House Bill 3016

Are you eligible to file a motion of nondisclosure?

House Bill 3016 was passed June 15th, 2017 and became effective September 1st, 2017.

Prior to this bill, DWI offenders were not allowed to have their records sealed & all records were permanent.

HB 3016 now allows a person convicted of a first-time Driving While Intoxicated offense with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) less than 0.15 to petition for an order of nondisclosure of criminal history related to that offense.

However, there are certain criteria that must be met to be eligible to petition for a nondisclosure of a Texas DWI.

A person may petition to have a DWI sealed only if he/she:

  • has never been convicted of, or placed on deferred adjudication community supervision (probation) for another offense - this does not include traffic offenses (offenses punishable by fine only);

  • has successfully completed any imposed community supervision and any term of confinement;

  • has paid all fines, costs, and restitution imposed; and

  • the waiting period has elapsed:

Waiting Period

  • 2 years if the person successfully completed a period of at least 6 months of driving restricted to a motor vehicle equipped with an ignition interlock device as a part of the sentence; or

  • 5 years if there was no interlock requirement as part of the sentence.

Additionally, the court will not issue an order of nondisclosure if an attorney representing the state presents evidence sufficient to the court that demonstrates that the underlying offense, for which the order was sought, resulted in a motor vehicle accident involving another person (this includes a passenger of the defendant).

If you are eligible to file for a motion of nondisclosure, this does not mean that your DWI conviction will be removed from your record.  It means that it will be subject to nondisclosure: it will not be disclosed to the public, and the record of your conviction will only be disclosed to certain parties such as criminal justice/law enforcement agencies.

Cases Prior to 2017

The new nondisclosure laws are retroactive.  This means that if you were charged or convicted prior to the passage of this bill into law, you may still be eligible to file for a motion of nondisclosure.   

Filing a Petition for an Order of Nondisclosure

Typical filing fee is around $300.  This varies depending on the county.

Use the button below to view a Nondisclosure Overview, Instructions, Model Petitions, and Model Orders. 

The forms related to DWI's are listed under Section 411.0731, Section 411.0726, and Section 411.0736.

If you were placed on deferred adjudication probation for your DWI offense, refer to Section 411.0726.

If you were placed on probation, but NOT placed on deferred adjudication probation for your DWI offense, refer to Section 411.0731.

If you were NOT placed on probation for your DWI offense, refer to Section 411.0736

What is an Order of Nondisclosure?

An order of nondisclosure is a court order prohibiting public entities, including courts, clerks of the court, law enforcement agencies, and prosecutorial offices, from disclosing certain criminal records. If you have a criminal record, you may benefit from obtaining an order of nondisclosure.

An order of nondisclosure legally frees you from having to disclose certain information about your criminal history in response to questions on job applications. You are not required to disclose information related to an offense that is the subject of an order of nondisclosure.

Please note that an order of nondisclosure applies to a particular criminal offense. The order does not apply to all offenses that may be on your criminal history record, but you may obtain multiple orders for multiple offenses.

As mentioned above, an order of nondisclosure prohibits entities holding information about a certain offense on your criminal history record from disclosing that information. This is a general rule. There are exceptions. Law enforcement and certain state agencies will be able to obtain the information, even if the court grants an order. For a list of such agencies, see Government Code Section 411.0765.

Which Agencies will Still be able to see My Record After a Non-Disclosure?

  • Board of Nurse Examiners

  • Department of Aging and Disability Services

  • Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services

  • Department of Family and Protective Services

  • Department of State Health Services, a local mental health service, a local mental retardation authority, or a community center providing services to persons with mental illness or retardation

  • District court regarding a petition for name change

  • Health and Human Services Commission

  • Law enforcement agencies

  • Municipal or volunteer fire department

  • Public or nonprofit hospital or hospital district

  • Safehouse providing shelter to children in harmful situations

  • School districts, charter schools, private schools, regional education service centers, commercial transportation companies, or education shared service arrangements

  • Securities commissioner, the banking commissioner, the savings and loan commissioner, or the credit union commissioner

  • State Bar of Texas

  • State Board of Educator Certification

  • Texas Board of Law Examiners

  • Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation

  • Texas Juvenile Probation Commission

  • Texas Private Security Board

  • Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired

  • Texas School for the Deaf

  • Texas State Board of Medical Examiners

  • Texas State Board of Public Accountancy

  • Texas Youth Commission

*This list is not intended to be all-inclusive. You should not act upon any such information without first seeking qualified professional counsel on your specific matter.

Communication of information by, in, to or through this Web site and your receipt or use of it (1) is not provided in the course of and does not create or constitute an attorney-client relationship, (2) is not intended as a solicitation, (3) is not intended to convey or constitute legal advice, and (4) is not a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a qualified attorney.   You should not act upon any such information without first seeking qualified professional counsel on your specific matter. 

Talk to your attorney to see if you qualify to file for a motion of nondisclosure.