Texas background check: the DPS search, fingerprints and fixes

Two kinds of Texas background check

Texas runs two separate systems, and it helps to know which one your employer is using. When people say DPS background check, they can mean either one, and a Texas criminal background check bought from a screening firm may draw on both.

A screening company report is a third thing. It may use the DPS data, but it also checks courts in the counties you lived in, the sex offender registry, and sometimes federal courts. Read what an employment check includes for the full list.

What the DPS name search shows and leaves out

DPS describes the search as public record information taken from its Computerized Criminal History System. A person appears only when a conviction or a deferred adjudication has been reported to the department. When that happens, the entry can include arrests, prosecutions and outcomes for Class B misdemeanors and above, plus Class C convictions if they were reported.

What it does not do well: match people with common names, show cases a county never reported, or cover other states. Arrests that never led to a conviction or deferred adjudication are not public through this tool. You need an account to search, and DPS sells search credits, so the cost depends on how many searches you run. Results are only as good as the name and date of birth entered.

Jobs that need Texas fingerprints

State law tells certain employers and licensing boards to check fingerprints instead of names. Examples include public school staff and teachers, child care providers, nurses through the Texas Board of Nursing, and private security officers. You schedule an appointment with Fingerprint Applicant Services of Texas, the DPS fingerprint program, either online or by phone. The agency gives you a service code that tells DPS why you are being printed, so use the code from your own employer or board, not one from a friend.

Results go to the agency through a clearinghouse, not to you. If you want to see your own fingerprint based record, request it separately. For the national side, see our page on the FBI Identity History Summary.

How far back a check goes in Texas

DPS keeps arrest information on a record until a court orders it removed, so the state file itself has no expiry date. What a background screening company may put in a report is a separate question, answered at the federal level by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Under that law, arrests that never produced a conviction may be reported for 7 years, and convictions have no federal time limit. That 7 year cap is lifted for positions with a salary of 75,000 or above.

So a misdemeanor conviction from twelve years ago can still appear, while an old dismissed arrest usually should not, unless the job pays above that threshold. More detail is on our page about how far back checks go.

Your rights during a Texas employment check

Federal rules apply in every Texas city. Before buying a report, the employer owes you a separate written heads up and needs your signed permission. Should the findings push the employer toward a no, it owes you a look at them first, plus a federal rights sheet, so you can flag mistakes. The FTC explains these steps in plain language.

We found no statewide Texas rule that pushes record questions later in hiring at private companies, so a Texas application may ask about convictions on page one. The EEOC still expects employers to consider the type of crime, its distance in time and the demands of the work, rather than turning away everyone with a record.

Correcting a Texas criminal history record

DPS runs an Error Resolution Unit for mistakes in the state file. Private citizens can report a possible error, but the unit needs proof. Get certified copies of the court documents from the clerk; DPS says plain photocopies are not accepted unless they carry the court's raised seal. Send them to the unit with a short note naming the entry that is wrong.

Correcting an error is different from removing a true record. DPS removes criminal history only when a court orders an expunction. A court can also grant an order of nondisclosure for some deferred adjudications, which hides the record from the public. Whether you qualify is a question for legal aid or a criminal defense attorney. The FBI handles fixes to its own records, not DPS.

If the problem came from a screening company, also follow the steps in our dispute guide.

Before you rely on any of this

Rules and forms at DPS change from time to time. Confirm details on the DPS site before you pay for a search or book prints. For your own situation, such as whether a nondisclosure order fits your case, talk it over with a Texas legal aid group or a lawyer focused on employment. This guide shares what the official pages say and cannot promise an outcome.