Expunged Records

[Bandit19D]

By reading this if you have a court ordered Texas Expungment you do not need disclose.

Art. 55.03. EFFECT OF EXPUNCTION. When the order of expunction is final:
(1) the release, maintenance, dissemination, or use of the expunged records and files for any purpose is prohibited;
(2) except as provided in Subdivision (3) of this article, the person arrested may deny the occurrence of the arrest and the existence of the expunction order; and
(3) the person arrested or any other person, when questioned under oath in a criminal proceeding about an arrest for which the records have been expunged, may state only that the matter in question has been expunged.

I wish I saw this before submitting my chl app. I did include a past expungement. Oh well sometimes you miss something, even w/ research.

[kde71450]

I had a Class A Misdemeanor from Baltimore, MD in 1972. I was able to get the court record that showed i paid a fine and did 6 mos probation of two years probation. And that the final decree the balance of the sentence was suspended. It added an extra month to the process, and I had called my state senator for help with DPS (and they where in my case happy to intercede for me, because it was 40 years ago) just received CHL on last Monday 04/01/2013. If your case had been expunged, there should not even be an arrest record shown, but i am not a lawyer !

[Brad Mc]

Even if you tell DPS it never happened or it was expunged, I would atleast get the County Clerk from where your arrest happened to send you a letter stating that they have no record of any such conviction. That way if DPS sends you a letter wanting proof, you'll already have it. If it was a misdemeanor DPS probably will not care about the arrest since its been over 5 years. On Day 60 of my application I received a letter from DPS wanting proof that there was no record of an old felony arrest from 1993. Luckily I still live in the county from which my arrest happened. It was easy for me to obtain the proof letter by going down to the courthouse and asking for it. Having to get the letter did slow my process down about a week even though I sent the document in the next day. If they do ask for proof. Make sure you FAX it in for a speedier response. Call the next day to make sure your background technician got the fax.

[MamaK]

an expungement isn't a dismissal. I'd defer to Chas on this for the legal speak. My knowledge on the fingerprinting is that when you get something expunged, it isn't in the local law enforcement databases but if you apply for employment with the government disclosure of an expungement is a must because it will pop due to you being in NCIC. NCIC is where your Morphotrust fingerprints go to. NCIC checks all of the states and even other countries including Interpol. Expunged records can be accessed by investigators. NCIC is for law enforcement only and because you were charged the arrest will be on there.

How DPS will react, what it means for Texas law - that's Chas' realm. You also might want to consider his advice if you want to seek getting your information removed from NCIC, or even if it is possible.

[nightmare69]

Would it be worth my time to have my juvenile record expunged? I had a felony charge in 1998 when I was 13yrs old. I sent in info about the arrest to DPS and got my CHL. I work for a public school and had to go through a BG check also. Ive never had it come up or stop me from getting jobs, guns, ect. Just wondering if its worth it to hire a lawyer to get it off my record.

[lavtexas2012]

I wanted to comment on this, since it has been a concern of mine for sometime and prevented me from moving forward with my CHL until now. Back in 2001 I had an issue where I was arrested with a 2nd degree felony. The issue was no billed at the grand jury and charges were never filed. My attorney had this arrest expunged, and I have supporting documentation regarding that if necessary. I was told by my attorney that I would never have to report this on anything and could legally say it never happened. I finally decided to go through with my CHL licensing. I submitted my paperwork the beginning of February. In the submission I did not disclose the arrest since I was told I didn't have to by my attorney. I had also called DPS a few years ago and talked to a representative about it and they also told me not to worry about it. At worst, if I didn't disclose and something came up, I would have to send in supporting documentation. I got the notification online today that my background check has been completed and my license is being manufactured. Feel very relieved at this point and thankful that I had a good attorney. I hope this information helps anyone that has the same concerns that I did.

[Keith B]

I wanted to comment on this, since it has been a concern of mine for sometime and prevented me from moving forward with my CHL until now. Back in 2001 I had an issue where I was arrested with a 2nd degree felony. The issue was no billed at the grand jury and charges were never filed. My attorney had this arrest expunged, and I have supporting documentation regarding that if necessary. I was told by my attorney that I would never have to report this on anything and could legally say it never happened. I finally decided to go through with my CHL licensing. I submitted my paperwork the beginning of February. In the submission I did not disclose the arrest since I was told I didn't have to my my attorney. I had also called DPS a few years ago and talked to a representative about it and they also told me not to worry about it. At worst, if I didn't disclose and something came up, I would have to send in supporting documentation. I got the notification online today that my background check has been completed and my license is being manufactured. Feel very relieved at this point and thankful that I had a good attorney. I hope this information helps anyone that has the same concerns that I did.

Welcome to the forum. The fact that you were no-billed by the Grand Jury and your attorney made sure the arrst was expunged from your records means there is no record of it at all. Unlike an deferred adjudication where ther is a conviction, the no-bill means you never were convicted, just charged. The expungment made sure the arrest and charges were wiped from the records. All in all, as you say, worth having a good attorney.

[WildBill]

I wanted to comment on this, since it has been a concern of mine for sometime and prevented me from moving forward with my CHL until now. Back in 2001 I had an issue where I was arrested with a 2nd degree felony. The issue was no billed at the grand jury and charges were never filed. My attorney had this arrest expunged, and I have supporting documentation regarding that if necessary. I was told by my attorney that I would never have to report this on anything and could legally say it never happened. I finally decided to go through with my CHL licensing. I submitted my paperwork the beginning of February. In the submission I did not disclose the arrest since I was told I didn't have to my my attorney. I had also called DPS a few years ago and talked to a representative about it and they also told me not to worry about it. At worst, if I didn't disclose and something came up, I would have to send in supporting documentation. I got the notification online today that my background check has been completed and my license is being manufactured. Feel very relieved at this point and thankful that I had a good attorney. I hope this information helps anyone that has the same concerns that I did.

Welcome to the forum. The fact that you were no-billed by the Grand Jury and your attorney made sure the arrst was expunged from your records means there is no record of it at all. Unlike an deferred adjudication where ther is a conviction, the no-bill means you never were convicted, just charged. The expungment made sure the arrest and charges were wiped from the records. All in all, as you say, worth having a good attorney.

Congratulations lavtexas2012! Here's to your attorney.