Sealing a Texas DWI With an Order of Nondisclosure

Expunction is the remedy people ask for. Nondisclosure is the remedy most people with a DWI actually get.

The dividing line is a conviction. If the case ended in one, or in deferred adjudication, the record cannot be destroyed. What Texas offers instead is an order of nondisclosure, which seals the record from public view while leaving it visible to a defined list of agencies.

That is a real result and it is not the same result. This page covers who qualifies for a DWI nondisclosure, how long you have to wait, and the disqualifiers that catch people who assumed they were eligible.

Sealing Is Not Erasing

There are two forms of record relief in Texas and they are not variations on a theme.

Expunction destroys the record. It is available only where the case ended without a conviction and without community supervision, and once it is granted the person can lawfully deny the arrest ever happened. That is the subject of Expunction.

Nondisclosure seals the record. The record continues to exist. What changes is who is allowed to see it and who is allowed to disclose it.

That difference is the reason this page exists separately. If your case ended in a conviction or in deferred adjudication, expunction is off the table, and sealing is the relief that remains. Which of the two you end up eligible for is decided by how the case ends, which is mapped on Every Way a Texas DWI Case Can End. Read the next section before deciding how much sealing is worth to you, because it is regularly oversold.

Who Can Still See a Sealed Record

This is the most common misunderstanding about nondisclosure, so it goes near the top rather than in a footnote.

A sealed record is removed from ordinary public view. A private background check run by a landlord or a typical employer generally will not surface it, and in most settings a person with a sealed record can decline to disclose it.

It is not invisible. Criminal justice agencies retain access, courts and prosecutors can see it, it can be used against you in a later criminal case, and a defined list of agencies, licensing bodies, and employers in regulated fields are entitled to it by statute. If your concern is a professional license, a school district, a hospital system, a bank, a law enforcement application, or anything touching childcare, sealing may not solve the problem you actually have.

Nondisclosure After a First DWI Conviction

Texas has DWI-specific nondisclosure statutes, separate from the general nondisclosure provisions, in Subchapter E-1 of Chapter 411 of the Government Code. Three of them do the work in a DWI case, and which one applies depends on how the sentence was served. All three reach an offense under Penal Code §49.04 only, and all three exclude the Class A offense under §49.04(d), which is the 0.15 enhancement.

Where community supervision was granted and successfully completed. Government Code §411.0731. You may petition on or after the second anniversary of the date you completed supervision if the court ordered you, for at least six months, to drive only a vehicle equipped with an ignition interlock, and on or after the fifth anniversary if it did not.

Where jail time was taken instead, or where probation was revoked and jail was imposed. Government Code §411.0736. Here the clock runs from completion of the whole sentence, meaning any confinement served plus all fines, costs, and restitution paid: the third anniversary where an interlock condition of at least six months was ordered and complied with, and the fifth anniversary where the court ordered no interlock at all.

Both routes also carry conditions the general nondisclosure statute does not. The interlock condition is the one that moves the waiting period. The alcohol concentration is the one that ends the conversation: at 0.15 or above, neither route is open at all.

Nondisclosure After Deferred Adjudication

Deferred adjudication became available for certain first-time Texas DWI offenses committed on or after September 1, 2019. It is not available for every DWI, and the conditions are narrow: it has to be a genuine first offense, the alcohol concentration has to have been below 0.15 at the time of the offense and the person cannot have held a commercial driver’s license, both under Article 42A.102, and the person has to have an ignition interlock on the vehicle they own or regularly drive.

For record purposes the important consequence is this. A person who successfully completes a DWI deferred can say they were not convicted, and may seek an order of nondisclosure under Government Code §411.0726 on or after the second anniversary of the discharge and dismissal. That is the main practical benefit of the deferred route.

It is not a clean slate. A successfully completed DWI deferred can still be used as a prior offense to enhance a later charge, which is why the disposition is sometimes described as deferred in name only. The eligibility rules and that enhancement problem belong to Deferred Adjudication.

The Waiting Periods

Every nondisclosure route has a waiting period, and the period runs from a defined event rather than from the arrest. Which event, and how long, depends on how the case ended and on whether an ignition interlock was ordered.

The interlock point is the one people miss. Under the DWI nondisclosure statutes, the presence of an interlock condition changes the waiting period, which means two people with the same conviction can become eligible at different times.

The waiting period is also not the only clock. A subsequent offense during the waiting period generally resets or destroys eligibility, so the period is a period of staying out of trouble rather than a period of simply waiting.

What Disqualifies You

Several categories of case cannot be sealed at all, regardless of how much time passes. In broad terms they fall into three groups: certain offenses excluded by statute from nondisclosure entirely, dispositions that do not qualify under the applicable route, and subsequent criminal conduct during the waiting period.

For DWI specifically, three disqualifiers do most of the work, and each one appears in all three of the routes above.

A collision involving another person. If the State presents the court with evidence that the offense resulted in a motor vehicle collision involving another person, including a passenger in your own car, the court may not issue the order. Waiting longer does not fix this one.

Any prior conviction or deferred adjudication. You cannot ever have been convicted of, or placed on deferred adjudication community supervision for, another offense, with one exception: a traffic offense punishable by fine only.

An alcohol concentration of 0.15 or higher. The Class A offense under Penal Code §49.04(d) is written out of §411.0731 and §411.0736 by name, and a 0.15 finding closes the deferred route at the front end as well. A 0.15 DWI conviction cannot be sealed at all.

The Suspension Stays on Your Driving Record

A nondisclosure order does not reach your driving record.

Records relating to the suspension or revocation of a driver’s license are treated separately by statute and generally cannot be cleared through record relief. Only one route in a DWI case reaches them, and it is not this one. See Expunction.

The practical consequence is worth being plain about. Sealing a DWI conviction can take the criminal record out of ordinary public view and leave the license suspension sitting on the driving record where an insurer or a commercial licensing check will find it. What can and cannot be undone on the license side is covered on Getting Your License Back.

Answering the Question After a Record Is Sealed

This is the highest-stakes sentence anyone will read on this page, which is exactly why it is not going to be answered here in general terms.

Texas nondisclosure law addresses what a person may lawfully say about a sealed record, and it does not give the same answer in every setting. An application for an ordinary private-sector job, an application to an agency entitled to receive the sealed record, a professional licensing questionnaire, a security clearance form, and a question asked under oath are not the same question, and the correct answer in one is the wrong answer in another. Answering incorrectly on a licensing or government application can create a new problem larger than the sealed one.

Until you have that answer for your specific situation, the safe course is to ask your lawyer before completing any form that asks about criminal history, and to bring the form with you rather than describing it.

Filing the Petition

A petition for nondisclosure is a separate proceeding, filed after the case is over and after the waiting period has run. It is not automatic, nobody at the courthouse initiates it for you, and a case that has been eligible for years stays unsealed until somebody files.

It is also engaged separately from the defense of the DWI. See What a DWI Fee Does and Does Not Cover.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a DWI nondisclosure in Texas?

An order of nondisclosure seals a criminal record from most public access. The record still exists and criminal justice agencies and certain statutorily entitled employers and licensing bodies can still see it, but it is removed from ordinary public view.

Can a DWI conviction be sealed in Texas?

In some cases, yes. Texas has DWI-specific nondisclosure statutes at Government Code 411.0731 and 411.0736 covering first DWI convictions, with different routes depending on whether the sentence was community supervision or jail time, and with conditions tied to the alcohol concentration and to ignition interlock use.

How long before I can seal my DWI?

The waiting period depends on the disposition and on whether an ignition interlock was ordered and used, and it runs from a defined event rather than from the arrest. The specific periods are set by statute and should be confirmed for your disposition rather than assumed.

What is the difference between expunction and nondisclosure?

Expunction destroys the record and is available only where the case ended without a conviction and without community supervision. Nondisclosure seals the record so most of the public cannot see it, and it is what remains available after a conviction or a completed deferred adjudication.

Who can still see a sealed DWI in Texas?

Criminal justice agencies, courts and prosecutors, and a defined statutory list of agencies, licensing bodies, and employers in regulated fields. A sealed record can also be used against you in a later criminal case. If your concern is a professional license, sealing may not reach it.

Can deferred adjudication be sealed in Texas?

A person who successfully completes a DWI deferred adjudication can say they were not convicted and may petition for nondisclosure after the applicable waiting period. Deferred is only available for certain first offenses committed on or after September 1, 2019, and a completed deferred can still enhance a later charge.

Does sealing a DWI clear my driving record?

No. A nondisclosure order does not reach the license suspension records, which are treated separately by statute. A DWI acquittal is the only route in a DWI case that clears the ALR references from a driving record.