What is the difference between expungement and nondisclosure?
Non-disclosure requires DPS to send a copy of the order to all law enforcement agencies, jails, etc. who are then ordered to seal the records, but not destroy them. So, they cannot disclose the offense, but the records are not destroyed. Also, the prior criminal record could be used against the person in a subsequent prosecution. Expungement results in the destruction of all references and records of the case from public records. The DPS also requests any federal depository to return and destroy them. The court record for expungement is destroyed 60 days – 1 year after order is issued. A case is only eligible for one service and what the eligible service is depends on the sentence for that case.
