So you want to clear that DWI from your record.. Here's how you qualify.
Texas only allows nondisclosure (record sealing) for DWI cases if the person received deferred adjudication under the limited circumstances where deferred adjudication is allowed.
To qualify for nondisclosure of a DWI that received deferred adjudication, a person must:
1. Finish the deferred adjudication successfully, including getting the case dismissed at the end,
2. Not have any disqualifying criminal history, and
3. Never have been convicted of or given deferred adjudication for anything else, except for minor traffic tickets.
Only true first-time offenders qualify.
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Waiting Period
A person can’t apply for nondisclosure right away. They must wait two years after completing deferred adjudication and after the case is dismissed.
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No Nondisclosure if There Was a Crash
Even if a person qualifies in every other way, the judge is not allowed to seal the record if the DWI involved a collision with another person, even if that person was just a passenger.
Any crash involving someone else automatically makes the case ineligible.
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BAC of 0.15 or Higher
Anyone with a breath or blood test showing 0.15 or more cannot get deferred adjudication, which means they also cannot get nondisclosure. The 0.15 number is the dividing line—below it, deferred adjudication may be possible; at or above it, it is not.
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Strict Requirements
The rules for sealing a DWI that received deferred adjudication are extremely strict.
Only people who:
• Are true first-time offenders,
• Had a BAC below 0.15,
• Completed deferred adjudication successfully,
• Did not cause a crash, and
• Wait two years after finishing,
can even apply.
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Conclusion
Texas gives very limited chances to seal a DWI. Only first-time offenders with a low BAC, no collision, and a clean history—who also completed deferred adjudication successfully—can qualify. Everyone else is blocked. The rules are strict because the state wants to give people a second chance, but also wants to protect the public from dangerous driving.