Criminal (Felony) Court Section

The District Clerk strongly recommends that you
consult an attorney prior to filing any petition.

Filing fees are not refundable and you are solely responsible for any mistakes either in the petition or in pursuing your action. The District Clerk is prohibited by law from providing you any assistance or instruction on how to fill out forms or what to do after filing a petition.

Filing Without an Attorney?

If you are a self-represented (pro-se) filer, you may file your completed petition for expunction or non-disclosure at the District Clerk’s cashier window on the second floor of the Frank Crowley Courts Building, 133 N. Riverfront, Dallas, Texas between the hours of 8am to 4pm, Monday through Friday. You may also file your petition electronically. Please see the electronic filing page on this website for instructions. If you are an attorney, you are required to file your electronically. Please see the criminal filing fees link for the current cost for filing expunction and non-disclosure petitions.

ORDERS OF NON-DISCLOSURE

The Texas Office of Court Administration at this link provides online resources to assist you in understanding whether you are eligible for an order of non-disclosure. The site provides sample petitions and draft orders that you may use in any Texas court.

For information on the filing or status of your non-disclosure petition, please email us at: DCNondisclosures@dallascounty.org.

EXPUNCTION ORDERS

For information on the filing or status of your expunction petition, please email us at: DCExpunctions@dallascounty.org.

The District Clerk strongly encourages you to consult with an attorney prior to filing an expunction (expungement) petition with the district courts to determine whether you are eligible for one, and to ensure that the petition filed includes all of the necessary information. If for any reason your petition is not granted, or the court has determined that it is incomplete or defective, you will not receive a refund of the filing fees.

The District Criminal Courts and district courts giving precedence to criminal cases hear expunction petitions in Dallas County. You must file your original petition with a draft expunction order with the district clerk’s office on the second floor of the Frank Crowley Courthouse, 133 N. Riverfront Blvd., Dallas Texas 75202, Monday through Friday, 8:00AM to 4:00PM. Fees are payable at the time of filing. You may be eligible for a fee waiver based on your ability to pay the filing fees. State mandated affidavit forms are available online and at this website.

There is a wide variety of instructional information online to assist you in correctly filing a petition for expunction. The Texas Young Lawyers Association publishes a guide “Expunctions in Texas” that may answer many of your questions. The guide was published in 2010 and the law has been changed since then. The Texas State Law Library also publishes up-to-date information on their website with links to forms and other online information and references to material you may find in your local public library.

Click Here to View the Items You Need for an Expunction

For your convenience, an expunction petition and expunction order form is available at this link or on our website on the Criminal Downloadable Forms page under "Other Criminal Forms".

The District Clerk occasionally partners with the District Attorney to host ‘Expunction and Non-Disclosure’ Fairs at different locations throughout Dallas County. Keep watch for the dates and locations of these fairs on this website. You can get face-to-face answers to your questions and help filling out forms and assembling documents.

If you have hired an attorney to file your expunction (recommended), you may not be required to show up in court on the hearing date. If you are filing yourself, then you should be prepared to be present in court on the day of your hearing. Please remember that the District Attorney may contest your eligibility to receive an expunction. You may wish to contact the Assistant District Attorney assigned to the court that will hear your expunction to determine whether he or she will contest your petition.

The District Clerk has compiled a list of entities that Dallas County has sold bulk criminal record information to over the past decade that you may wish to include in your petition or order. Please see this list of Dallas County Bulk Data Subscribers. The process can be time consuming and may be in excess of three months. Once you file an expunction, you should be prepared to take the initiative to contact the court to check on its status and obtain a hearing date. Typically when an expunction order is signed, the District Clerk will remove public access to your Dallas County case information. You may wish to check the Dallas County’s online criminal records to check to ensure this was done. Contact the clerk’s office immediately if you find that it has not.

Remember that your case information may still be available from law enforcement agencies, TDPS and private online data banks until such time as they receive a copy of your expunction order and have removed the records. If you know of private data banks that have your information, you may wish to send them a copy of your expunction order personally and ask them to remove it.

Finally, you must always keep a copy of the court’s expunction order with your private papers. It is wise to keep a second copy in a safe location. Approximately one-year after the date of your expunction order, all records subject to the order will be destroyed including the order itself. By law, the clerk is not permitted to retain a copy of your expunction order and you will therefore not be able to obtain a replacement copy from the court. If you later discover that a public agency or private data bank has a record of your expunged case, and you have lost your copy of the court’s expunction order, you will have no way to prove that you received one.

OCCUPATIONAL DRIVERS LICENSE

An occupational license, also called an essential need license, is a special type of restricted license issued to individuals whose driver license has been suspended, revoked or denied for certain offenses other than medical or delinquent child support. Please see the Texas Department of Public Safety’s web page providing information on how you can file an ODL petition.

Requirements for filing an Occupational Drivers License (ODL) Petition in Dallas County District Courts:

1. 3 Petitions (1 notarized) and 2 copies of notarized original. The Petition for Occupational Driver's License asks the Court to issue an order.
2. 3 draft ODL Orders (1 original) and 2 copies. Order for Occupational Driver's License orders DPS to issue you an ODL.
3. Sr-22 Form. Sr-22 proof of insurance from obtained from your insurance company.
4. Official Driving Record from Texas Department of Public Safety.
5. Photo 1.0