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Tarrant County Criminal Lawyers | Fort Worth Criminal Attorneys
Representing individuals charged with criminal offenses

Nondisclosure of Criminal Records

Early intervention in a criminal case can often make the difference between facing misdemeanor or felony charges, or indeed whether or not any charges are filed at all. Please do not hesitate to contact our office and schedule a consultation to discuss the specific facts of your case.

If you were ever arrested and completed Deferred Adjudication Probation for a criminal offense, you may be eligible to petition the court to seal your criminal record from public disclosure through a procedure known as Nondisclosure of Criminal Records. If your case is eligible for Nondisclosure, the records relating to your arrest could be designated unavailable for public access. You could also be entitled to deny the fact that you were ever arrested, charged with a criminal offense, or placed on Deferred Adjudication Probation for the criminal offense.

There are certain requirements that must be met in order to qualify for Nondisclosure of Records under the current laws. Furthermore, there are also some criminal offenses that are not eligible for Nondisclosure under the current laws. The Law Offices of Kennedy & Kennedy has assisted hundreds of clients in obtaining a Nondisclosure of Records for criminal offenses in which they were placed on Deferred Adjudication Probation.

Please contact our office if you were ever placed on Deferred Adjudication Probation for a criminal offense. We would be happy to help you determine if you are eligible for Nondisclosure and to help you through the legal process of sealing your criminal records from further public disclosure by filing a Petition for Nondisclosure of Records on your behalf.

§ 411.081, Texas Government Code, Nondisclosure of Records

(a) This subchapter does not apply to criminal history record information that is contained in:

(1) posters, announcements, or lists for identifying or apprehending fugitives or wanted persons;

(2) original records of entry, including police blotters maintained by a criminal justice agency that are compiled chronologically and required by law or long-standing practice to be available to the public;

(3) public judicial, administrative, or legislative proceedings;

(4) court records of public judicial proceedings;

(5) published judicial or administrative opinions; or

(6) announcements of executive clemency.

(b) This subchapter does not prohibit a criminal justice agency from disclosing to the public criminal history record information that is related to the offense for which a person is involved in the criminal justice system.

(c) This subchapter does not prohibit a criminal justice agency from confirming previous criminal history record information to any person on specific inquiry about whether a named person was arrested, detained, indicted, or formally charged on a specified date, if the information disclosed is based on data excluded by Subsection (b).

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, if a person is placed on deferred adjudication community supervision under Section 5, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, subsequently receives a discharge and dismissal under Section 5(c), Article 42.12, and satisfies the requirements of Subsection (e), the person may petition the court that placed the defendant on deferred adjudication for an order of nondisclosure under this subsection. Except as provided by Subsection (e), a person may petition the court under this subsection regardless of whether the person has been previously placed on deferred adjudication community supervision for another offense. After notice to the state and a hearing on whether the person is entitled to file the petition and issuance of the order is in the best interest of justice, the court shall issue an order prohibiting criminal justice agencies from disclosing to the public criminal history record information related to the offense giving rise to the deferred adjudication. A criminal justice agency may disclose criminal history record information that is the subject of the order only to other criminal justice agencies, for criminal justice or regulatory licensing purposes, an agency or entity listed in Subsection (i), or the person who is the subject of the order. A person may petition the court that placed the person on deferred adjudication for an order of nondisclosure on payment of a $28 fee to the clerk of the court in addition to any other fee that generally applies to the filing of a civil petition. The payment may be made only on or after:

(1) the discharge and dismissal, if the offense for which the person was placed on deferred adjudication was a misdemeanor other than a misdemeanor described by Subdivision (2);

(2) the second anniversary of the discharge and dismissal, if the offense for which the person was placed on deferred adjudication was a misdemeanor under Chapter 20, 21, 22, 25, 42, or 46, Penal Code; or

(3) the fifth anniversary of the discharge and dismissal, if the offense for which the person was placed on deferred adjudication was a felony.

(e) A person is entitled to petition the court under Subsection (d) only if during the applicable period described by Subsection (d)(1), (2), or (3), as appropriate, the person is not convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication community supervision under Section 5, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, for any offense other than an offense under the Transportation Code punishable by fine only. A person is not entitled to petition the court under Subsection (d) if the person has been previously convicted or placed on deferred adjudication for:

(1) an offense requiring registration as a sex offender under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure;

(2) an offense under Section 20.04, Penal Code, regardless of whether the offense is a reportable conviction or adjudication for purposes of Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure;

(3) an offense under Section 19.02, 19.03, 22.04, 22.041, 25.07, or 42. 072, Penal Code; or

(4) any other offense involving family violence, as defined by Section 71.004, Family Code.

(f) For purposes of Subsection (d), a person is considered to have been placed on deferred adjudication community supervision if, regardless of the statutory authorization:

(1) the person entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere;

(2) the judge deferred further proceedings without entering an adjudication of guilt and placed the person under the supervision of the court or an officer under the supervision of the court; and

(3) at the end of the period of supervision the judge dismissed the proceedings and discharged the person.

(g) When an order of nondisclosure is issued under this subsection, the clerk of the court shall send to the Crime Records Service of the Department of Public Safety a copy of the order by:

(1) certified mail, return receipt requested; or

(2) if requested in writing by the petitioner, secure electronic mail or facsimile transmission.

(g) When an order of nondisclosure is issued under this section, the clerk of the court shall send a copy of the order by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Crime Records Service of the Department of Public Safety. Not later than 10 business days after receipt of the order, the Department of Public Safety shall seal any criminal history record information maintained by the department that is the subject of the order. The department shall also send a copy of the order by mail or electronic means to all:

(1) law enforcement agencies, jails or other detention facilities, magistrates, courts, prosecuting attorneys, correctional facilities, central state depositories of criminal records, and other officials or agencies or other entities of this state or of any political subdivision of this state;

(2) central federal depositories of criminal records that there is reason to believe have criminal history record information that is the subject of the order; and

(3) private entities that purchase criminal history record information from the department.

(g-1) The Department of Public Safety shall send a copy of the order by mail or secure electronic mail or facsimile transmission to all law enforcement agencies, jails or other detention facilities, magistrates, courts, prosecuting attorneys, correctional facilities, central state depositories of criminal records, and other officials or agencies or other entities of this state or of any political subdivision of this state, and to all central federal depositories of criminal records that there is reason to believe have criminal history record information that is the subject of the order.

(g-1) Not later than 30 business days after receipt of an order from the Department of Public Safety under Subsection (g), an individual or entity described by Subsection (g)(1) shall seal any criminal history record information maintained by the individual or entity that is the subject of the order.

(g-2) A person whose criminal history record information has been sealed under this section is not required in any application for employment, information, or licensing to state that the person has been the subject of any criminal proceeding related to the information that is the subject of an order issued under this section.

(h) The clerk of a court that collects a fee under Subsection (d) shall remit the fee to the comptroller not later than the last day of the month following the end of the calendar quarter in which the fee is collected, and the comptroller shall deposit the fee in the general revenue fund. The Department of Public Safety shall submit a report to the legislature not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year that includes information on:

(1) the number of petitions for nondisclosure and orders of nondisclosure received by the department in each of the previous two years;

(2) the actions taken by the department with respect to the petitions and orders received;

(3) the costs incurred by the department in taking those actions; and

(4) the number of persons who are the subject of an order of nondisclosure and who became the subject of criminal charges for an offense committed after the order was issued.

(i) A criminal justice agency may disclose criminal history record information that is the subject of an order of nondisclosure to the following noncriminal justice agencies or entities only:

(1) the State Board for Educator Certification;

(2) a school district, charter school, private school, regional education service center, commercial transportation company, or education shared service arrangement;

(3) the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners;

(4) the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired;

(5) the Board of Law Examiners;

(6) the State Bar of Texas;

(7) a district court regarding a petition for name change under Subchapter B, Chapter 45, Family Code;

(8) the Texas School for the Deaf;

(9) the Department of Family and Protective Services;

(10) the Texas Youth Commission;

(11) the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services;

(12) the Department of State Health Services, a local mental health service, a local mental retardation authority, or a community center providing services to persons with mental illness or retardation;

(13) the Texas Private Security Board;

(14) a municipal or volunteer fire department;

(15) the Board of Nurse Examiners;

(16) a safe house providing shelter to children in harmful situations;

(17) a public or nonprofit hospital or hospital district;

(18) the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission;

(19) the securities commissioner, the banking commissioner, the savings and loan commissioner, or the credit union commissioner;

(20) the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy;

(21) the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation;

(22) the Health and Human Services Commission; and

(23) the Department of Aging and Disability Services.

(j) If the Department of Public Safety receives information indicating that a private entity that purchases criminal history record information from the department has been found by a court to have committed five or more violations of Section 552.1425 by compiling or disseminating information with respect to which an order of nondisclosure has been issued, the department may not release any criminal history record information to that entity until the first anniversary of the date of the most recent violation.

TARRANT COUNTY CRIMINAL LAWYERS
Criminal Attorneys serving Fort Worth & all of Tarrant County
Law Offices of Kennedy & Kennedy
303 West Abram Street
Arlington, Texas (TX) 76010
(817) 460-7171 Metro (817) 461-2800

Tarrant County Cities: Arlington, Azle, Bedford, Benbrook, Blue Mound, Burleson, Colleyville, Crowley, Dalworthington Gardens, Edgecliff, Euless, Everman, Flower Mound, Forest Hill, Fort Worth, Grand Prairie, Grapevine, Haltom City, Haslet, Hurst, Keller, Kennedale, Lake Worth, Lakeside, Mansfield, Naval Air Station, Newark, North Richland Hills, Pantego, Pelican Bay, Richland Hills, River Oaks, Saginaw, Sansom Park, Southlake, Trophy Club, Watauga, Westlake, Westover Hills, Westworth, White Settlement.