Jobs for Felons in Texas

We found no statewide ban-the-box law in Texas, for private or public employers. A 2025 bill (HB 2466) was referred to committee and never moved. Private employers can ask about your record on the application, so expect the question and have your answer ready before you see it.

For most private jobs, yes. The Texas job-discrimination law lists race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin and age. A criminal record is not on that list, and we found no other Texas law that limits how a private employer uses your record.

Federal EEOC guidance from 2012 warns employers that blanket “no felons” rules can violate civil rights law (Title VII). Since April 2025 a federal executive order has told agencies to deprioritize this kind of case. Texas has no state record protection to file under, so talk to legal aid before you count on a charge.

Texas law protects employers who hire people with records. An employer generally cannot be sued for negligent hiring just because the worker has a conviction. The protection has limits: it does not cover some serious offenses (the ones listed in Article 42A.054 and sexually violent offenses), or an employer who knew or should have known about a conviction for something done while doing the same kind of work. Many hiring managers have never heard of this law. It is worth a sentence in your interview.

Texas law has a 7-year limit on paper, but many background-check companies treat it as overridden by federal law, so expect older convictions to show up. On paper, the Texas law says a background check company may not report an arrest or conviction more than 7 years old (counted from the date the case ended, or you were released or paroled), except for jobs paying $75,000 a year or more. Federal law puts no time limit on reporting convictions. If an old conviction shows up, ask legal aid whether you have a claim.

Texas has two ways to clear a record. Expunction (the Texas word for expungement) erases arrest records, mainly when there was no conviction: an acquittal, charges never filed, or charges dismissed. You generally cannot expunge a conviction unless you were pardoned.

An order of nondisclosure seals a record from the public. If you finished deferred adjudication for a felony and your case was dismissed, you may be able to ask for one 5 years after the discharge and dismissal. DWI and some other offenses are left out. Some first-time misdemeanor convictions can also be sealed once you finish the whole sentence, including fines and restitution. Police, licensing agencies and some government employers can still see a sealed record.

Once you have a nondisclosure order, Texas law says you do not have to mention that case on a job application. TexasLawHelp has free step-by-step guides: how to ask for a nondisclosure order.

A Texas licensing board can turn you down for a conviction only if it directly relates to the work, or it is on a short list of serious offenses (the Article 42A.054 list and sexually violent offenses). Before it denies you, the board must tell you why in writing and give you at least 30 days to send more information. A finished deferred adjudication (dismissed and discharged) generally does not count as a conviction for this, with some exceptions.

Before you pay for training, you can ask the licensing agency for a criminal history evaluation letter that says whether your record makes you ineligible. The agency has 90 days to answer. For electricians, HVAC, barbers, cosmetology and more, that is TDLR: TDLR criminal history evaluation.