Texas Record Guide
Can Apartments See Sealed or Expunged Records in Texas?
Rental applications are where old records do quiet damage: a screening report flags an arrest from years ago, and the apartment 'goes to another applicant.' Here's what tenant screening can actually see after your record is expunged or sealed in Texas — and what to do if it's still showing.
How tenant screening works
Landlords rarely search court records themselves. They buy reports from tenant-screening companies, which compile eviction history, credit, and criminal records from public databases they've purchased or scraped. Those databases are only as current as their last update — which is both the problem and the solution.
Screening companies are consumer reporting agencies under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. That matters: the FCRA requires them to maintain reasonable accuracy, and reporting a record that a court has ordered expunged is a compliance problem they take seriously when challenged.
After an expunction
An expunction order requires government agencies to destroy the records — and Texas law prohibits the release, dissemination, or use of expunged records. Licensed background and screening companies that receive DPS data are obligated to purge expunged records from what they report.
The gap is stale private databases: a screening company that bought data before your expunction may still be sitting on the old record. The fix is a dispute under the FCRA — with a certified copy of your expunction order, screening companies remove the record, and most do so quickly. We advise clients on this cleanup as part of finishing the job.
After an order of nondisclosure
Sealing has the same practical effect for housing: private entities, including landlords and tenant screeners, are cut off from the record, and DPS stops releasing it to them. The statute's exceptions — law enforcement, certain licensing boards — don't include apartment complexes.
And a point that surprises people: after either remedy, you can generally answer 'no' to a rental application's criminal-history question about that matter. That's the point of the order — the law lets you move on, on paper and in person.
Common questions
My expunged case still shows on a rental screening report. What do I do?
Dispute it with the screening company under the FCRA, backed by your expunction order. Companies are required to correct inaccurate reports, and expunged records qualify. We help clients handle these disputes.
Can a landlord deny me for a sealed record?
A landlord shouldn't ever see a sealed record — nondisclosure orders cut private screeners off from it. If one surfaces anyway, that's a stale-database problem with a legal fix.
Do I have to disclose a dismissed case on a rental application?
A dismissal isn't a conviction, and most applications ask only about convictions — read the question carefully. After expunction, you may lawfully deny the arrest itself in nearly all contexts.
Disclaimer: This page is general legal information about Texas law, not legal advice about your case, and reading it does not create an attorney‑client relationship. Eligibility depends on the complete details of your criminal history — get a free case review for a definitive answer.
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