Will my Juvenile Record be Sealed when I turn 18? How can I Seal a Juvenile Record in Texas?
This refers to Automatic Restriction of Access to Juvenile Records, and there's not a clear cut answer. In addition to the opportunity to have Juvenile records sealed and destroyed under the Texas Family Code, in Texas, when an individual reaches 21 yeard of age, access to juvenile records may be automatically restricted, if you do not commit criminal offenses after becoming 17 years of age.
Automatic Restriction of Access to Records. Under automatic restriction of access to records, a minor's criminal offense and arrest records is not destroyed or sealed. Instead, the juvenile's arrest records are filed under restricted access, meaning they are available only to criminal justice agencies for criminal justices purposes.
For all other inquiries, be it future employment or scholarships for education, the possessing agency of the records is required to reply that the juvenile records do not exist. A person with juvenile records that have been automatically restricted can legally deny arrest, prosecution, or adjudication for a crime.
How does a Juvenile???s Records become eligible for Restricted Access? For restricted access to take place, no action is required. No petition needs to be filed, since the process occurs automatically at age 21, IF:
What records are not eligible for Restricted Access?
The only juvenile records that are not eligible for automatic restricted access are cases that were: