A conviction for driving while intoxicated in Texas may complicate many areas of your life. The financial repercussions of a drunk driving conviction are considerable, for example. In some cases, the details of your DWI arrest and conviction also have the potential to haunt you for years to come, impacting everything from your ability to find quality housing to your ability to lock down a job.
Per the Texas Courts, Texas now allows some DWI offenders to pursue orders of non-disclosure, which are formal court orders that prevent law enforcement agencies and other government agencies from accessing information about your offense.
How DWI non-disclosures work
If you are successful in securing a DWI non-disclosure, then the information about your arrest and conviction is not going to show up on background checks for employment or housing. To get a DWI non-disclosure, you must meet certain eligibility terms. For starters, your DWI arrest must have been your first such charge, and your blood alcohol concentration must have fallen below a certain level. You also must have paid all necessary fines and complied with all other penalties relating to your arrest. You also have to wait a certain amount of time before seeking a DWI non-disclosure.
When you may seek a DWI non-disclosure
You may be able to request a DWI non-disclosure after two years if you completed the terms of your sentence and part of your sentence involved using an ignition interlock device for at least six months. Otherwise, you may be able to ask for one after five years have passed since you completed the terms of your sentence.
The state may deny your non-disclosure request if your DWI stemmed from an accident that involved someone else, even if the other party was traveling in your car.