Your Situation
DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) Deferred Adjudication — Background Checks & Sealing
You did everything the court asked and the case was dismissed — yet the dwi (driving while intoxicated) deferred adjudication still shows on background checks. That's not a mistake; it's how Texas law works. The fix isn't expunction — it's an order of nondisclosure, and most people qualify.
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Statute
Tex. Penal Code § 49.04
Offense level
Class B misdemeanor (Class A at 0.15+ BAC); felony for repeat offenses
What deferred adjudication for a DWI charge looks like on a check
The record shows the arrest, the charge under Tex. Penal Code § 49.04, and a deferred-adjudication disposition — which many screeners and employers read as an admission, because entering deferred adjudication typically involved a plea. Until sealed, it reports like any other case.
Sealing: how and when
Texas law now allows many first-time DWI convictions to be sealed with an order of nondisclosure — generally if your BAC was under 0.15 and the incident involved no accident with another person, after a two-year wait with six months of ignition interlock or five years without.
An order of nondisclosure cuts off employers, landlords, and background vendors; law enforcement and certain licensing agencies retain access. For most people, that's the difference that matters — the commercial checks that decide jobs and housing come back clean.
Note for DWI: deferred adjudication for DWI only became available in 2019, so most older DWI cases resolved differently — if yours was a conviction, see our DWI conviction sealing analysis instead.
Common questions
Does completed deferred adjudication for a DWI charge count as a conviction?
Legally it is not a conviction for most purposes — but it looks like one on background checks until sealed, and some contexts (immigration, certain licenses) treat it distinctly. Sealing addresses what the private world sees.
When can I seal my dwi (driving while intoxicated) deferred adjudication?
Many misdemeanors qualify immediately upon discharge and dismissal; some categories wait two years; felony deferreds generally wait five. We compute your date from your discharge paperwork, free.
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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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