Expunging Criminal Cases That Were Fully Dismissed

Attorney Answer

A dismissal by itself does not make a Texas case expungable. What matters is whether a formal charge was ever filed and, if it was, why the case was dismissed — so on the facts you have given, no one can yet say either case qualifies.

Expunction of a dismissed case does not happen automatically; it requires filing a Petition for Expunction with the court in the county where the case was handled. The petition would be filed in the county where the cases were handled.

Texas expunction now runs through Chapter 55A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, recodified from Chapter 55 effective January 1, 2025. Article 55A.051 sets the threshold: you were released, the charge did not end in a final conviction and is not pending, and you were not placed on court-ordered community supervision for the offense other than for a Class C misdemeanor. After that, which article applies turns on whether you were ever formally charged. If an indictment or information was presented and then dismissed, Article 55A.053(a)(2) entitles you to expunction only if the court finds the case was dismissed because you completed a veterans treatment court program, a mental health court program, or a pretrial intervention program; because the charge was presented "because of mistake, false information, or other similar reason indicating absence of probable cause"; or because the charging instrument was void. A dismissal as part of a plea in another case, a dismissal after informally satisfying conditions, or a dismissal in the interest of justice meets none of those — which is exactly what the appellate decision below turned on. If no indictment or information was ever presented, Article 55A.052 controls instead, and there the grade of the offense does set the wait: 180 days from arrest for a Class C misdemeanor, one year for a Class A or B misdemeanor, three years for a felony — unless the prosecutor certifies that the records are not needed for any criminal investigation or prosecution, which removes the wait.

There is no separate felony waiting rule for a charge that was presented and dismissed. Article 55A.053 applies the same way to your felony and your misdemeanor, and Article 55A.053(d) states that a person entitled to expunction under it gets one "regardless of whether any statute of limitations exists for the offense and whether any limitations period for the offense has expired." Expiration of limitations is instead its own independent route, under Article 55A.054, open at either offense level once prosecution is no longer possible. So do not build a plan around a felony-only limitations wait or a prosecutor's waiver — find out first whether each case was formally charged, and if it was, on what ground it was dismissed.

What you can do:

1. Confirm the exact dismissal and offense dates for both the felony and misdemeanor cases.

2. Pull the dismissal order in each case and see what reason it gives — that reason is what Article 55A.053(a)(2) requires the court to find. If a case was never indicted or charged by information, check the Article 55A.052 clock instead: one year from arrest for a Class A or B misdemeanor, three years for a felony, unless the prosecutor certifies the records are not needed.

3. File the Petition for Expunction in the county where the cases were handled once eligibility is confirmed for each case.

4. Consult a local expunction attorney to confirm timing rather than assuming both cases are immediately eligible.

⏱ Time limits apply. If a case was never formally charged, Article 55A.052 sets the wait from the date of arrest — 180 days for a Class C misdemeanor, one year for a Class A or B, three years for a felony — unless the prosecutor certifies the records are not needed. If a charge was presented and then dismissed, Article 55A.053 imposes no waiting period at all, but it does require a qualifying reason for the dismissal, and expiration of the limitations period is a separate route under Article 55A.054. A local attorney can confirm which article each of your cases falls under.