Texas deferred adjudication is a plea arrangement under Chapter 42A of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure where you plead guilty or no contest, the judge finds the evidence supports guilt but does not enter a conviction, and you complete a period of court-supervised conditions instead. Finish supervision and the case is discharged and dismissed with no formal conviction on your record. Violate a condition, even a minor one, and the judge can convict you and impose up to the full statutory maximum for the original charge.
Who Can Get It
Under Article 42A.102, a judge may grant deferred adjudication whenever it serves the best interest of the defendant and society. That makes it available for most misdemeanors and many felonies, including common charges like drug possession, theft, fraud, and first-time assault where no serious bodily injury occurred.
The exclusions matter more than the general rule. The statute bars deferred adjudication for human trafficking, intoxication assault, intoxication manslaughter, and related offenses under specific Penal Code sections. Defendants charged with certain sexual offenses who have previously been on community supervision for a similar offense cannot receive deferred adjudication a second time. Murder is generally ineligible, with a narrow exception where the judge finds the defendant did not cause the death, did not intend to kill, and did not anticipate a life would be taken.
Family violence cases are technically eligible, but they carry consequences that outlast supervision, particularly the federal firearms restriction discussed below. Judges and prosecutors weigh criminal history, offense severity, and aggravating factors before agreeing to the arrangement.
How the Plea and Supervision Work
You enter a plea of guilty or no contest. The judge hears the evidence, and if it substantiates guilt, defers further proceedings without entering a formal conviction. You are then placed on deferred adjudication community supervision for a set period.
The maximum supervision term depends on the offense level. Misdemeanor supervision cannot exceed two years. Felony supervision is capped at ten years, though certain sex offenses carry a mandatory minimum of five years. The judge can extend these periods under circumstances outlined in the statute and can modify conditions throughout supervision, since no jury verdict limits the court’s authority over the terms.
Conditions You Will Be Under
Conditions are set under Article 42A.301 and tailored to the individual case through a risk and needs assessment. Standard requirements include reporting to a supervision officer, paying all fines and court costs, and participating in community-based programs such as community service or educational courses. Random drug testing is common, especially for drug-related offenses.
Monthly supervision fees run from $25 to $60, and restitution to victims can be ordered on top of that. Courts frequently add program-specific costs for substance abuse treatment or anger management classes. If you fall behind on payments, the court holds a hearing to determine whether nonpayment was willful or the result of genuine financial hardship before taking action.
Family violence and stalking cases often carry tighter restrictions: GPS ankle monitors, curfews, travel limits, and no-contact orders. Employment and residency restrictions may apply for offenses involving vulnerable populations. Compliance over time can earn looser conditions; noncompliance tightens them.
What a Violation Costs You
Any violation of any supervision condition can trigger revocation. New arrests and failed drug tests are the obvious triggers, but seemingly minor infractions count too: failing to report a change of address, missing a meeting with your supervision officer, or falling behind on fees. The system does not distinguish major from trivial when it comes to who can file the motion.
When a violation is suspected, the prosecutor or supervision officer files a motion to proceed with adjudication of guilt under Article 42A.108. You are then arrested or issued a summons for a hearing. The hearing is conducted without a jury and answers one question: whether the judge will proceed with a formal adjudication of guilt. The burden is preponderance of the evidence, a significantly lower bar than beyond a reasonable doubt.
Here is where the sharpest risk lives. Under Article 42A.110, once the judge adjudicates guilt, all proceedings continue as if guilt had never been deferred, including punishment. The judge can impose any sentence within the full statutory range for the original offense, regardless of the original plea deal. Someone who accepted deferred adjudication for a second-degree felony could face up to 20 years in prison if the judge revokes supervision and adjudicates guilt. The sentence is not capped by whatever the prosecutor originally recommended or what you expected when you entered the plea.
What Survives Successful Completion
Completing all conditions results in discharge and dismissal. No formal conviction goes on your record. But the arrest record, the court records, and the fact that you were on deferred adjudication all remain publicly accessible unless you take separate steps to seal them. Background checks by employers, landlords, and licensing agencies will typically reveal the case.
Professional Licensing
Texas licensing boards treat a completed deferred adjudication differently than the criminal justice system does. Under Texas Occupations Code Section 51.356, a licensing commission can deny, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a license if it determines the underlying deferred adjudication makes the applicant unfit. The board considers the nature of the offense, its relationship to the licensed profession, and other factors. Nursing, teaching, real estate, and cosmetology all fall under this authority.
Federal Firearms Restrictions
Family violence cases warrant particular attention. Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) prohibits anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing firearms or ammunition. The federal definition of “conviction” is broader than Texas’s. Under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33), a conviction includes cases where adjudication of guilt was withheld if the defendant entered a guilty or no-contest plea and the judge imposed any form of punishment or restraint on liberty. Deferred adjudication fits that description because it requires a plea and imposes supervised conditions.
For offenses involving a current or former spouse, a cohabitant, or a person who shares a child with the victim, the firearms prohibition is lifelong. For offenses involving dating relationships, there is a potential restoration of firearms rights after five years under certain conditions. The federal restriction operates independently of Texas law and applies even after your deferred adjudication is dismissed.
Immigration Consequences
Non-citizens face additional exposure. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(48), a conviction exists whenever an alien enters a plea of guilty or no contest and the judge orders any form of punishment, penalty, or restraint on liberty, even if formal adjudication is withheld. Texas deferred adjudication meets every element of that definition. For immigration purposes, deferred adjudication is a conviction, and depending on the offense it can trigger deportation, denial of reentry, or bars to naturalization.
Commercial Driver’s License Holders
Federal regulations at 49 C.F.R. § 384.226 prohibit states from masking, deferring judgment, or allowing diversion programs that would keep a traffic conviction off a CDL holder’s driving record. If you hold a CDL and commit a traffic offense in any type of vehicle, Texas cannot use deferred adjudication to keep the violation off your commercial driving record.
Sealing the Record With an Order of Nondisclosure
Texas offers a mechanism to restrict public access to deferred adjudication records through orders of nondisclosure. These orders prevent most private employers, landlords, and members of the public from seeing the record, though law enforcement and certain government entities retain access. Nondisclosure is not expungement; the record still exists, but its visibility shrinks.
Automatic Nondisclosure for Certain Misdemeanors
Under Section 411.072 of the Texas Government Code, certain nonviolent misdemeanors qualify for automatic nondisclosure. If the offense is not listed under Chapters 20, 21, 22, 25, 42, 43, or 46 of the Penal Code, and the defendant has no prior convictions or deferred adjudications beyond fine-only traffic offenses, the court issues the order automatically after discharge and dismissal. You must have been placed on deferred adjudication on or after September 1, 2017, and at least 180 days must have elapsed since supervision began. A $28 fee applies.
Petition-Based Nondisclosure
If you don’t qualify for automatic nondisclosure, you may petition under Section 411.0725. Waiting periods depend on the offense: five years after discharge and dismissal for felonies; two years for misdemeanors under Penal Code Chapters 20, 21, 22, 25, 42, 43, or 46; immediately upon discharge and dismissal for all other misdemeanors. The petition is filed in the court that handled the original case and must show that nondisclosure serves the interests of justice. The court weighs compliance history, offense nature, and any prosecution objections.
Who Cannot Get Nondisclosure
Section 411.074 permanently excludes certain offenses from nondisclosure: offenses requiring sex offender registration, murder, human trafficking, injury to a child or elderly person, stalking, and any offense involving family violence. If a court made an affirmative finding of family violence, nondisclosure is off the table regardless of how the offense was originally classified.