Juvenile Probation

To be sure your records are eligible for and placed on restricted access you must:

• Successfully complete your period of probation or parole with no violations; and commit no criminal offense after becoming 17 years of age.
  
• The Restricted Access system truly gives juveniles the opportunity for rehabilitation and a fresh start if they do not commit any further criminal offenses.

If your juvenile records are placed on restricted access, you are allowed to:

• deny the existence of the records; and
  
• deny the arrest, prosecution, or adjudication ever happened.

For example, once the records are on restricted access, you may legally answer “No” when a job, school, or occupational licensing application asks, “Have you ever been arrested for or convicted or adjudicated of a crime?”

Restricted access does not apply to sex offender registration records because the purpose of sex offender registration is to notify the public. If you are required to register as a sex offender for an offense committed as a juvenile, you may have the right to have your records sealed after your obligation to register expires. There are also legal proceedings available that may allow for reconsideration of your duty to register.

Restricted access does not apply to gang records. However, access is limited to federal, state, and local criminal justice agencies for a criminal justice purpose, which means employers and schools cannot access the gang records.

Texas has a system in place that restricts the access to juvenile records once a person turns 17 years of age. This is in addition to your opportunity to have your records sealed or destroyed under other provisions in the Texas Family Code. Under automatic restriction of access, the records are not destroyed or sealed; they still exist but can only be accessed by federal or state criminal justice agencies for a criminal justice purpose, such as investigation of a crime or screening applicants for employment with the criminal justice agency. For anyone else who asks about the records, including employers, schools, and licensing bodies, the entity in possession of the records is required to respond, “No records exist for that person.” Additionally, once your records have been restricted, you are allowed to “legally deny” your history and say you were never arrested, prosecuted, or adjudicated for an offense.