Juvenile Record Sealing: address an eligible case from juvenile court.

A separate system

Juvenile matters begin with a referral to a juvenile probation department and are heard by the county's designated juvenile court. Their records are confidential in ways adult records are not, and clearing them is called sealing. Two routes exist: sealing without an application, which happens once statutory age and record conditions are met, and sealing on application, which can be pursued earlier or when the automatic conditions are not satisfied.

When an application can be filed

Under Texas Family Code §58.256, application sealing may be available at age 17, or under age 17 once at least one year has elapsed after final discharge, subject to the remaining statutory requirements. The court may order sealing of the records for all matters for which you were referred to the juvenile probation department if you:

• are at least 17, or are younger than 17 and at least one year has passed since final discharge in each matter;
• have no delinquent-conduct matters pending with any juvenile probation department or juvenile court;
• were not transferred by a juvenile court to a criminal court for prosecution;
• have not, as an adult, been convicted of a felony; and
• have no pending adult charges for a felony or for a misdemeanor punishable by jail.

Note the distinction on adult history: an adult felony conviction bars application sealing, but an adult misdemeanor conviction that is already completed does not (a pending jailable misdemeanor does). Adult and juvenile records are otherwise handled by different remedies — an adult case is never "sealed" under this chapter.

Cases the court may not seal

Even when the age and record conditions are met, a court may not seal the records of a person who:

• received a determinate sentence for delinquent conduct involving one of the serious offenses listed in Family Code §53.045 (murder, capital murder, aggravated kidnapping, sexual assault, and others) or for habitual felony conduct;
• is currently required to register as a sex offender under Chapter 62 of the Code of Criminal Procedure; or
• was committed to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department or a post-adjudication secure correctional facility, unless discharged from that agency.

Registration and commitment questions are therefore among the first the screener asks on the juvenile track.

Sealing without an application

Separately from the application route, the Family Code entitles some people to have their juvenile records sealed automatically, without applying, once conditions are met. A person referred for delinquent conduct is entitled to sealing without application at 19 if they were never adjudicated for felony-grade delinquent conduct, have no pending juvenile matters, were not transferred to adult criminal court, have no adult conviction for a felony or a jailable misdemeanor, and have no pending adult felony or jailable-misdemeanor charges. A person referred only for conduct indicating a need for supervision is entitled to it once 18 with a comparable clean record. In those situations the Department of Public Safety and the juvenile probation department certify eligibility to the juvenile court, and the court is to issue the sealing order without an application. For people who do not qualify for sealing without an application, the application route may still be available, including some people who qualify earlier than the automatic dates or whose completed adult misdemeanor history blocks the no-application route but not the application route. We confirm what has and hasn't already happened to the record before recommending anything.

Transfer to adult criminal court

A juvenile court can waive its jurisdiction and transfer certain felony cases to adult district court — sometimes called being certified as an adult. A case that was transferred is treated as an adult case for record-clearing purposes: it is outside juvenile sealing entirely, and its adult remedies are the ones on the expunction and nondisclosure pages. The screener asks about transfer at the very start of the juvenile track for this reason.

What sealing does

When the court orders sealing, the adjudications are vacated and the proceedings are dismissed and treated as though they never occurred; the clerk seals the court records; and the Department of Public Safety, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, law enforcement, prosecutors, and every other entity named in the order seal or destroy their records and delete their index references. An entity that later receives an inquiry must respond that no records exist. You are not required to state, in any proceeding or in any application for employment, licensing, admission, housing, or other benefit, that you were the subject of a juvenile matter, and neither the sealed information nor your denial of it may be used against you.

Where a sealing application is filed

Juvenile record sealing follows separate Texas Family Code procedures and is handled through the appropriate juvenile court. Under Family Code §58.256, the application is filed in the juvenile court served by the juvenile probation department your case was referred to, and the court may not charge a fee for filing it. We confirm the proper court from the juvenile record before filing.

What actually decides it

Eligibility depends on case-specific facts, including:

• your age and the time since final discharge;
• whether any juvenile matter is still pending, and whether any adult charge is pending;
• adult felony history;
• whether the case involved a determinate-sentence commitment, current sex-offender registration, or a TJJD or secure-facility commitment that has not been discharged;
• whether the case was transferred to adult court;
• the specific adjudication and how the case ended.

The process, attorney review, and cost

1. Free check — the screener routes juvenile cases through their own questions.
2. Records verification — a paralegal confirms the referral history, adjudications, discharge dates, and any commitment or transfer from the juvenile record.
3. Attorney approval — Joshua Andor, who is Board Certified in Criminal Law and in Child Welfare Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, approves the determination.
4. Application — filed in the proper juvenile court with the statutorily required identifying information and the list of entities holding records; the court may seal immediately without a hearing or hold one within 60 days.
5. Order and compliance — the court sends the order to every listed entity within 60 days, and each entity seals or destroys its records.

The $1,250 flat attorney fee covers one standard juvenile-record-sealing matter in Collin or Denton County, paid $625 at engagement and $625 before filing. There is no court filing fee for a juvenile sealing application under §58.256; if any other cost applies to your matter, we tell you before anything is filed.

Common questions

I was 16 when it happened. Is that a juvenile case?

Usually. Texas juvenile courts handle conduct by a "child" — generally age 10 through 16 at the time of the conduct. Cases at 17 or older are adult cases handled under adult expunction or nondisclosure rules, and a juvenile case transferred to adult court is treated as adult.

Do I have to wait until I turn 17?

Not always. An application can be filed under 17 once at least one year has elapsed after final discharge in each matter, if the other conditions are met. At 17 the one-year requirement no longer applies.

Will it happen automatically?

For some people, yes — at 19 for delinquent-conduct referrals and at 18 for conduct-indicating-a-need-for-supervision referrals, if the statutory conditions are met. If you qualify earlier, or your record does not meet the automatic conditions, an application is the route. We confirm from the record whether an order has already issued.

I have an adult misdemeanor conviction. Am I disqualified?

Not from the application route — that requires no adult felony conviction and no pending jailable charge. A completed adult misdemeanor does, however, block the automatic sealing route for delinquent-conduct referrals.

Can I say I have no juvenile record after sealing?

Yes. You are not required to state in any proceeding or application that you were the subject of a juvenile matter, and the sealed information cannot be used against you.

Is there a filing fee?

The court may not charge a fee for filing a juvenile sealing application. Our attorney fee is separate and covers the eligibility work, the application, and the follow-through.