Career Guide · Military & Security Clearances
Expunged Records and Security Clearances (SF-86)
Clearance holders get the most honest version of this page, because the federal rules are unusual: the SF-86 explicitly requires disclosure of police records even if expunged or sealed. So why clear your record at all? Because disclosure and visibility are different problems — and clearing solves the second one.
Done reading?
Let us take this off your plate —
What investigators see, what you must say
National-security questionnaires (SF-86) instruct you to report qualifying police matters regardless of expunction — answer them truthfully; a clearance is lost to concealment far more often than to an old arrest. Investigators, however, corroborate through records checks, and an expunged Texas record stops appearing in the state and commercial systems those checks sweep.
For everything outside the clearance itself — off-post employment, landlords, reenlistment paperwork that asks only about convictions, spouse employment — an expunged record works exactly as it does for civilians: gone from the databases, deniable in most contexts.
Service members and Texas records
Off-post arrests near Fort Cavazos, Fort Bliss, JBSA, and elsewhere are state matters clearable through the county courts — usually without the service member appearing, on military timelines. Command notification is generally yours to manage subject to your service's rules; the civil expunction itself is a proceeding you control.
Common questions
Do I still list an expunged arrest on my SF-86?
Yes, where the form's questions require it — the SF-86 says to include expunged and sealed matters. Answer truthfully; the mitigation story ('charge dismissed, record expunged') is a strong one.
Then what does expunction actually get me?
It removes the record from state and commercial databases — everything outside the clearance process: employers, landlords, licensing, and the background noise of ordinary life. And in the clearance file, a court-ordered expunction is favorable evidence, not a red flag.
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.
Clear the record before the next check
Free, confidential review — we'll tell you exactly what your field's screening will and won't see.