What Is An Order Of Nondisclosure?

 Posted on July 24, 2020 in Criminal Defense

An order of nondisclosure is the legal mechanism we use to seal the records of an arrest and the court proceedings following a special kind of probation called "Deferred Adjudication." People sometimes are surprised to find out that they're arrested for a crime, they go to court, their attorney does a good job and they receive deferred adjudication. They successfully complete all the terms of their probation and they get their case dismissed. Then, later in life, during a routine background check for a job or for a house, the records of the arrest and the court proceedings still pop up, and this is because they have not taken the affirmative step of obtaining an order of nondisclosure to seal all those records from private background checks.

What does an order for nondisclosure do?

So what an order of nondisclosure does is, it's gonna seal the records of your arrest and court proceedings from all private background checks. So if you're in San Antonio and you're applying for a job at HEB or Valero and they run that background check on you, it's not going to pop up at all. This is much better than having to go into your job interview and explain that -- yes you were arrested, you completed your probation, and the case was dismissed. With an order of non-disclosure, you won't have to mention the arrest at all.

Who can still see my records even with nondisclosure?

So law enforcement agencies as well as professional licensing through the state of Texas will still have access to those records. So while it's not a complete destruction of all the records it will hide it from about 95% of the population. 

Do I have the right to obtain an order for nondisclosure?

The bottom line is this -- if you have taken the time and the expense to complete your court-ordered deferred adjudication, you have earned the right under Texas law to get an order of nondisclosure. The sooner you do it, the better it will protect your future, your family and your employment.