Eligibility: You may be eligible for expunction in Texas if you meet one of the following criteria:

• You were found not-guilty after a trial.
• You were arrested but never charged with an indictment or an information; the charge is no longer pending; and you have not been convicted of a felony in the five years preceding the date of the arrest to be expunged.
• The indictment or information was dismissed or quashed; the statute of limitations has expired; and you have not been convicted of a felony in the five years preceding the date of the arrest to be expunged.
• You were convicted but were later pardoned by the governor.
• You were acquitted by the Court of Criminal Appeals.
• You completed deferred adjudication for a Class C misdemeanor.
• Another person pretended to be you when arrested. Now you have a criminal record erroneously attached to your name.

Effect: If granted an expunction, criminal justice agencies will cease to release your criminal record. There are a few exceptions stated in the law. For example, law enforcement agencies will have access to the information. So will some other government entities.

Furthermore, you may deny the existence of the arrest and the existence of the expunction order. One exception: if you are questioned in a criminal proceeding about the expunction, you may not deny the arrest, but you may say that the matter has been expunged.