Can You Expunge an Eviction in Texas?

Sooner or later, many renters we work with ask some version of this: can you expunge an eviction in Texas? As of 2026, the short answer is no. Texas has no law for expunging an eviction, and getting a judge to seal one is rare and hard. You can’t pay a fee or wait a year to make it go away, so the filing stays in the court’s records.

Here’s what that means, why it works that way, and what we’ve seen help instead.

Why Texas eviction records stick around

In Texas, court records are open to the public by default. That includes filings in Justice of the Peace (JP) courts, where eviction cases are heard. Under Rule 76a (opens in new tab), the main Texas rule for sealing court records, a judge can seal a record only if someone shows a serious reason that matters more than keeping it public. Even then, sealing has to be the only thing that would work. That rule is written for district and county courts, and sealing almost never happens with an eviction.

Once a landlord files, the case goes into the public JP court record and stays there, no matter how it ends:

• Judgment against the tenant: filing stays, judgment stays
• Dismissed with prejudice (the landlord can’t refile): filing stays, dismissal noted
• Dismissed without prejudice (the landlord can refile): filing stays, dismissal noted
• Landlord dropped the case (nonsuit): filing stays, nonsuit noted
• Judgment for the tenant (rare): filing stays, ruling noted
• Case settled and dismissed: filing stays, outcome noted

The filing itself is the public record, and the outcome is a note on it. Neither one disappears.

Texas has no law that lets you clear an eviction the way you can expunge some criminal records. Some states have laws that seal certain eviction records, keep them out of public view, or expunge them. California, Colorado, Oregon, and Minnesota are examples. Texas hasn’t passed one.

What HB 2909 would have changed (and why it didn’t)

House Bill 2909 (opens in new tab) was filed in the Texas Legislature on February 18, 2025. It would have let a tenant ask a judge to expunge an eviction in two situations:

1. The eviction case had no real basis in the facts or the law, and expunging it was the fair thing to do
2. After a final judgment in county court, the tenant had held a steady job for at least 2 years

The bill died in committee. So did other 2025 bills that would have kept eviction case information confidential (SB 948, HB 1369, and HB 2223). Texas has no regular session in 2026, so the next chance is the one that starts in January 2027.

Why it failed: it went to a House committee in March 2025 and didn’t get a hearing. No hearing, no vote.

The one Texas program that kept eviction records confidential, and why it’s over

The Texas Supreme Court set up the Texas Eviction Diversion Program (TEDP) as a COVID era emergency program. It ran from October 2020 to June 30, 2023. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) handled the rental assistance side. As long as a case was paused in the program, the court kept it confidential. If the case was then dismissed through TEDP, it stayed confidential.

TDHCA says TEDP helped more than 25,000 renter households with over $243 million in rent and utility relief. Then the program closed for good in 2023.

A newer law makes a program like that harder to bring back. SB 38 took effect in January 2026, and it says only the Legislature can change or pause the rules for evictions. The Texas Supreme Court can apply general disaster orders to evictions only if they cover all affected courts, not just eviction cases. So a court program just for eviction cases, like TEDP, would now need the Legislature to pass a law. See our TEDP guide for details.

What actually works instead of expungement

Expungement isn’t an option. Here’s the plan we follow with our clients instead:

1. The FCRA 7 year window. The court filing stays in the court’s records. But under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, screening companies usually can’t report an eviction case more than 7 years after it was filed. That’s what usually clears the eviction off your screening over time. We cover this in our guide on how long an eviction stays on your record.

2. Screening report disputes. You can dispute anything wrong on your screening report under the FCRA. If your eviction shows as unpaid after you paid it, as a judgment when it was dismissed, or it’s over 7 years old, dispute it. See our dispute guide.

3. Get placed at properties that approve renters with evictions. From what we see, many Texas apartments do, under the right conditions. We send you a short list of the ones in your city that may approve your file, and it costs you nothing.

What about the balance? Doesn’t paying help?

Paying an eviction balance doesn’t remove the filing. It can change the balance from “unpaid” to “satisfied” on your report once the screening company gets the update. From what we see, that makes a real difference in your approval odds. See our paying off an eviction guide and our balance paid service.

Where this leaves you

• Texas has no law for expunging an eviction as of 2026
• Court filings are public by default, and judges rarely seal them
• Screening reports should drop the flag after 7 years under the FCRA
• Getting placed at a property that approves you is often the real fix, not erasing the record

If you’re trying to rent with an eviction on your record, expungement isn’t the answer. Be careful with anyone who charges to expunge a Texas eviction. The law doesn’t offer that. What works is finding the properties that may approve your file. That’s the part we help with.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. For questions about your own eviction, talk to a licensed Texas attorney or a legal aid organization. TexasLawHelp.org can point you to the one that serves your county.