Everyone, at some point, has made a bad mistake or has been in the wrong place at the wrong time resulting in trouble.

Unfortunately for some, trouble can result in a criminal record reflecting an arrest, charge or conviction. While most convictions cannot be removed from a person’s record, Texas law does allow individuals to permanently remove information about an arrest, charge or conviction from their permanent records in certain circumstances. This is called an expunction. Once a person’s record is expunged, all information is removed from the criminal record and that person can deny the incident ever occurred.

Records eligible for expunction include:

1. An arrest for a crime that was never charged;
2. A criminal charge that was ultimately dismissed;
3. Certain qualifying misdemeanor juvenile offenses;
4. Conviction of a minor for certain alcohol offenses;
5. Conviction for Failure to Attend School;
6. Arrest, charge or conviction on a person’s record due to identity theft by another individual that was actually arrested, charged or convicted of the crime;
7. Conviction for a crime that was later acquitted by the trial court or the Criminal Court of Appeals;
8. Conviction for a crime that was later pardoned by the Governor of Texas or the US President.