If your Collin County deferred adjudication completed successfully — or your case ended in a dismissal that doesn't qualify for expunction — your Order of Nondisclosure petition goes to the same Collin County district court that handled the original case, filed through the Collin County District Clerk at the Russell A. Steindam Courts Building, 2100 Bloomdale Road, McKinney. Texas Government Code §411.0725 routes nondisclosure to the convicting court.

Collin County's civil section reviews most §411.0725 nondisclosure petitions on a structured docket. Best-interest hearings are set in roughly 30–35% of pro-se cases — moderate by Texas standards. The Collin DA's civil section frequently consents in writing on uncontested first-time misdemeanor deferreds where the underlying offense is on the eligible list and the petitioner has a clean post-completion record.

The local angle that matters most for Collin County nondisclosure is the corporate-corridor employment landscape. McKinney-Plano-Frisco background-check intensity means that even after a granted nondisclosure, the record needs to reach the major commercial vendors heavily used in the corridor. The §411.0765 carve-out also matters here: many corridor employers run roles tied to financial-services, banking, or healthcare licensing — sectors where the carve-out keeps the record visible.

This guide covers the Collin County non-disclosure process as it stands in 2026. For the statewide statutory framework, see our Texas non-disclosure pillar guide; for Collin expunction (when the case qualifies), see our Collin County expunction guide.

Sealing vs. Expunging in Collin County

Same rule in Collin County as everywhere else in Texas: if you are eligible for expunction, file that instead. Expunction destroys the record; non-disclosure just seals it. Use the table below to confirm which one applies:

If you completed Class A/B or felony deferred adjudication in Collin County, you are most likely looking at non-disclosure — not expunction. If you had a Collin County dismissal, acquittal, or no-bill, see our Collin County expunction guide instead.

What Makes Collin County Different for Non-Disclosure

Five Collin-specific factors to know before filing.

• Corporate-corridor §411.0765 exposure. Many of the largest McKinney-Plano-Frisco employers operate in financial services (JPMorgan), insurance (Liberty Mutual), or transportation/logistics (FedEx, Toyota) — sectors where the §411.0765 carve-out hits hardest. State licensing boards in those sectors retain access to nondisclosed records. A nondisclosure helps with general corporate roles, but for licensed-industry positions in the corridor it has limited reach.
• Collin DA written consent on §411.0725. The Collin DA's civil section frequently signs a written consent on uncontested first-time misdemeanor §411.0725 petitions, eliminating the best-interest hearing. Pro-se filers can request the consent directly before filing.
• Reliable §411.072 automatic processing. Collin County's automatic nondisclosure under §411.072 on first-time misdemeanor deferreds is generally processed reliably for cases dismissed since September 1, 2017. Pull a DPS criminal-history check on yourself before filing anything new; the order may already be in place.
• Plano Municipal Court / Frisco Municipal Court for Class C. Class C deferred adjudications from Plano Municipal Court, Frisco Municipal Court, McKinney Municipal Court, Allen Municipal Court, etc. are nondisclosed under §411.0728 in the originating municipal court — not in Collin County District Court. Each suburb's MC has its own filing process.
• Frisco-Denton straddle for venue. Frisco spans the Collin–Denton county line. The §411.0725 petition files in the same county that took the original deferred dismissal — pull the case file to verify which county prosecuted before drafting.
• Distribution to commercial vendors. A granted nondisclosure order is distributed to DPS, but commercial background-check vendors heavily used in the McKinney-Plano-Frisco corridor (Checkr, HireRight, Sterling, GoodHire, plus regional vendors) need separate notification. Send certified copies of the order directly to each vendor after the order is signed.

Filing in Collin County — Quick Reference

The Gov. Code Chapter 411 Pathways

Texas non-disclosure lives in Chapter 411, Subchapter E-1 of the Government Code. Unlike expunction, which has a single primary statute, non-disclosure is spread across multiple sections. The correct section depends on your fact pattern. In Collin County, the five most commonly invoked sections are:

Citing the wrong section is a technical denial on its face, even in Collin County where the clerks see these petitions daily.

Statutory Disqualifiers Under 411.074 — Check Your Collin County Judgment First

Before you spend a filing fee, confirm your Collin County offense is not on the permanently excluded list under Gov. Code 411.074(b):

• Offenses requiring sex offender registration (Chapter 62 CCP)
• Aggravated kidnapping
• Murder and capital murder
• Trafficking of persons and continuous trafficking
• Injury to a child, elderly, or disabled individual
• Abandoning or endangering a child
• Violations of protective orders and bond conditions in family-violence cases
• Stalking
• Any offense with a family-violence finding under Family Code 71.004
• DWI with BAC ≥ 0.15 (automatic non-disclosure barred; petition-based may still be available in limited circumstances)

Where to File in Collin County

Non-disclosure petitions go to the court of original jurisdiction — the same Collin County court that handled your deferred. Not a new court, not a different division. Getting this wrong is a clean denial.

The clerk does not reassign non-disclosure petitions filed in the wrong court. You will get a rejection and have to refile in the correct court. Wasted filing fee unless Collin County refunds on a clerk error — which it sometimes does, but not always.

Collin County Filing Fees

Same reality check as expunction: Collin County charges a civil filing fee for non-disclosure petitions. Rather than list a specific dollar amount that will be stale by the time you read this, confirm the current fee from the source:

Indigency waivers under TRCP 145 are accepted in Collin County but reviewed carefully. Expect to submit a full Statement of Inability to Afford Payment with supporting documentation.

The 12-Step Collin County Non-Disclosure Walkthrough

Step 1 — Pull the Collin County deferred adjudication order

Request a certified copy from the Collin County District Clerk (for Class A/B and felony) or from the municipal/JP court (for Class C). Read it carefully for a family violence affirmative finding.

Step 2 — Confirm the offense is not excluded under 411.074

If the offense itself or any finding on the judgment disqualifies you, stop — non-disclosure is not available.

Step 3 — Identify the correct Gov. Code section

Work through 411.072, 411.0725, 411.0726, or 411.0729 depending on offense level and timing. Most Collin County deferred completers land on 411.0725.

Step 4 — Calculate the waiting period from discharge

No waiting period for most Class A/B deferreds. 2 years for family or sexual contact misdemeanor deferreds. 5 years for felony deferreds. 2 years after sentence completion for 411.0729 first-offense misdemeanor convictions.

Step 5 — Pull a current DPS criminal history

Any intervening conviction or deferred (other than a minor traffic offense) during or after community supervision is a disqualifier. Do not assume — pull the current record.

Step 6 — Draft the Petition for Order of Non-Disclosure

Cite the correct section. Plead completion of community supervision, waiting period satisfied, no intervening convictions, and a best-interest-of-justice paragraph that is not boilerplate. Collin County judges read it.

Step 7 — Draft the Proposed Order of Non-Disclosure

Mirror the petition. Include the clerk's obligation to forward the order to DPS within 15 business days.

Step 8 — E-file through eFileTexas

Select the court of original jurisdiction. Upload petition, proposed order, and civil case information sheet. Pay the filing fee.

Step 9 — Serve the Collin County Criminal DA

Certified mail to 2100 Bloomdale Rd., Suite 12124, McKinney, TX 75071 Keep the green card.

Step 10 — Prepare the best-interest-of-justice hearing packet

This is where most pro-se Collin County non-disclosures are won or lost. See the detailed hearing section below.

Step 11 — Attend the hearing at the Collin County Courthouse

Bring exhibits, declarations, and your narrative. Arrive 30 minutes early for the Collin County Courthouse security.

Step 12 — Confirm DPS sealing and dispute any stale vendor reports

Clerk forwards the signed order to DPS within 15 business days. DPS updates within 45–90 days. Background-check vendors refresh within 90–180 days. If the record keeps appearing, dispute under FCRA with a certified copy of the order.

The Best-Interest Hearing at Collin County Courthouse

In Collin County, petition-based non-disclosures under 411.0725 almost always get set for a best-interest-of-justice hearing — even when the Collin County DA does not object. This is different from expunction, where uncontested petitions are usually granted on the papers.

A Collin County best-interest hearing typically runs 15–30 minutes in front of the same judge that handled the original deferred. You are asking the court to find that sealing is in the best interest of justice. The court is not required to grant it; you are carrying the burden.

What Collin County judges want to see:

• Employment evidence. W-2s, pay stubs, a letter from an employer — anything that shows you are productively employed since discharge.
• Specific prejudice from the unsealed record. A declined job offer, a denied apartment, a licensing denial. Bring the declination letter if you have it.
• Rehabilitation. Certificates from community-supervision programs, education records, counseling completions.
• Community involvement. Church attendance, volunteer work, letters from supervisors or religious leaders.
• A coherent narrative. "I am not the person I was then. Here is what I have done since. Here is what sealing this record will unlock for my family."

The eFileTexas Nightmare — Watch This Before You Start

Collin County non-disclosure petitions go through eFileTexas. Same portal as expunction, same rejection traps, same filing-code quirks. Spend 10 minutes on this walkthrough before your first filing.

Collin County non-disclosure-specific traps on the portal:

• Filing type. Collin County handles non-disclosure petitions in a couple of different ways — some courts reopen the original criminal case, others treat it as a new civil matter. If you pick the wrong mode on eFileTexas, the clerk rejects.
• Sealed filing flag. Some Collin County courts require the non-disclosure petition itself to be filed under seal so the petition is not public record tied to the original criminal case. You have to flag this manually on the portal.
• Correct court queue. Non-disclosure goes to the court of original jurisdiction. The portal does not warn you if you pick the wrong court.
• Filing code specificity. "Petition for Order of Non-Disclosure" — not "Motion to Seal," not "Petition." Wrong code routes to wrong queue and delays review.

What Collin County "Sealed" Actually Means — and Doesn't

After a Collin County judge signs a non-disclosure order:

• Within 15 business days — the Collin County clerk forwards the order to DPS.
• Within 45–90 days — DPS updates its criminal-history system and notifies other Texas criminal justice agencies.
• Within 90–180 days — private background-check vendors that subscribe to DPS data pick up the sealing and stop reporting the record.

What Collin County non-disclosure does not do:

• Does not erase the record — it remains at the Collin County District Clerk, DPS, and the arresting agency, flagged as non-disclosed.
• Does not bind Plano PD, Collin County Sheriff, the DA, or the courts. Law enforcement retains full access.
• Does not bind certain licensing boards listed in Gov. Code 411.0765 — the State Board for Educator Certification, Texas Medical Board, Texas Board of Nursing, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, and others. These boards can still see the record.
• Does not erase federal records. FBI, ICE, and other federal agencies keep copies.
• Does not require private vendors to purge. They must stop disclosing but can retain the record in their database.

DFW is one of the heaviest background-check markets in the country. Even after Collin County non-disclosure, you should expect to dispute at least one or two vendor reports that keep showing the record. Keep a certified copy of the signed order on hand for FCRA disputes.

10 Collin County Non-Disclosure Mistakes That Kill DIY Petitions

1. Filing on a Collin County deferred with a family-violence finding. Automatic disqualifier under 411.074. Read the judgment before filing.
2. Wrong Gov. Code section. Confusing 411.0726 (automatic) with 411.0725 (petition) or 411.0729 (post-conviction).
3. Filing in the wrong Collin County court. Non-disclosure goes to the court of original jurisdiction — not a new court.
4. Assuming automatic non-disclosure happened without confirming with DPS. Even when 411.0726 applies, the automatic process fails often enough that a petition or motion to compel is sometimes still needed.
5. Outdated Collin County DA service address. The current Collin County DA service address is Suite 100, 2100 Bloomdale Road, McKinney, TX 75071 (Collin County Courthouse). Old templates may point to a stale address — verify before mailing or your service will be returned.
6. Walking into the best-interest hearing unprepared. No exhibits, no narrative, no witnesses — common Collin County pro-se result.
7. Boilerplate best-interest paragraph in the petition. Collin County judges read these. Generic language triggers denials.
8. Concatenated petition and proposed order. Collin County requires separate PDFs.
9. Not flagging sealed filing. Some Collin County courts require the petition itself filed under seal. Pro-se filers miss the checkbox.
10. Skipping vendor follow-up. The order seals the record in Texas criminal justice databases — but DFW background-check vendors need affirmative disputes. Not doing this undoes the value of the sealing.

DIY vs. Attorney vs. Expunction360 in Collin County

For Collin County non-disclosure, honest answer: contested best-interest cases often benefit from a full-service attorney who can appear at the hearing. For uncontested petitions with clean facts and clear eligibility, our flat-fee model is the best value in DFW. We will tell you which category you fall in on the intake call.

Collin County Non-Disclosure FAQ