Under Texas law, a juvenile is ten to sixteen years old. An adult is seventeen and older. Sealing of records, which is covered below, governs clearing offenses that occurred as a juvenile.
Expunction and non-disclosure are the two main mechanisms to clear an offense that occurred as an adult.
When a juvenile record is sealed, all of the records are destroyed except the court file which is kept by the court clerk. Any mention of the record in computer or paper indices is removed.
If the juvenile has received a determinate sentence, any juvenile record that the petitioner has can never be sealed.
The judge shall immediately seal a record when the juvenile is found not guilty after a trial.
Agencies that have a record of the arrest must return the records to the juvenile court within 60 days of receiving the order. All index references to the record must be deleted within 60 days of receipt of the order.
The petitioner is allowed to deny the arrest, even in a subsequent criminal proceeding.
Section 106.12 of the Texas Alcohol Beverage Code allows a minor who has a conviction for possession of alcohol by a minor to expunge the arrest if he reaches the age of twenty-one and does not have another conviction for the offense.