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Texas Public Criminal Records
Read Texas public criminal-history information within its scope and use the court record for an unresolved case outcome.
Understand what the public DPS history can show
Texas DPS is the state criminal-history repository. Its public Criminal History Conviction Name Search makes conviction and deferred-adjudication information available to the general public. It is not unrestricted access to every arrest, investigation or confidential law-enforcement file. DPS receives records from Texas criminal-justice agencies; its Texas coverage should not be represented as a nationwide clearance.
Keep the exact outcome label. Deferred adjudication should not be rewritten as conviction, and an arrest alone does not establish guilt. A missing public entry may reflect the product’s disclosure limits or incomplete reporting. Read both the identifying information and disposition before using a result to answer a question about a particular person.
Reach the public service through DPS
Start at the DPS Crime Records Services FAQs and follow Criminal History Conviction Name Search to publicsite.dps.texas.gov. Keep the person’s full name, alternative spellings and any reliable birth-date information available for comparison. The separate Secure Website is for legislatively authorized entities; do not select that account type merely to obtain broader records.
The public search application’s current checkout could not be verified during this review. Confirm the public account requirements, per-search credit price and card or transaction charges there before purchasing. The $1 credit figure displayed on the separate secure-site information page should not be treated as the public price. DPS’s FAQ separately quotes $10 for an offline name-based check; that is not a verified online total.
Treat a name match as a candidate
DPS warns that name-based searches may return records belonging to other people and may miss the intended person. Compare all available identifiers, the agency, event date and case reference; a common name or similar spelling is not enough. Save the search inputs and the full returned response so a later question can be traced to the actual search rather than a screenshot stripped of context.
Fingerprint matching is the more accurate identity method. If an applicant disputes a name-search result, DPS directs them to personal review using fingerprints. Do not conclude that an uncertain candidate is the subject’s record simply because it ranks first. Ask the record holder for clarification before repeating an allegation or presenting the result as established fact.
Get the judgment from the court that holds it
The Office of Court Administration does not hold individual case files and its website is not one universal trial-court search portal. For district or county cases, contact the district clerk or county clerk in the filing county. For justice, municipal or appellate cases, contact that court directly. The Texas Judicial Branch Judicial Directory helps identify the correct office.
Give the clerk the case number, parties, filing period and precise record wanted, such as the final judgment, dismissal or deferred-adjudication order. State whether the recipient requires a certified copy. Ask for the copying, certification, delivery and search total for that particular office; local document fees cannot be inferred from the DPS history-search charge. A docket entry helps locate an order but is not necessarily the order itself.
Use the personal-review and certification routes deliberately
For your own fingerprint-based history, DPS lists a $15 record-check fee plus $10 when using its FAST fingerprinting service. Schedule through the official FAST/IdentoGO link in the DPS FAQ, and use the instructions for personal review. Employment or licensing submissions may instead require the requesting agency’s service code and specified identity documents. Old fingerprint cards more than six months old are not accepted.
DPS says an open-record check can be certified on request without an additional certification charge, although the underlying request still has a fee. Its published estimate is approximately ten business days after information is received, with postal delivery time additional. Confirm that this response, rather than a court-certified disposition or the employer’s authorized fingerprint process, meets the intended requirement.
Repair missing outcomes at their source
The court clerk is responsible for reporting the disposition to DPS. If a history lacks it, obtain a certified disposition from the court of jurisdiction and follow DPS’s Criminal History Error Resolution route to have the history updated. DPS says an ordinary photocopy from a private company is insufficient; the court document must meet its certification requirements. For identity disputes, use fingerprint personal review first.
A correction request, expunction and an order of nondisclosure are different processes. Do not assume that correcting a missing outcome deletes the record or that completing deferred-adjudication terms automatically removes it. Keep the original response, the court order and the corrected result together, and recheck the disposition rather than treating submission of a request as proof that DPS has finished it.
Related Record Guides
Sources
Authoritative next stops
Official state criminal-history source; Texas
Texas DPS Crime Records portal and secure-site eligibility
The public route is linked in the DPS FAQs. This portal currently displays separate secure-site pricing and access limits.
Texas
Official state judiciary source; Texas
Texas Judicial Branch - Frequently Asked Questions
Texas Judicial Branch states it has no single trial-court case-search portal and routes users to the appropriate district/county/justice/municipal court or clerk.
Texas
Official agency guidance
Texas DPS — Crime Records Questions
Public conviction and deferred-adjudication record scope.
Scope limited to the named state service.