Texas Deferred Adjudication Non-Disclosure: § 411.0725 in Detail

How § 411.0725 works

After successful completion of deferred adjudication under art. 42A.101, a defendant may petition for non-disclosure under § 411.0725. The order seals the record from most private requesters — private employers, landlords, most third parties — while leaving it accessible to law enforcement, courts, and certain licensing agencies.

§ 411.0725 is the workhorse Texas non-disclosure pathway. The vast majority of non-disclosure orders issued in Texas every year come through this section, because deferred adjudication is the most common disposition that produces a dismissal-without-final-conviction outcome. The combination of broad eligibility and (for most misdemeanors) zero waiting period makes § 411.0725 the default record-clearing tool for non-violent first-offense defendants.

No-wait misdemeanors vs. 5-year carve-out

The § 411.0725 waiting-period structure has three tiers: zero wait for most misdemeanors, 5 years for an eight-chapter Penal Code carve-out misdemeanor list, and 5 years for all felonies.

The eight-chapter carve-out catches the most-common non-traffic misdemeanors where the Legislature concluded a longer wait was appropriate. Notably, family-violence offenses under ch. 22 are in the carve-out — but they’re also excluded categorically by § 411.074 (see exclusions overlay below), so the 5-year wait is academic for those cases.

Statutory conditions (no intervening convictions)

§ 411.0725 imposes specific conditions beyond the waiting period. The petitioner must have completed deferred adjudication successfully, and must have no intervening convictions other than fine-only traffic offenses.

Five conditions must be met:

1. Successful completion. Deferred adjudication discharged and dismissed under art. 42A.101 (not revoked and adjudicated).
2. No conviction during supervision. No conviction during the deferred-adjudication community supervision period, other than a fine-only traffic offense.
3. No conviction during waiting period. Where a waiting period applies, no conviction during the waiting period other than a fine-only traffic offense.
4. Best-interest-of-justice finding. The court must find that issuing the order is in the best interest of justice (a discretion check applied on top of the statutory filter).
5. Not on the § 411.074 exclusion list. The offense must not be one of the categorically excluded offenses.

Section 411.074 exclusion overlay

§ 411.074 lists offenses categorically excluded from non-disclosure regardless of disposition. This is the most common reason a § 411.0725 petition is denied even when the underlying case is otherwise eligible.

Most relevant exclusions for § 411.0725 cases:

• Any offense involving family violence (affirmative finding under art. 42.013) — this is the most common disqualifier in misdemeanor cases.
• Aggravated kidnapping, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, indecency with a child, continuous sexual abuse — felony sex-offense exclusions.
• Aggravated robbery, capital murder, murder — categorical felony exclusions.
• Trafficking of persons, compelling prostitution — trafficking exclusions.
• Injury to a child, elderly, or disabled individual (certain subsections).
• Offenses requiring sex-offender registration.

The family-violence exclusion is sweeping. Even a Class A assault that the defendant successfully completed deferred adjudication on is excluded from non-disclosure if the court entered the affirmative finding of family violence under art. 42.013. Defense work should aim to negotiate the affirmative finding off the case at the plea stage — once entered, it operates as a permanent disqualifier.

Filing § 411.0725 petition

The § 411.0725 petition is filed in the court that placed the defendant on deferred adjudication. Required content includes proof of discharge, criminal-history record (showing no intervening convictions), and any documentation supporting the best-interest-of-justice finding.

Filing steps:

1. Confirm eligibility. Verify discharge date, offense category, applicable waiting period, no intervening convictions, no § 411.074 exclusion.
2. Order DPS criminal-history record. Through the Texas DPS Crime Records Service. This proves the no-intervening-conviction condition.
3. Draft and verify the petition. Include all required content under § 411.0745 (petition mechanics).
4. File in the supervising court. $28 statutory fee plus county court costs.
5. Serve the prosecutor. The State has the right to object before the order issues.
6. Hearing or order on papers. Most uncontested petitions are granted on the papers.
7. Order execution. 30–60 days for agencies to seal records.
8. Follow-up audit. Confirm sealing at 60–90 days post-order.

What the order does (and doesn’t)

An § 411.0725 order seals the deferred-adjudication record from most private requesters. The petitioner can typically answer "no" to private employment and housing applications asking about criminal history. But law enforcement, courts, and certain licensing agencies retain access.

What the order changes:

• Private employer background checks no longer show the deferred adjudication.
• Landlords using consumer-grade background-check services see no record.
• Most online background-check aggregators are required to update their records (FCRA / Texas Business & Commerce Code remedies).
• DPS public-facing criminal-history responses do not include the offense.

What persists:

• Law enforcement, courts, and prosecutors retain full access.
• Certain Texas licensing boards (TEA/SBEC, Texas Medical Board, certain financial-regulator categories) retain access under statutory authority.
• Federal databases (FBI NCIC) are not bound by the order.
• The deferred adjudication remains relevant for federal immigration consequences under separate federal law.
• The deferred adjudication can still be used as a basis for enhanced punishment in some narrow scenarios (e.g., § 12.35(c) aggravated SJF aggravator).

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