Key Takeaways
- CCP 55A.151 allows expunction of dismissed or acquitted counts even when other charges from the same arrest ended in conviction.
- Most DIY filers and many attorneys miss this remedy entirely.
- The 2017 statutory rewrite and subsequent appellate decisions have broadened availability.
- Waiting periods match regular expunction (based on the dismissed charge's offense level).
- Limited expunction can be combined with later nondisclosure on the surviving count for maximum relief.
Texas law has a lesser-known but powerful remedy called a limited expunction (sometimes called a partial expunction). It applies when your case had multiple charges and only some of them were dismissed or acquitted. Most DIY filers — and even many attorneys who don't handle record clearing regularly — miss it entirely, leaving clients with a result that's far less than what they're actually entitled to under Chapter 55A of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.
This guide explains when limited expunction applies, how much of the record it actually clears, and why it's one of the most underused tools in Texas record-clearing law.
What Is a Limited Expunction?
In short: A limited expunction lets you clear only the charges from a single arrest that ended in your favor, even when another charge from the same arrest ended in conviction or deferred adjudication. It applies to multi-charge incidents that resolved with different outcomes, such as one count dismissed while another was pled to, or one acquitted while another was convicted. The authority is Code of Criminal Procedure Article 55A.151.
When a person is arrested on multiple charges in the same incident — say, a DWI plus a drug possession count — the case often resolves with different outcomes for each charge:
- One charge dismissed, another pled to
- One acquitted at trial, another convicted
- One no-billed by the grand jury, another proceeded to deferred adjudication
Under Code of Criminal Procedure article 55A.151, you can expunge just the charges that ended in your favor, even when another charge from the same arrest ended in conviction or deferred. That's a limited expunction.
Why It Matters
In short: A limited expunction does not wipe the whole arrest, but it removes the dismissed or acquitted charges from court records, stops those specific counts from appearing on background checks, and lets you accurately describe only what you were actually convicted of. It also improves your narrative when an employer or landlord sees the surviving record, since 'DWI' reads very differently from 'DWI plus drug possession.' It is especially valuable for multi-count indictments where prosecutors stacked charges as a negotiating tactic and later dropped everything but the lead count.
A limited expunction doesn't wipe the whole arrest. But it does:
- Remove the dismissed/acquitted charges from court records
- Stop those specific counts from appearing on background checks
- Allow you to accurately describe what you were actually convicted of (rather than the whole list that appeared on the original arrest record)
- Dramatically improve your narrative when an employer or landlord does see the surviving record — "DWI" reads very differently from "DWI + drug possession," even if you only were convicted of the DWI
It's particularly valuable for multi-count indictments where the DA originally stacked charges as a negotiating tactic and later dropped everything but the lead count.
When a Limited Expunction Applies
In short: Limited expunction applies when an arrest produced multiple charges and at least one ended in your favor while another ended in conviction -- for example, pleading to assault while resisting arrest is dismissed, or being acquitted of aggravated assault but convicted of unlawful carry. A single-charge full acquittal is just a regular full expunction, and a multi-charge case where everything was dismissed qualifies for full expunction on all counts. If every charge ended in conviction, no expunction relief is available.
The classic fact patterns we see:
| Scenario | Limited Expunction Available? |
|---|---|
| Arrested for Assault + Resisting Arrest → pled to Assault, Resisting dismissed | Yes — for Resisting |
| Arrested for DWI + Drug Possession → pled to DWI, drug count dismissed | Yes — for drug count |
| Arrested for Aggravated Assault + Unlawful Carry → acquitted of Aggravated, convicted on Carry | Yes — for Aggravated |
| Single-charge case, full acquittal | Not "limited" — just a regular full expunction |
| Multi-charge, all dismissed | Full expunction on all counts |
| Multi-charge, all ended in conviction | No expunction relief available |
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The Statutory Nuance
In short: Code of Criminal Procedure Article 55A.151 was significantly rewritten in 2017 and now permits limited expunction when the charges are 'associated with or related to' a charge that was dismissed or acquitted, even if the core conviction survives. This gives courts flexibility but creates judge-to-judge variation in how broadly 'related to' is read. Most Texas judges grant limited expunction on clearly separate charges, but sub-counts of a single offense arising from the same event are a grayer area that some courts treat as separable and others as one offense.
Texas CCP art. 55A.151 was significantly rewritten in 2017. Under the current version, limited expunction is permitted when the arrest and charges are "associated with or related to" a charge that was dismissed or acquitted, even if the core conviction survives. The statute gives courts flexibility, but also creates some judge-to-judge variation in how broadly "related to" is interpreted.
In practice, most Texas judges grant limited expunction on clearly separate charges from the same arrest. The grayer area is sub-counts of a single offense — for example, two counts of theft charged alongside each other that arose from the same event, one dismissed. Some courts treat those as separable; others see them as one offense for expunction purposes.
We track which judges in which counties have ruled which way on borderline limited-expunction petitions. It's one of the things you pay for when you hire professional preparation — knowing, before you file, whether your specific courthouse is likely to take a narrow or broad view of the statute.
What Actually Stays on the Record
In short: After a limited expunction, the dismissed or acquitted charges disappear from DPS, the arresting agency, the clerk's public file, and background-check vendors, but the surviving charge remains visible along with the fact of the original arrest. The case's cause number may still show the combined charge history on older court-records systems until they refresh, usually within 30 to 90 days. The result meaningfully lightens the surviving record for hiring and housing reviews.
After a limited expunction:
- The dismissed/acquitted charges disappear from DPS, the arresting agency, the clerk's public file, and background-check vendors
- The surviving charge remains visible — and with it, the fact of the original arrest
- The cause number of the case may still show the combined charge history on older court-records systems until those systems refresh (usually 30–90 days)
The narrative improvement is significant. Before: a single arrest showing 4 charges — 1 conviction, 3 dismissed. After: 1 conviction, no mention of the dismissed counts. The surviving record is much less "heavy" in hiring and housing reviews.
Common Mistakes With Limited Expunction
In short: DIY filers commonly make four mistakes: not filing because they assume the whole case is closed (there is no deadline, so even 10 or 20 years later the dismissed counts can still be cleared), filing a full expunction that names the whole arrest and gets denied because the conviction is not expungeable, failing to list every agency and background-check vendor so the dismissed counts keep appearing, and overlooking that the surviving conviction may later qualify for nondisclosure. Strategic filers sequence the remedies: limited expunction first, then nondisclosure on the surviving charge.
Mistake #1: Not Filing Because You Assume "The Whole Case Is Done"
Plenty of clients accepted a plea deal years ago and never learned that the dismissed companion charges are independently expungeable. Time doesn't hurt — there's no deadline to file a limited expunction for dismissed counts. Even 10 or 20 years later, it can still be done.
Mistake #2: Filing a Full Expunction by Mistake
DIY filers occasionally draft an expunction petition naming the whole arrest rather than the specific counts that qualify. Judges deny these because part of the arrest (the conviction) isn't expungeable. The fix is refiling as a limited expunction, which costs time and sometimes fees.
Mistake #3: Missing Background-Check Vendors
Same rule as full expunction — if the petition doesn't list every agency and vendor that might have a copy, the dismissed counts keep showing up. Partial relief with incomplete distribution is worse than full relief properly distributed.
Mistake #4: Forgetting Future Nondisclosure Possibilities
After a limited expunction clears the dismissed counts, the surviving conviction may separately qualify for nondisclosure down the line — depending on the offense and time elapsed. Strategic clients sequence the two remedies: limited expunction first to clear the companion charges, then nondisclosure later on the surviving charge.
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Texas House Bill 4504 (88th Legislature, 2023, effective January 1, 2025) was a non-substantive recodification of much of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. For expunctions, it relocated the rules from old Chapter 55 to new Chapter 55A and renumbered the relevant articles. The substantive eligibility rules and waiting periods were largely preserved — but every petition filed after January 1, 2025 should cite the new Chapter 55A numbering, and outdated templates that still cite Chapter 55 are a common reason for clerk rejection in Texas courts.
Will an Expunction Remove a Case From Google Search Results?
In short: Not on its own, and any service promising instant Google removal is overselling it -- a Texas expunction order is directed at government agencies, not Google, news sites, or private vendors. In practice the results usually disappear anyway: most listings are republished by data brokers and mugshot sites that scraped public court and jail databases, and once the served agencies destroy their copies under the Chapter 55A order, those feeds lose their source. Many vendors will remove an entry outright when sent a certified copy of the signed order.
Short answer: not on its own. Any service promising instant Google removal is overselling it — yet the results usually disappear anyway. A Texas expunction order is directed at government agencies. Under Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55A, the court orders the Texas Department of Public Safety, the arresting agency, the district clerk, and every other named respondent to destroy or return their records. That order does not, by itself, command Google, a news site, or a private background-check vendor to delete anything.
Here is what actually happens. Most criminal records that surface in a Google search are republished by third-party data brokers and mugshot sites that originally scraped them from public court and jail databases. Once the underlying agencies destroy their copies under the expunction order, those third-party feeds lose their source. Over the following weeks and months the listings typically decay, and many vendors will remove an entry outright when you send them a certified copy of the signed expunction order. Major background-check companies such as Checkr, HireRight, and Sterling must maintain reasonable procedures for accuracy under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act — the legal basis for demanding removal once a record is expunged.
So an expunction is still the most powerful tool for cleaning up an online criminal record; it simply reaches search engines indirectly. Expunction360’s flat-fee attorneys handle every agency filing and hand you the certified order you need to clear lingering listings. Start your free eligibility review.
Frequently Asked Questions
The same waiting periods apply as for regular expunction, based on the offense level of the dismissed/acquitted charges. For a dismissed Class A misdemeanor, that's 1 year from arrest; for a dismissed felony count, 3 years.
No. The surviving conviction stays as-is. The limited expunction only touches the charges that ended in your favor.
If the charges were split into separate cause numbers, each one is handled as its own case. You'd file a full expunction on the cause numbers that were dismissed and leave the convicted cause number alone.
The court filing fee is the same ($450). Our preparation fee is also the same — limited expunctions require the same research, drafting, and follow-through.
Yes — and it's a common combined strategy. Expunge the dismissed counts and nondisclose the conviction (if eligible). The end result is as close to a full clean record as Texas law allows on a partially successful case.