How Long Does a DWI Stay on Your Record in Texas?
The answer most people searching this question do not want to hear — but need to know — is that a DWI conviction in Texas is permanent. There is no waiting period after which a DWI conviction automatically falls off your record. There is no expungement available for DWI convictions. There is no deferred adjudication available for DWI charges in Texas that would allow you to avoid the conviction in the first place. A DWI conviction in Bexar County or anywhere in Texas goes on your criminal record on the day of conviction and stays there indefinitely — appearing on background checks for employment, housing, professional licensing, and security clearances for the rest of your life.
That is the baseline reality. The rest of this post explains the specific situations where that baseline does not apply — where a DWI-related record can be cleared — and what options exist for people who received a DWI conviction years or decades ago and want to understand whether anything can be done.
Why DWI Convictions Cannot Be Expunged in Texas
Expunction under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55 is available for arrests that did not result in a conviction — cases that were dismissed, charges that were never filed, and acquittals at trial. It is also available for certain Class C misdemeanor convictions and for convictions that were later pardoned. It is not available for DWI convictions — not first-offense misdemeanor DWI, not felony DWI, not any level of DWI conviction.
The reason is statutory — the Texas Legislature has specifically excluded DWI convictions from expunction eligibility. There is no workaround, no waiting period that unlocks eligibility, and no judicial discretion to grant expunction for a DWI conviction that the statute does not authorize. An attorney who tells you they can expunge your DWI conviction is either misinformed or misleading you.
Why Deferred Adjudication Does Not Help With DWI
In many other criminal cases, a defendant can plead guilty or no contest and receive deferred adjudication community supervision — a form of probation where the judge defers a finding of guilt, and if the defendant successfully completes the supervision period, the case is dismissed without a conviction. For most offense types, successfully completing deferred adjudication makes the defendant eligible for an order of nondisclosure — sealing the record from public access.
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 42A.102 expressly prohibits deferred adjudication community supervision for DWI offenses. A plea of guilty or no contest to a DWI charge in Texas is a conviction — period. There is no deferred adjudication pathway, no dismissal after probation, and no nondisclosure eligibility through that route for DWI.
This is the single most consequential thing to understand about DWI in Texas. It means that if you are facing a DWI charge and are considering a plea, you are considering a permanent conviction on your record. The decision about whether to accept a plea or to fight the charge — through a suppression motion, through trial, or through negotiating a reduction to a lesser charge — carries lifelong consequences that most defendants do not fully appreciate at the time the decision is made.
The 2017 Nondisclosure Law — The Limited Exception
In 2017, the Texas Legislature created a narrow nondisclosure remedy for certain first-offense DWI convictions under Texas Government Code Section 411.0731. This law allows a person with a single DWI conviction — no prior DWI convictions and no prior criminal history — to petition for an order of nondisclosure under specific conditions.
To qualify, the DWI conviction must meet all of the following requirements. The offense must have been a first conviction with no prior criminal history of any kind. The BAC at the time of the offense must have been below 0.15. No accident involving another person occurred in connection with the offense. The defendant must not have been required to use an ignition interlock device as a condition of any community supervision. And a waiting period must have elapsed — two years from the date the community supervision period ends, the fine is paid, or the jail sentence is completed, whichever is later.
If all of these conditions are met, the person may petition the court that entered the conviction for an order of nondisclosure. The court has discretion to grant or deny the petition — it is not automatic even when all conditions are met. The judge considers whether granting the nondisclosure is in the best interest of justice.
What nondisclosure actually does is seal the record from public access — removing it from the Texas Department of Public Safety’s public criminal history portal and from most private background check databases. It does not destroy the records. Government agencies, law enforcement, courts, and many professional licensing boards retain access to sealed records. A nondisclosure for a DWI conviction does not restore the record to non-conviction status for purposes of federal law, federal employment, or the federal firearms prohibition if a family violence element is involved.
The practical significance is real but limited. A nondisclosure allows most private employers and landlords to no longer see the DWI on a standard background check — which is meaningful for employment and housing. It does not resolve the record for professional licensing boards, security clearances, or federal purposes.
What Happens to a DWI Arrest That Did Not Result in Conviction
This is where the options are significantly better. If your DWI charge was dismissed — by the prosecutor, by the court, or after a not-guilty verdict at trial — you may be eligible for expunction under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55. After expunction, all records of the arrest are destroyed. You can legally deny the arrest ever occurred on job applications, housing applications, and most professional licensing applications.
For a dismissed DWI charge, expunction eligibility is straightforward in most cases. The arrest occurred, charges were filed or the case was presented to a grand jury, and then the case was dismissed without a conviction. You must wait until the statute of limitations for the DWI offense has expired — two years for a misdemeanor DWI — before filing the expunction petition, unless the prosecution declined to prosecute and signed a statement to that effect. An attorney who files the expunction petition promptly after eligibility attaches can have the records destroyed relatively quickly.
If your DWI was dismissed as part of a plea to a lesser charge — for example, if the DWI was dismissed and you pleaded guilty to obstruction of a highway or another non-DWI offense instead — the DWI arrest record may be expungeable even though you have a conviction on the lesser charge. The expunction in that situation applies to the DWI arrest and the dismissed DWI charge, not to the lesser offense conviction.
How Prior DWI Convictions Affect Future Cases
Even when no current remedy is available for an old DWI conviction, understanding how that conviction affects future situations is important. A prior DWI conviction in Texas can be used to enhance a new DWI charge — a second DWI becomes a Class A misdemeanor rather than a Class B misdemeanor, and a third DWI becomes a third-degree felony under Texas Penal Code Section 49.09. Prior DWI convictions from other states count toward enhancement in Texas as long as the elements of the out-of-state offense are substantially similar to Texas’s DWI statute.
A prior DWI conviction also affects sentencing in a new DWI case — a defendant with a prior conviction faces a mandatory minimum of 30 days in jail rather than the 72-hour minimum that applies to first-offense DWI. The mandatory IID requirement is also triggered by a prior DWI conviction regardless of the BAC in the new offense.
For professional licensing purposes, a DWI conviction remains reportable indefinitely — even decades after the conviction. The Texas Board of Nursing, the Texas Medical Board, the Texas Education Agency, the State Bar of Texas, and other licensing bodies conduct license renewal reviews that require disclosure of criminal history regardless of when the conviction occurred. A DWI from 1995 is still disclosable and still reviewable by a licensing board in 2026.
For security clearances, prior DWI convictions are evaluated under the adjudicative guidelines administered by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. A single older DWI conviction with evidence of rehabilitation and a clean record since is typically not disqualifying — but it must be disclosed and will be evaluated. Multiple DWI convictions or a recent DWI are more significant clearance concerns.
What to Do If You Are Facing a DWI Charge Now
The most important implication of everything in this post for someone currently facing a DWI charge is this: fight it. Not because every DWI case can be won, but because the alternatives to a conviction — dismissal, charge reduction, not-guilty verdict — produce outcomes that are dramatically better for your record than a conviction. A dismissed DWI is expungeable. A reduced charge to obstruction of a highway may also allow expunction of the DWI arrest. A not-guilty verdict at trial produces immediate expunction eligibility. A DWI conviction produces a permanent record with no complete remedy.
The defense options in a DWI case — suppression of the traffic stop, challenge to field sobriety test administration, challenge to breath or blood test results — are genuine and frequently successful. An attorney who evaluates those options thoroughly before any plea is entered gives you the information you need to make a decision that you will live with for the rest of your record’s existence.
If you received a DWI conviction in San Antonio or Bexar County and want to understand whether any record relief is available, or if you are currently facing a DWI charge and want to understand your defense options, call Barton & Associates at 210-500-0000. Consultations are free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day.
