Your Situation
Found Not Guilty of Marijuana Possession — Erasing the Arrest in Texas
The jury said not guilty — but the arrest, the charge, and the trial record are all still public until expunged. An acquittal is the strongest expunction posture in Texas law, and it comes with a deadline worth knowing about.
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Statute
Tex. Health & Safety Code § 481.121
Offense level
Class B misdemeanor (2 oz or less) up to felony for larger amounts
Immediate eligibility — and the 30-day cost shift
Acquittals qualify for expunction right away, with no waiting period. Better: when the petition is filed within 30 days of the acquittal, Texas law generally shifts the costs to the state. If your verdict was recent, that clock is running now.
Why finish the job after beating a marijuana possession charge
Background checks don't render verdicts — they print entries. An acquitted marijuana possession case still shows the arrest and charge, and screeners rarely read to the disposition column. A marijuana record is a routine reason for job application rejections, and it carries special weight in fields that require background checks — healthcare, education, transportation (CDL), and any federal employment. It can also jeopardize financial aid and housing applications. Because these cases end in dismissal so often, people frequently assume the record is gone; it isn't until a court orders it expunged.
Common questions
I was found not guilty — isn't my record automatically clean?
No. The acquittal ends the case, but the arrest and court records remain public until a judge orders them expunged. The verdict makes expunction essentially yours to claim — but you must claim it.
What happens if I miss the 30-day window?
You remain fully eligible to expunge — you just lose the state-pays-costs benefit. Don't let a missed window become a reason to leave the record standing.
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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