Texas Juvenile Record Sealing Eligibility

Two pathways: automatic restricted access vs. sealing

Texas juvenile-record protection runs on two parallel tracks. Most juvenile records become eligible for some level of protection two years after the case closes — but the level of protection differs depending on which track applies.

Automatic restricted access (§ 58.253)

Happens by operation of law without any petition or fee. When statutory criteria are met, the records become accessible only to limited entities — law enforcement, prosecutors, court personnel, schools for safety purposes. The records still exist in the system but the public cannot see them. Free, fast, automatic.

Sealing by court order (§ 58.255)

Requires a petition filed in the juvenile court, notice to the District Attorney, a 45-day DA objection window, and (sometimes) a hearing. Once sealed, the records are removed from public access entirely. The person may legally deny their existence on job applications, rental forms, and school applications. Broader and more protective than restricted access — but requires effort and (typically) an attorney.

Many petitioners are eligible for BOTH — they qualify for automatic restricted access AND can petition for full sealing. The strategic choice usually favors sealing if available because of the right-to-deny benefit.

Automatic restricted access — § 58.253

§ 58.253(c) creates automatic restricted access for juvenile records when:

1. At least two years have passed since the date of final discharge from probation, TJJD commitment, deferred prosecution, or other juvenile-court disposition.
2. The person has not been adjudicated for a delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision (CINS) in the two-year period.
3. The person was not certified to stand trial as an adult under Fam. Code § 54.02.

When these criteria are met, the records become "restricted" — meaning the Texas Department of Public Safety, the juvenile court, and most government databases will only release the records to authorized entities. No petition is required, no fee is charged, and no hearing occurs.

The biggest practical limit of automatic restricted access: the records still EXIST in DPS databases. Authorized employers (school districts, daycare licensing, etc.) can still see them. Sealing under § 58.255 is more protective because the records are removed entirely from those databases.

Sealing by court petition — § 58.255

A petition to seal under § 58.255 reaches all juvenile court records, probation department files, prosecutor working files, and law enforcement records. Eligibility requirements:

• At least two years have passed since the date of final discharge.
• The offense is not an excluded offense under § 58.256(b).
• The person has not been adjudicated for any felony-grade conduct after the offense to be sealed.
• The person has not been finally convicted of any felony as an adult.
• The person is not currently charged with any felony.

For some serious offenses listed in § 58.256(a-1), the waiting period extends to five years after final discharge instead of two.

Exclusion offenses under § 58.256(b)

These offenses cannot be sealed under Ch. 58 regardless of how much time has passed:

• Any offense requiring sex-offender registration under Code of Criminal Procedure ch. 62
• Capital murder (Penal Code § 19.03)
• Murder (§ 19.02)
• Aggravated kidnapping (§ 20.04)
• Sexual assault (§ 22.011) and aggravated sexual assault (§ 22.021)
• Indecency with a child (§ 21.11)
• Continuous sexual abuse of a young child (§ 21.02)
• Aggravated robbery (§ 29.03)
• Determinate-sentence adjudications under Fam. Code § 53.045 that resulted in TJJD commitment with possible transfer to adult prison

For these offenses, automatic restricted access may still apply (if the criteria are met), but full sealing is permanently unavailable.

Waiting periods and the HB 3401 (2021) reforms

HB 3401, signed by Governor Abbott in 2021, made significant pro-petitioner changes:

Expanded automatic restricted access

Reduced the waiting period for automatic restricted access from two years post-discharge to immediate for many categories of conduct.

Shortened sealing waiting periods

Several previously five-year waiting periods were reduced to two years for non-violent offenses.

Required electronic compliance

DPS must update electronic records within 30 days of a sealing order, and the order's effect is more comprehensive across criminal-history databases.

CINS (Conduct Indicating Need for Supervision) eligibility

HB 3401 specifically expanded eligibility for CINS-only adjudications to receive automatic protection, recognizing that most CINS conduct is low-level.

The petition process and DA objection

Filing a Ch. 58 sealing petition:

1. File a verified petition in the juvenile court that handled the original case (jurisdiction sticks to that county for sealing purposes).
2. Identify all agencies that hold records relating to the offense — court, probation department, DA, law enforcement, TJJD if commitment occurred. Each must be specifically named in the order or the records aren't reached.
3. Serve the District Attorney with notice. The DA has 45 days under § 58.258 to file written objection.
4. If no objection, the court can grant the order without hearing.
5. If the DA objects, a contested hearing is held. The court applies a "best interest of the petitioner and society" standard.
6. Once the order is signed, all named agencies must physically seal or expunge their records within 30 days.

Cost: filing fee typically $30-$100. Attorney fees usually $750-$2,500 for an unopposed petition, more if the DA objects.

Effect of sealing — what changes and what doesn't

Under § 58.260, sealing produces these legal effects:

• Records are physically sealed or removed from public databases.
• The person may legally deny the existence of the records in response to employer, landlord, school, or other inquiries.
• The records may not be used as evidence in any criminal proceeding except for perjury or contempt prosecutions.
• The records may be released only on court order to specific listed entities (criminal justice agencies for limited purposes, the person himself/herself, defense counsel in a subsequent case).

What sealing does NOT do:

• Records held by entirely federal databases (FBI, DHS, etc.) are not directly reached by Texas sealing orders — federal expunction is separate.
• Records that were properly disclosed BEFORE sealing (e.g., to a previous employer) may persist in third-party records.
• The right to deny exists but Texas law cannot prevent a determined investigator from finding traces in archived news reports, social media, court calendar logs, etc.

Determinate sentencing and TJJD commitment

Texas's two TJJD commitment tracks have different sealing consequences:

Indeterminate sentencing (§ 54.04)

Standard juvenile commitment. The two-year sealing clock runs from discharge from TJJD. Most indeterminate commitments are sealable after the standard waiting period.

Determinate sentencing (§ 53.045)

Available for a specific list of serious offenses (capital murder, attempted capital murder, murder, etc.). The juvenile receives a sentence of up to 40 years that can be served partly in TJJD and partly in adult prison. § 58.256(b)(5) excludes determinate-sentence adjudications from sealing — these records are permanently ineligible for sealing under Ch. 58.