Can a DUI be expunged in Texas?

Whether a DUI can be cleared at all

A Texas DWI conviction cannot be expunged, but Government Code Section 411.0736 lets a person convicted of a first Class B misdemeanor DWI under Penal Code Section 49.04 petition for an order of nondisclosure once the sentence is complete, provided the person has never been convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication for any other offense except a fine-only traffic offense. Section 411.0736 does not reach a DWI punishable under Penal Code Section 49.04(d) (blood alcohol concentration of 0.15 or more), and the court may not issue the order if the state shows the offense caused a motor vehicle collision involving another person. A person placed on community supervision instead uses Section 411.0731 on similar terms.

“Sec. 411.0736. PROCEDURE FOR CONVICTION; CERTAIN DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED CONVICTIONS. (a) This section applies only to a person who: (1) is convicted of an offense under Section 49.04, Penal Code, other than an offense punishable under Subsection (d) of that section”

The driving record is a separate record

This is the part most summaries leave out. A court can seal or expunge the criminal case and the licensing agency can still keep the DUI on the driver record, where it reaches insurers and counts as a prior offence if there is a second one.

Not cleared. Code of Criminal Procedure Article 55A.152 states that driver's license suspension and revocation records may not be expunged except in the two narrow situations named in the Transportation Code. Transportation Code Section 521.043 requires the Department of Public Safety to keep a conviction record as long as it can serve as grounds for a license action, and Section 521.042(g) lets the department act on a Chapter 49 conviction report even when it arrives more than a year after the conviction. An order of nondisclosure also leaves criminal justice agencies free to disclose the record for criminal justice or regulatory licensing purposes under Government Code Section 411.0765(a)(2). A Type AR certified abstract from the department contains all crashes, all moving and nonmoving violations, and all suspensions in the record.

“Art. 55A.152. DRIVER'S LICENSE SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION. Records relating to the suspension or revocation of a driver's license, permit, or privilege to operate a motor vehicle may not be expunged under this chapter except as provided by Section 524.015 or 724.048, Transportation Code.”

What else sits on that record: suspensions and points in Texas.

How long the wait is, and from when

Under Government Code Section 411.0736, a petition may be filed three years after the sentence is completed if the sentence included at least six months of driving restricted to a vehicle with an ignition interlock device, and five years after completion if it did not. For a person on community supervision, Section 411.0731 sets the same test at two years with the six-month interlock condition and five years without it. Section 411.074 also requires that no other offense other than a fine-only traffic offense be committed during the waiting period.

“(f) A person may petition the court that imposed the sentence for an order of nondisclosure of criminal history record information under this section on or after: (1) the third anniversary of the date of completion of the person's sentence, if the person successfully complied with a condition of”

Automatic or by petition

Texas has no Clean Slate law that clears a DWI conviction without a filing. Government Code Section 411.072 does direct a court to issue an order of nondisclosure automatically for certain nonviolent misdemeanor deferred adjudications, but it expressly excludes offenses under Penal Code Section 49.04, the DWI statute. Relief for a DWI therefore always begins with a petition to the court.

“(1) was placed on deferred adjudication community supervision under Subchapter C, Chapter 42A, Code of Criminal Procedure, for a misdemeanor other than a misdemeanor: (A) under: (i) Section 49.04 or 49.06, Penal Code”

Where it is filed, and what it costs

Government Code Section 411.0745 allows the petition to be filed in person, electronically, or by mail, and requires it to be accompanied by a fee that generally applies to filing a civil case; the amount is not fixed in the statute. The petition must include evidence that the person is entitled to file it. The court gives notice to the state and holds a hearing unless the state does not request one within 45 days and the court finds the person is entitled to file and that the order is in the best interest of justice. The Office of Court Administration publishes the model petition form for Section 411.0736 and a matching set of instructions.

“(a) A person who petitions the court for an order of nondisclosure of criminal history record information under this subchapter, when a petition is required, may file the petition in person, electronically, or by mail. (b) The petition must be accompanied by payment of a fee that generally applies”

Whether a cleared DUI still counts as a prior

Penal Code Section 49.09 enhances a later intoxication offense to a Class A misdemeanor if it is shown at trial that the person was previously convicted one time of an offense relating to operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, and the section states no cut-off date for that prior. Government Code Section 411.0765(a)(2) permits a criminal justice agency to disclose nondisclosed record information for criminal justice or regulatory licensing purposes.

“Sec. 49.09. ENHANCED OFFENSES AND PENALTIES. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), an offense under Section 49.04, 49.05, 49.06, or 49.065 is a Class A misdemeanor, with a minimum term of confinement of 30 days, if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the person has previously been”

The statute: Tex. Gov't Code § 411.0736

“(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter or Subchapter F, a person described by Subsection (a) who completes the person's sentence, including any term of confinement imposed and payment of all fines, costs, and restitution imposed, may petition the court that imposed the sentence”