Career Guide · Airport & Aviation Workers
Expunged Records and Airport Badges (SIDA) & TSA Checks
Every secured-area airport job — ramp, catering, maintenance, retail behind the checkpoint — requires a SIDA badge, and the badge requires a fingerprint-based Criminal History Records Check against a federal list of disqualifying offenses within a lookback window.
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How badge checks read your record
The federal list keys off convictions (and findings like not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity) for enumerated offenses, generally within a 10-year lookback. Arrests that ended in dismissal aren't disqualifiers — but an open-looking or messy record invites adjudication delays that cost start dates.
Because these are government fingerprint checks, sealing has limited effect at the badge layer; expunction removes the record from the systems checked. Airline and contractor HR checks, meanwhile, are commercial — where both remedies work fully.
Layered employment reality
Aviation workers pass the federal badge check once per employer but face commercial screens at hiring, promotion, and vendor changes constantly. Clearing an eligible Texas record smooths the whole stack — and keeps a recruiter's simple database check from contradicting your badge eligibility.
Common questions
Is a dismissed charge a SIDA disqualifier?
No — the federal list keys off convictions for enumerated offenses. But the arrest still appears until expunged and can slow adjudication; clearing it keeps the process routine.
My conviction is older than the lookback. Do I still need to clear it?
For the badge, aging out may suffice; for the airline's own commercial checks and every job after, the record still reports until sealed or expunged. Most aviation workers benefit from doing both analyses at once.
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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