Ask Deandra: Will a DWI Show Up on My Background Check?

Here is the longer answer, including what different types of background checks actually pull and what you can do about it.

Why a DWI Is So Visible on Background Checks

Unlike some categories of court records, criminal case records in Texas, including DWI arrests and convictions, are public by default. Background check companies build their databases from county clerk records, DPS criminal history records, and in some cases direct courthouse searches, so a DWI case that has not been sealed or expunged is generally discoverable through any of these paths, not just one.

How Far Back a Background Check Can Reach

Two different rules apply here, and they do not say the same thing. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, at 15 U.S.C. Section 1681c, bars a consumer reporting agency from reporting records of arrest that are more than seven years old, but it places no time limit at all on reporting a criminal conviction. That is why a conviction from decades ago can still appear on a report while a non-conviction arrest from eight years ago generally should not.

Texas has its own rule that looks stricter on paper. Business and Commerce Code Section 20.05 bars a consumer reporting agency from reporting criminal record information more than seven years old, convictions included. Two things blunt it. Section 20.05(b) exempts employment at an annual salary of $75,000 or more, along with credit transactions and life insurance of $150,000 or more. And there is a live question whether the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act preempts the Texas limit altogether, a problem the Texas State Law Library flags in its own research guide. The practical advice is not to plan around the seven-year rule.

Employment Background Checks

• Standard employer checks. Most pre-employment background checks include a criminal history search that will show a DWI conviction unless it has been sealed under an order of nondisclosure.
• Positions requiring state licensing. Employers in fields that require a professional or occupational license, such as healthcare, education, or financial services, often run checks directly against state licensing board records, which can see a sealed conviction even when a standard employer cannot.
• Driving-related jobs. Any position that involves driving as part of the job, and certainly any CDL position, will surface a DWI through the employer’s own DPS driving record check, which is a separate search from a general criminal background check. This is the gap that catches people. Sealing the criminal case does not clean up the driving record, where alcohol-related entries persist on their own timeline regardless of what happens on the criminal side.
• Federal employment and security clearances. Federal background investigations reach further than commercial background check companies and will typically see a DWI regardless of state-level sealing.

Housing and Tenant Screening

Landlords and property management companies commonly run tenant screening reports that include criminal history, and a DWI conviction will generally appear on these reports the same way it appears on an employment check. Some larger apartment communities and property managers apply blanket policies around certain criminal history categories, so a visible DWI can affect a housing application even when the underlying facts of the case would not concern a reasonable individual landlord.

How Nondisclosure Changes What Shows Up

An order of nondisclosure under the Second Chance Law removes the conviction from the record that most commercial background check companies and private employers can access. Which statute applies depends on how your case resolved: Government Code Section 411.0726 for deferred adjudication, Section 411.0731 for a conviction with community supervision, and Section 411.0736 for a conviction with no community supervision. Sealing does not remove the case from view for licensing agencies, law enforcement, and the other entities listed in Section 411.0765. In practical terms, a sealed DWI usually stops appearing on the background check a typical employer or landlord runs, but it can still surface in a check run by a professional licensing board or a government employer. If you are asking this question because of a specific job or license, which kind of background check applies to you is often the most important variable in the entire answer.

Two provisions matter once the order is signed. Government Code Section 411.0755 says a person whose record is the subject of a nondisclosure order is not required, in any application for employment, information, or licensing, to state that they have been the subject of the criminal proceeding covered by the order. And Government Code Section 411.0851 requires a private entity that compiles and sells criminal history information to destroy the record and stop disseminating it once the entity receives notice of the order, and makes it liable for damages plus court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees if it does not. If a sealed case is still turning up on a commercial report months later, that second statute is the lever.

What an Arrest Alone Can Do, Even Without a Conviction

An arrest that did not result in a conviction, whether the case was dismissed, you were acquitted, or the grand jury declined to indict, can still appear on a background check until the case is formally expunged under Chapter 55A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which replaced the old Chapter 55 effective January 1, 2025. This surprises a lot of people who assume a dismissed case simply disappears. It does not disappear on its own. The court record persists until an expunction order actually goes through, which means pursuing expunction in an eligible case is not just a formality. It is often the only way to stop a dismissed DWI arrest from continuing to show up for years. Once the order is final, Article 55A.401 lets you deny both the arrest and the existence of the expunction order, with one exception: if you are questioned under oath in a criminal proceeding about the arrest, you may state only that the matter has been expunged.

What to Do If You Are Facing a Background Check Now

• Check your own record first. Before an employer or landlord runs a check, request your own criminal history from DPS, and pull your driving record separately. They are two different files, and a DWI can appear on one and not the other depending on how the case resolved and what relief you have obtained.
• Determine your eligibility for nondisclosure or expunction. Whether your case qualifies for sealing or, if it did not end in conviction, for expunction depends on the specific facts and timeline of your case.
• Be accurate on applications. Many employment and housing applications ask directly about criminal history, and the right answer depends on what category your case is in. If the case was sealed, Section 411.0755 means you are not required to state it on an application for employment, information, or licensing. If it was expunged, Article 55A.401 lets you deny the arrest outright. Anything that has not been sealed or expunged is a different matter, and misrepresenting a conviction that is later discovered can create a separate problem bigger than the DWI itself. Know which category you are in before you answer the question.

DWI Defense at Deandra Grant Law

Deandra Grant Law represents clients across Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, McKinney, Frisco, Allen, Lewisville, Denton, Rockwall, and Waco. Deandra M. Grant, J.D., M.S. in Pharmaceutical Science, holds the ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist designation and is the author of The Texas DWI Manual. If a DWI is affecting your job search, a housing application, or a professional license, call (214) 225-7117 or visit texasdwisite.com. Remember: you have only 15 days from the date you are served with your Notice of Suspension to request an ALR hearing, and how your case ultimately resolves determines whether nondisclosure or expunction is ever available to clear your record.

Have a DWI question you want answered in this series? Submit it at texasdwisite.com and it may be featured in a future Ask Deandra post.