (2) aggravated kidnapping under PC § 20.04; (3) murder under PC § 19.02 and capital murder under PC § 19.03; (4) aggravated assault under PC § 22.02 where serious bodily injury was caused; (5) injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual under PC § 22.04; (6) abandoning or endangering a child under PC § 22.041; (7) violation of certain protective orders under PC §§ 25.07 and 25.072; (8) stalking under PC § 42.072; and (9) any offense involving family violence as defined by Family Code § 71.004. The Family Code § 71.004 family-violence catch-all is the broadest and most commonly applied exclusion — it sweeps in any misdemeanor or felony where the trial court entered a CCP Art. 42.013 affirmative finding of family violence.
The family-violence exclusion deserves separate treatment because it is the source of the most frequently missed disqualification. CCP Art. 42.013 requires the trial court to enter an affirmative finding of family violence "if the court determines that the offense involved family violence." The finding is mandatory where the trial court so determines and is reflected in the judgment of conviction or the dismissal-and-discharge order under CCP Art. 42A.111. A petitioner who pled to misdemeanor assault under PC § 22.01(a)(1) with a family-violence affirmative finding cannot obtain non-disclosure under any pathway — the § 411.074 exclusion bars relief even though the disposition was a successful deferred adjudication with timely dismissal. Counsel reviews the judgment and the conditions of supervision at intake; the affirmative finding language is usually a single sentence in the judgment that easily escapes notice.
Registrable sex offenses under CCP Chapter 62 are the second-most-common absolute bar. The Chapter 62 registration list includes all offenses under PC Chapter 21 (sexual offenses), Chapter 22 sexual assault offenses, indecency with a child, and prostitution-related offenses involving minors, among others. A deferred adjudication for an offense requiring registration still triggers Chapter 62 registration during the deferred period and after dismissal — and the § 411.074 exclusion bars non-disclosure permanently. The interaction between Chapter 62 deregistration (a separate remedy under CCP § 62.401) and Government Code Chapter 411 non-disclosure is complex; some petitioners can deregister but cannot seal, which produces an asymmetric record-clearing posture.
Murder and aggravated kidnapping are categorically excluded regardless of disposition — these offenses do not typically receive deferred adjudication in Texas, so the exclusion bites primarily where a successful trial outcome (acquittal) produces an expunction pathway under CCP § 55.01 rather than a non-disclosure pathway under Chapter 411. The exclusion serves a backstop function: it ensures that even a hypothetical conviction-and-set-aside path under § 411.0731 cannot reach the most serious offense categories. Aggravated assault under PC § 22.02 is excluded only where serious bodily injury was caused — aggravated assault by deadly weapon without SBI is not on the exclusion list, though it is on the § 411.0726 enhanced-wait list, producing the 2-year waiting period. Counsel parses the precise charging-instrument language at intake; "deadly weapon" allegations and "serious bodily injury" allegations have different downstream effects.
Petition procedure — filing, service, hearing, order, transmission
The non-disclosure petition is filed in the court of original disposition, served on the State, scheduled for hearing if contested, and transmitted to DPS and every other agency holding records. Procedural defects — missing agencies, defective service, incomplete records — can render the order incomplete and leave the underlying record visible.
Procedural framework under Government Code § 411.0725(c) (and the parallel subsections in §§ 411.0731 and 411.0735): the petition is filed in the court of original disposition. For multi-county defendants whose offense occurred in one county but who lived in another, the petition follows the conviction court, not the residence county. Service on the State is required — typically by certified mail or eService to the District Attorney or County Attorney that prosecuted the case. The State has 45 days under § 411.0755 to respond. If the State does not contest and the trial court does not require a hearing, the petition can proceed to disposition on the papers.
Where a hearing is held — either because the State contests, the court requires evidence, or the petitioner requests one to develop the "interest of justice" record — the petitioner bears the burden of proving eligibility by a preponderance of the evidence. Eligibility evidence covers: (1) successful completion of the underlying disposition (deferred dismissal certificate, supervision termination order); (2) elapsed waiting period (calculated from the disposition date); (3) no disqualifying subsequent convictions during the waiting period; (4) the offense is not on the § 411.074 exclusion list; (5) where applicable, interest-of-justice evidence (employment, family stability, continuing good conduct). State v. T.S.N., 547 S.W.3d 617 (Tex. 2018), addressed the partial-expunction question in a related context — the same logic informs partial-record-sealing analysis where the petitioner seeks to seal one of multiple offenses in a single disposition.
The order, if granted, must identify every agency required to seal records under § 411.0755. The petition lists every agency that may have a record: the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) computerized criminal history (CCH); the arresting agency; the county jail or detention facility; the prosecuting attorney's office; the court clerk; the probation department or community-supervision office; any state agency that received records (e.g., TJJD for juvenile-court overlap cases); and any other agency named in the case file. An incomplete agency list leaves records visible at omitted agencies — even after the order issues. Counsel cross-references the police report, the court file, the disposition documents, and any supervision records to identify every agency that touched the case.
Transmission and follow-up: the trial court transmits the order to DPS within 15 business days under § 411.0755. DPS then transmits to other agencies and updates the CCH. The agency-level updates typically occur within 30-90 days. Counsel orders a fresh DPS CCH check 90-120 days after the order issues to verify sealing. Where an agency has not updated, counsel files a follow-up motion in the issuing court for an order directing the specific agency to comply. The federal DPS-to-FBI feed is NOT affected by the non-disclosure order — Texas DPS still reports the underlying conviction or deferred dismissal to the FBI Interstate Identification Index (III), and the federal record persists. Ex parte E.H., 602 S.W.3d 486 (Tex. 2020), addressed the discretion question; the procedural posture of the federal-record gap is well-documented and unresolvable through state non-disclosure alone.
What to do if you may be eligible for non-disclosure
The non-disclosure inquiry starts with the judgment and the conditions of supervision — not with the petition form. Order certified copies, check the § 411.074 exclusion list, identify the correct statutory pathway, calculate the waiting period, develop interest-of-justice evidence, and verify sealing across all agencies after the order issues.
First, obtain certified copies of the disposition documents. This includes the judgment of conviction (for set-aside cases under § 411.0731), the order of deferred adjudication and the discharge-and-dismissal order (for § 411.0725 and § 411.0735 cases), and the conditions of supervision (which often contain affirmative findings, special conditions, and other details that affect eligibility). Counsel orders certified copies from the court clerk at intake — not screenshots from the online docket — because the certified copies contain the controlling case-history language and any affirmative findings that the online docket may omit. The county clerk fee is typically $5-$15 per page; counsel routinely orders the complete file as a precaution.
Second, run the § 411.074 exclusion check before doing anything else. The exclusion list is absolute — no pathway can reach an excluded offense. The check covers: (1) sex-offender registration requirements under CCP Chapter 62 (cross-reference the offense against the Chapter 62 registration list); (2) family-violence affirmative findings under CCP Art. 42.013 (review the judgment language carefully); (3) the named-offense exclusions (aggravated kidnapping, murder, aggravated assault SBI, injury to child/elderly/disabled, abandoning/endangering child, court-order violation, stalking); (4) the Family Code § 71.004 family-violence catch-all (review for any relational predicate combined with assaultive conduct). Where any exclusion applies, non-disclosure is unavailable and the conversation shifts to expunction analysis (if any pathway exists), pardon analysis, or acceptance of the existing record.
Third, identify the correct statutory pathway. The flow chart: (1) deferred adjudication + non-DWI offense + not on § 411.074 list = § 411.0725 (or § 411.0727 if all automatic criteria met); (2) deferred adjudication + DWI = § 411.0735; (3) straight probation + conviction + not on § 411.074 list + § 42A.701 set-aside obtained = § 411.0731; (4) DWI conviction (not deferred) + not on enhanced-wait list = § 411.0736; (5) trafficking victim + offense committed as direct result of trafficking = § 411.0728. The pathway determines the waiting period, the statutory findings, the petition form, and the court of filing. Picking the wrong pathway dooms the petition even if the petitioner is substantively eligible under the correct one.
Fourth, calculate the waiting period precisely. For § 411.0725 deferred-adjudication cases on the § 411.0726 enhanced-wait list, the 2-year period runs from the date of dismissal under CCP Art. 42A.111 — not from the date of plea or the date of supervision termination. For § 411.0731 set-aside cases, the waiting period runs from the date of set-aside, not from the date of original conviction. For § 411.0735 DWI deferred cases, 2 years from dismissal. For § 411.0736 DWI conviction cases, 2 years from completion of sentence. Counsel calculates the period using the certified disposition documents and confirms the calculation against the State's computation before filing the petition.
Fifth, develop interest-of-justice evidence in advance. After Ex parte E.H., 602 S.W.3d 486 (Tex. 2020), the trial court has genuine discretion to deny even where statutory eligibility is met. Affirmative evidence supporting issuance includes: stable employment during and after supervision (employer letters, pay stubs, W-2s); family stability (marriage, children, custody arrangements); educational attainment (degrees, certifications, ongoing study); community involvement (volunteer work, religious participation, civic engagement); and absence of any subsequent law-enforcement contact. Counsel assembles this record in advance — the hearing is too late to gather employer letters.
Sixth, after the order issues, verify sealing across all agencies. The trial court transmits the order to DPS within 15 business days under § 411.0755. DPS updates the CCH within 30-90 days. Counsel orders a fresh DPS CCH search 90-120 days after the order to confirm the record reflects the seal. Where an agency has not updated, counsel files a follow-up motion in the issuing court directing the specific agency to comply. Be honest with the client about the federal-record gap: the federal NCIC and FBI III databases are NOT bound by the Texas non-disclosure order, and federal background checks (federal employment, military, immigration, federal licensing) still surface the underlying arrest and disposition. The Texas record is sealed; the federal record continues.
DFW context and cost expectations
DFW non-disclosure practice runs $1,500–$3,500 for a typical contested petition and 4–6 months from filing to order. Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant district courts each apply the § 411.0725(d) "interest of justice" discretion differently after Ex parte E.H., 602 S.W.3d 486 (Tex. 2020).
Collin County non-disclosure petitions are filed at the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, in the same district or county court at law that handled the underlying disposition. Collin courts tend to apply the § 411.0725(d) "interest of justice" discretion with moderate rigor — a clean post-disposition record, stable employment, and absence of subsequent law-enforcement contact typically produce favorable rulings. The Collin County District Attorney's office files responses in roughly 40-50% of petitions, contesting most where the underlying offense was on the § 411.0726 enhanced-wait list or where the petitioner's post-disposition conduct shows continuing law-enforcement contact. Hearings are scheduled within 60-90 days of petition filing; contested matters can run 90-120 days. The Collin clerks process orders to DPS efficiently — sealing typically reflects on a DPS CCH within 30-45 days of the order.
Dallas County non-disclosure petitions are filed at the Frank Crowley Courts Building in downtown Dallas, in the criminal district court that handled the disposition. Dallas courts apply the § 411.0725(d) discretion more flexibly than Collin — judges are generally receptive to interest-of-justice evidence, and the Dallas County District Attorney's Office files contested responses in roughly 20-30% of petitions, primarily where the underlying offense was high-visibility or where the State opposes sealing categorically. Hearings can be scheduled within 45-75 days. The Dallas clerks process orders to DPS within 15-20 business days under the statutory deadline, and sealing typically reflects on DPS within 30-60 days. Dallas judges have applied Ex parte E.H. conservatively — petitioners with substantial mitigation evidence prevail at rates higher than counsel sometimes assume.
Denton County non-disclosure petitions are filed at the Denton County Courts Building in Denton, in the district or county court at law of original disposition. Denton courts apply the § 411.0725(d) discretion with relatively strict scrutiny — the analysis tends to focus on the nature of the underlying offense and the strength of mitigation, with greater weight given to victim opposition where any victim is involved. The Denton County District Attorney's Office files responses in roughly 30-40% of petitions. Hearings are scheduled within 60-90 days. The Denton clerks process orders within the statutory deadline; sealing reflects on DPS within 30-60 days. Denton's county court at law has been receptive to non-DWI misdemeanor petitions with clean records but more skeptical of felony deferred adjudication petitions.
Tarrant County non-disclosure petitions are filed at the Tim Curry Justice Center in Fort Worth, in the criminal district court of original disposition. Tarrant courts apply the § 411.0725(d) discretion with case-by-case variation — outcomes depend substantially on the assigned judge and the quality of the petition record. The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office files responses in roughly 35-45% of petitions, with more aggressive opposition than the other three DFW counties on certain offense categories (DWI, assault, weapons offenses). Hearings are scheduled within 60-120 days. The Tarrant clerks process orders within the statutory deadline; sealing reflects on DPS within 45-75 days. Tarrant judges are receptive to substantive petitions but require the affirmative interest-of-justice record that Ex parte E.H. contemplates.
Fee structure: typical non-disclosure petition representation runs $1,500–$2,500 flat for an uncontested § 411.0725 deferred-adjudication case with no expected State opposition; $2,500–$3,500 for a contested case requiring full hearing preparation and witness coordination; $3,500–$5,500 for a § 411.0731 case requiring a concurrent CCP § 42A.701 set-aside motion; $3,500–$5,500 for a § 411.0735 or § 411.0736 DWI case (the DWI petitions are slightly more complex because of the interlock and BAC-related eligibility issues); and $5,000–$8,500+ for a § 411.0728 trafficking-victim case requiring specialized mitigation development. Court costs run $250–$400 (filing fee plus service costs). Certified copy fees and DPS verification searches add $50–$150. Counsel quotes in writing after a free consultation.
Timeline expectations: from petition filing to order entry, expect 4-6 months for uncontested cases and 6-9 months for contested cases. From order entry to DPS update, expect 30-90 days. From DPS update to background-check reflection at private screening companies (LexisNexis, HireRight, Sterling, Checkr, Accurate Background, etc.), expect 60-180 days — the private screeners refresh their data on independent schedules and the petitioner should expect a lag. Counsel provides the petitioner with a copy of the certified order for direct submission to any employer, landlord, or licensing agency that requests verification during the data-refresh lag.
Two practical realities at the close: (1) Texas non-disclosure does not reach federal databases. NCIC, FBI III, federal employment background checks, military background checks, immigration background checks, and federal licensing checks continue to surface the underlying record. Petitioners considering federal employment, military enlistment, immigration applications, or federal licensing must understand this limit before relying on the Texas seal. (2) Texas non-disclosure does not reach the courts that handled the underlying disposition — the case file remains physically present at the courthouse, accessible via court personnel and via certain federal and state agency requests. The seal removes the record from PUBLIC view and from most third-party access; it does not erase the record's existence. The distinction between sealing (non-disclosure) and destruction (expunction) is decisive in counseling petitioners about what the order will and will not accomplish.
