May 1, 2014 by David Nachtigall
A petition for nondisclosure is a procedural mechanism for having a criminal record sealed in Texas. Petitions for nondisclosure are applicable only in cases in which a person was placed on deferred adjudication and successfully completed the period of community supervision.
Petitions for nondisclosure are filed in the court in which a person was placed on deferred adjudication. For most misdemeanors, a person is eligible to file a petition for nondisclosure as soon as he or she completes deferred adjudication. For certain misdemeanors, there is a two-year waiting period before a person is eligible for nondisclosure (see below for a list of those misdemeanors). For all felony cases, a person must wait five years before he or she is eligible to file a petition.
The granting of a petition for nondisclosure is discretionary with the court – the judge may or may not grant it depending on the nature of the offense and whether the District Attorney’s Office opposes the petition. Having knowledge and experienced counsel in preparing and presenting a petition for nondisclosure is important to achieving the best possible outcome.
Misdemeanors with a two-year waiting period:
- Abuse of corpse
- Advertising for placement of child
- Aiding suicide
- Assault
- Bigamy
- Cruelty to animals
- Deadly conduct
- Destruction of flag
- Discharge of firearm
- Disorderly conduct
- Disrupting meeting or procession
- Dog fighting
- False alarm or report
- Harassment
- Harboring runaway child
- Hoax bombs
- Indecent exposure
- Interference with emergency telephone call
- Leaving a child in a vehicle
- Making a firearm accessible to a child.
- Obstructing highway or other passageway
- Possession, manufacture, transport, repair or sale of switchblade knife or knuckles
- Public lewdness
- Riot
- Silent or abusive calls to 9-1-1 service
- Terroristic threat
- Unlawful carrying of handgun by license holder
- Unlawful carrying weapons
- Unlawful possession of firearm
- Unlawful restraint
- Unlawful transfer of certain weapons
- Violation of protective order preventing offense caused by bias or prejudice
