If a juvenile felony record can't be sealed in Texas, does the person have to disclose it on a job or license application?

Texas AG Opinion DM-0009: A Person With Unsealable Juvenile Felony Records Cannot Deny the Proceeding

Plain-English summary

Section 51.16 of the Family Code let certain people seal their juvenile records, and subsection (h) gave a person whose records were sealed a useful benefit: in any proceeding or in any application for employment, information, or licensing, he did not have to say he had been the subject of a juvenile proceeding, and a statement that he had never been found delinquent could not be held against him. In 1987, the Legislature added subsection (j), which barred courts from sealing records of a delinquency adjudication based on a felony-grade offense. The Travis County district attorney asked the Attorney General whether someone with an unsealable felony-based juvenile record could still claim the subsection (h) benefit.

The Attorney General concluded he could not. The benefit in subsection (h) ran only to a person whose records "have been sealed under this Act." Subsection (j) made it impossible to seal records concerning a felony-based delinquency adjudication, so subsection (h) simply had no application to those records. As a result, a person adjudicated delinquent on a felony charge, whose records could not be sealed, was not entitled to state on an application for employment, information, or licensing that he had never been the subject of a proceeding under title 3 of the Family Code. The opinion noted it did not address records that had been sealed before subsection (j) took effect.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1991. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. The juvenile-records sealing provisions of the Family Code have been substantially rewritten since 1991, including renumbering and changes to what records can be sealed. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule mentioned here.

Common questions

Could a juvenile with a felony adjudication claim the non-disclosure benefit?
No. Because subsection (j) barred sealing felony-based delinquency records, and the subsection (h) benefit applied only to records that "have been sealed under this Act," the opinion concluded a person with unsealable felony records could not claim it.

Did this mean the person had to disclose the juvenile proceeding?
The opinion held the person was not entitled to state that he had never been the subject of a proceeding under title 3 of the Family Code. In other words, the statutory permission to deny it did not extend to him.

Did the opinion address records sealed before 1987?
No. The opinion expressly noted it did not address files sealed before the effective date of subsection (j).

Background and statutory framework

Section 51.16 of the Family Code governed the sealing of files and records of persons found to have engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct in need of supervision. Subsection (a) set out the procedure for sealing. Subsection (h) provided that a person whose files and records "have been sealed under this Act" was not required, in any proceeding or in any application for employment, information, or licensing, to state that he had been the subject of a proceeding under the Act, and that a statement that he had never been found delinquent could not be held against him. Subsection (j), added in 1987, provided that a court "may not order under this section the sealing or destruction of files and records concerning an adjudication of delinquency based on the violation of a penal law of the grade of felony." Because the subsection (h) benefit depended on records actually being sealed, and subsection (j) prevented sealing of felony-based records, the opinion concluded subsection (h) had no application to such records.

Citations

Statutory provisions:

• TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 51.16 (subsections (a), (h), (j))

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/dan-morales/dm-0009
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1991/dm0009.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

Office of the Attorney General
State of Texas

March 25, 1991

Honorable Ronald Earle
Travis County District Attorney
P. O. Box 1748
Austin, Texas 78767

Opinion No. DM-9

Re: Whether an individual whose juvenile files may not be sealed by virtue of section 51.16(j) of the Family Code has an affirmative duty to disclose his prior criminal history in an application for employment, information, or licensing (RQ-2188)

Dear Mr. Earle:

You have requested our opinion regarding whether an individual whose juvenile files may not be sealed has an affirmative duty to disclose his prior criminal history in an application for employment, information, or licensing.

Section 51.16 of the Family Code provides for the sealing of the files and records of persons who are "found to have engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct in need of supervision." Subsection (a) describes the procedure by which an individual may apply to a court for an order sealing his juvenile records, or by which the court may do so on its own motion. Subsection (h) then declares:

A person whose files and records have been sealed under this Act is not required in any proceeding or in any application for employment, information, or licensing to state that he has been the subject of a proceeding under this Act; and any statement that he has never been found to be a delinquent child shall never be held against the person in any criminal or civil proceeding.

In 1987, the legislature added subsection (j) to section 51.16. That provision reads:

A court may not order under this section the sealing or destruction of files and records concerning an adjudication of delinquency based on the violation of a penal law of the grade of felony.

You ask whether subsection (j) prevents an individual who was adjudicated delinquent on the basis of a felony charge from claiming the benefit afforded by subsection (h). You do not raise any question about files sealed before the effective date of subsection (j).

A person may not claim the benefit of subsection (h) unless his "files and records have been sealed under this Act." Since subsection (j) clearly prohibits a court from ordering the sealing of any juvenile record "concerning an adjudication of delinquency based on the violation of a penal law of the grade of felony," it follows that subsection (h) has no application to such records. Thus, such person may not benefit from the provision of subsection (h) of section 51.16 of the Family Code that certain juvenile offenders are not required to state that they have "been the subject of a proceeding" under title 3 of the Family Code.

SUMMARY

A person who has been adjudicated delinquent on the basis of the violation of a penal law of the grade of felony and whose records may not be sealed pursuant to section 51.16(j) of the Family Code is not entitled to state on an application for employment, information, or licensing that he has not been the subject of a proceeding under title 3 of the Family Code.

Very truly yours,

DAN MORALES
Attorney General of Texas

WILL PRYOR
First Assistant Attorney General

MARY KELLER
Executive Assistant Attorney General

JUDGE ZOLLIE STEAKLEY (Ret.)
Special Assistant Attorney General

RENEA HICKS
Special Assistant Attorney General

SUSAN GARRISON
Acting Chairman, Opinion Committee

Prepared by Rick Gilpin
Assistant Attorney General