The Texas Marijuana Record Reality in 2026

Texas marijuana law is in a strange middle ground. At the state level, possession of marijuana remains illegal under Health & Safety Code §481.121 — the same statute that has criminalized the offense for decades. At the federal level, marijuana is still a Schedule I controlled substance pending a long-discussed rescheduling that has not finalized as of mid-2026. At the municipal level, several Texas cities have passed depenalization measures: Austin (Proposition A, May 2022), Killeen, San Marcos, Lockhart, and others have voted to deprioritize low-level marijuana enforcement.

None of this changes what is on your record from a past Texas marijuana arrest. The state law that classified the offense at the time of arrest is the law that controls eligibility for record clearing. The question is not whether marijuana is "still illegal" — it is what door applies to your specific case under CCP Chapter 55 (expunction) or Gov't Code Chapter 411 (nondisclosure).

This guide maps every legal way to clear a Texas marijuana arrest in 2026, plus the two traps that catch the most pro-se filers: the assumption that an HB 1325 hemp-era dismissal cleared the record automatically, and the assumption that a Texas state expunction also clears federal and immigration records. Neither is true.

The Texas Marijuana Penalty Tiers

Texas Health & Safety Code §481.121 grades marijuana possession by amount:

The tier matters for record clearing because the limitations period determines when an expunction petition can be filed after a dismissal. For a Class B possession that was dismissed today, you wait 2 years from the offense date before filing — not from the dismissal date. Many DIY filers get the math wrong.

Marijuana concentrates (THC oils, edibles, vape cartridges, wax) are not charged under §481.121. They fall under §481.116 or §481.1161 as Penalty Group 2 controlled substances, with much harsher tiers — even small amounts can be a felony. If your arrest was for a vape cart or edible rather than flower, the penalty grade and the record-clearing analysis are different.

The HB 1325 Hemp-Dismissal Wave (2019–2020)

This is the most-overlooked record-clearing opportunity in Texas. When the legislature passed House Bill 1325 (effective June 10, 2019), it legalized hemp — defined as cannabis with under 0.3% THC. The unintended side effect: Texas DPS labs and most county labs could not reliably distinguish hemp from marijuana for several months after the law took effect. To prove a marijuana possession charge under §481.121, the state had to show the substance contained more than 0.3% THC. Existing field tests and old lab equipment could not measure THC concentration.

The result was a wave of dismissals. The Texas District and County Attorneys Association reported in late 2019 that statewide marijuana possession filings dropped sharply because DAs could not fund the new lab tests required to convict. Many pending cases were dismissed outright; many new arrests were cite-and-release without filing.

Those dismissed cases — many tens of thousands of them across Texas — are eligible for expunction under CCP §55.01(a)(2). The arrest is on the record. The dismissal is on the record. Most petitioners assumed the dismissal cleared the record automatically. It did not. A pro-se or attorney-prepared petition is still required. The 2-year limitations period from the offense date controls the wait.

The Austin Prop A Trap (and Other City Depenalizations)

Austin voters passed Proposition A in May 2022 — a ballot initiative directing the Austin Police Department to deprioritize low-level marijuana possession enforcement and to cease testing of suspected marijuana substances except in cases involving violence, weapons, or larger amounts. APD has substantially complied. Similar measures passed in Killeen, San Marcos, Elgin, Harker Heights, and Lockhart between 2022 and 2024, with mixed implementation outcomes (some were challenged or partially blocked by city councils or state attorneys general).

What these measures did not do: clear any historical record. Pre-2022 APD marijuana arrests still appear on Texas DPS criminal-history reports, on FBI fingerprint-based background checks, and on private commercial vendor reports. There is no automatic-clearing mechanism in any of these depenalization measures. Texas state law does not authorize cities to expunge or seal records — that authority belongs to district and county courts under CCP Chapter 55 and Gov't Code Chapter 411.

So a 2018 APD marijuana arrest that was dismissed in 2019 still sits on the record in 2026 unless and until a §55.01 petition is filed. The Prop A change is forward-looking only.

When a Texas Marijuana Arrest Can Be Expunged

Expunction under CCP Chapter 55 destroys the record. After a granted petition, the arrest is shredded or returned by every served agency, and the petitioner can deny the arrest happened on most applications. Eligibility is determined by what happened to the case:

Two practical points DIY filers miss:

• The 2-year limitations clock runs from the offense date, not the dismissal date. If your case was dismissed three months after the arrest, you still have to wait out the rest of the 2 years before filing. We see pro-se petitions denied every month for filing too early — the District Clerk's intake doesn't catch the date math, but the DA's office does on review.
• The respondent list for marijuana cases is longer than for many other offenses. Standard respondents include Texas DPS, FBI (via DPS), the arresting agency, the County Sheriff, the DA, the District Clerk, and any private background-check vendor that pulled the record. For marijuana-specific cases, also consider the Texas Department of Health Services (in some narrow circumstances), and any federal task force agency if the arrest involved one (DEA-led joint investigations occasionally generate parallel federal records).

When a Texas Marijuana Conviction Can Be Sealed

If you were convicted — meaning you pleaded guilty or were found guilty after a trial — expunction is off the table. The remedy is nondisclosure under Government Code Chapter 411. The path depends on whether the conviction came after deferred adjudication or after straight probation, and on the offense level:

• Automatic nondisclosure under §411.072. First-time misdemeanor deferred adjudication on a §411.072 eligible offense — and Class B marijuana possession is on the list — gets an automatic nondisclosure order at the time of dismissal. No petition required. The court enters the order; the District Clerk distributes it to DPS. This is the most common Texas marijuana sealing path.
• Petition-based nondisclosure under §411.0725. For misdemeanor deferreds that don't qualify for §411.072 (typically because of a prior offense or because the deferred completed before September 1, 2017), a §411.0725 petition is the path. No waiting period for most misdemeanor marijuana cases.
• Felony nondisclosure under §411.0735. State jail felony marijuana convictions completed via straight probation are eligible for §411.0735 nondisclosure with a 5-year wait from the end of community supervision. A best-interest-of-justice hearing is typical.

The Federal Record Persistence Problem

This is the trap that catches the most Texas marijuana petitioners with federal-employment ambitions, security-clearance paths, or cross-border travel needs. A granted Texas expunction or nondisclosure binds Texas state and local agencies. It does not bind:

• The FBI fingerprint-based background-check system (NGI / IAFIS). Texas DPS reports arrest fingerprints to the FBI within days of booking. Once in the federal database, the record persists. A Texas expunction tells DPS to destroy its copy; DPS notifies the FBI, but the FBI's policy is to "indicate the expungement" rather than fully purge the record. For federal-employment background checks (DoD, federal civilian, security-clearance reviews) the historical arrest may still surface.
• Federal employment background checks under E.O. 14029 / OPM standards. Federal hiring uses the FBI database and OPM's separate continuous-evaluation system. Texas-cleared records can still flag during the federal process.
• USCIS immigration files (see next section). USCIS pulls federal records, not state DPS records, when adjudicating immigration applications. Even a granted Texas expunction may not affect a pending immigration matter.
• Department of Defense / military background checks. Military recruiting and DoD security clearances run independently of state expunction. A Texas-cleared marijuana arrest can still trigger waiver requirements or denial.
• Some private commercial background-check vendors that don't subscribe to DPS updates. Vendors that build their databases from court-record scraping rather than DPS feeds may not pick up the expunction without separate notification.

The Immigration Trap

For any Texas marijuana petitioner who is a non-citizen, an LPR, or has any immigration application pending or planned, consult an immigration attorney before filing the expunction petition. A state expunction is not a substitute for immigration counsel. In some cases, the timing of the expunction petition relative to an immigration application can matter — getting the order before USCIS files the request for evidence is generally better than after, but the analysis is fact-specific.

CHL/LTC Impact: Expunction Lifts the Bar; Sealing Doesn't

Tex. Gov't Code §411.172 disqualifies a Texas License to Carry (formerly CHL) applicant who has a Class A or Class B misdemeanor conviction within the prior 5 years, including marijuana possession. The interaction with record clearing matters:

• Expunction destroys the conviction record. After expunction, the marijuana misdemeanor no longer exists for §411.172 purposes — the LTC bar is lifted.
• Nondisclosure seals the conviction from public view but keeps it accessible to DPS. Section 411.0765 specifically allows DPS to access nondisclosed records when reviewing LTC applications. The 5-year LTC bar still applies after a §411.072 or §411.0725 nondisclosure.

For a Texas-resident marijuana petitioner who wants an LTC, the path is: if eligible for expunction (dismissed/no-billed/acquitted), file the expunction. If only eligible for nondisclosure (deferred completed), the LTC bar runs out 5 years after the dismissal regardless. The nondisclosure helps with employment and housing but not the LTC.

For more on rights restoration after a Texas arrest, see our guide to gun rights restoration in Texas.

Five Things DIY Filers Miss on a Texas Marijuana Petition

1. The 2-year limitations clock runs from the offense date

For a Class B or Class A marijuana possession that was dismissed, the §55.01 expunction petition cannot be filed until 2 years after the offense date — not the dismissal date. We see pro-se petitions denied every month for filing too early. The District Clerk's intake will accept the filing; the DA's office catches the limitations issue on review and the petition is denied.

2. Marijuana concentrates are not §481.121

Cannabis concentrates — vape cartridges, wax, oils, edibles — are charged under §481.116 or §481.1161 as Penalty Group 2 controlled substances. The penalty grades and limitations periods are different (3 years for state jail felony rather than 2 years for Class B). DIY filers sometimes draft a §481.121 marijuana petition for a vape-cart case; it lands at the wrong charging statute.

3. Cite-and-release programs still create a record

Harris County, Bexar County, Travis County, and Dallas County operate cite-and-release programs for low-level marijuana possession (citation in lieu of arrest). The citation is not an "arrest" in the booking-photo sense, but it does create a court record and an arrest record at DPS. Cite-and-release cases that end in dismissal still need expunction petitions to clear the record.

4. The HB 1325 dismissal does not auto-clear

This is the most-overlooked record-clearing opportunity in Texas. Tens of thousands of 2019–2020 marijuana cases were dismissed because of the hemp-testing problem. The dismissal is on the record. The arrest is on the record. The petitioner has been carrying the case for 5+ years assuming it cleared automatically. It did not.

5. Federal records persist past Texas expunction

For federal employment, security-clearance, immigration, or DoD/military applications, a Texas expunction is necessary but rarely sufficient. The FBI fingerprint database, USCIS immigration files, and DoD background-check systems all run independently of Texas DPS. Plan for a multi-track approach: state expunction first, then targeted notification to the FBI's CJIS Division, then immigration counsel if applicable.

A Texas Marijuana Decision Tree

1. Was your marijuana case dismissed, no-billed, or were you acquitted? → Expunction under CCP §55.01. File once limitations runs (2 years for Class B/A, 3 years for state jail felony+).
2. Was your case a 2019–2020 HB 1325 hemp-era dismissal? → Expunction under §55.01. The 2-year limitations period has long since run. File now.
3. Was your case a Class C marijuana paraphernalia deferred that completed successfully? → Expunction under §55.01(a)(2)(A)(ii)(b). No waiting period.
4. Did you complete deferred adjudication on a first-time Class B marijuana possession (post-September 2017)? → Automatic nondisclosure under §411.072 (check DPS to confirm distribution). Otherwise, §411.0725 petition.
5. Were you convicted (plea or trial) of Class B/A marijuana possession? → No state-level relief is available unless the conviction is overturned on appeal. The conviction stays on the record. The 5-year LTC bar applies.
6. Were you convicted of state jail felony marijuana possession (4 oz–5 lbs)? → §411.0735 nondisclosure with a 5-year wait after community supervision ends. Best-interest hearing is typical.
7. Are you a non-citizen or have any immigration application pending or planned? → State expunction is necessary but not sufficient. Consult an immigration attorney before filing.

Frequently Asked Questions