Eligible convictions may be expunged upon motion ten years after completion of sentence for felonies and five years for misdemeanors, if there have been no intervening convictions and no pending charges.  Specified offenses are ineligible.  Persons entitled to “first offender pardons” are eligible for immediate expungement, specifically including drug crimes.  Expungement of felonies may be granted only once every 15 years (except for deferred adjudication cases), and misdemeanor expungements only once every five years (except for DUI convictions which must wait 10 years).  Expunged records are not publicly available but may be accessed by law enforcement and certain licensing agencies and may serve as predicates.

In 2023 the legislature directed development of an automated expungement process, requiring the BCII to collect eligible records and provide individuals with a simplified internet filing process, with short timetables established by statute connecting the BCII and court record systems.

Expungement is authorized following deferred adjudication for certain noncapital felonies, and other non-conviction records may be expunged “at any time.”  A felony arrest that resulted in a misdemeanor conviction may be expunged.  Non-adjudication juvenile records may be expunged at age 17; misdemeanor adjudications may be expunged two years after satisfaction of judgement; felony adjudications, excluding certain serious offenses, may be expunged two years after satisfaction of judgement, with no subsequent weapons offenses and no pending charges.