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when i was 14-15 i was arrested for some criminal damage i am now 32 and have not been in trouble since (17yrs) ,my question is do i need to put this on my application and if i do is there paperwork i need to get from the police department that arrested me or does this not apply.i have heard some people say when you turn 18 your record is sealed so i should not have anything to worry about.others have told me that they only go back ten years so i am very confused on this part.this is the only thing thats stopping me from signing up for my class as i dont want to lose 140.00$ for nothing if you know what i mean

i forgot to add that this was in new mexico and not in texas i dont know if that makes a difference or not.thanks for the help

05kas05 wrote:when i was 14-15 i was arrested for some criminal damage i am now 32 and have not been in trouble since (17yrs) . . .

Were you charged?

If so, exactly what specific crime were you charged with?

If charged, what was the final disposition? Dismissal? Acquittal? Conviction?

If you were arrested and fingerprinted, you must put it on the application and provide a disposition.

Nothing that you did at age 14 or 15 could affect your eligibility now. The only felony-level crime that a minor could be charged with in 1991 was murder.

If you were taken to the police station or something like that and not formally booked, you do not have to put it on the application.

Good luck.

- Jim

05kas05 wrote:when i was 14-15 i was arrested for some criminal damage i am now 32 and have not been in trouble since (17yrs) ,my question is do i need to put this on my application and if i do is there paperwork i need to get from the police department that arrested me or does this not apply.i have heard some people say when you turn 18 your record is sealed so i should not have anything to worry about.others have told me that they only go back ten years so i am very confused on this part.this is the only thing thats stopping me from signing up for my class as i dont want to lose 140.00$ for nothing if you know what i mean

The real question is was this a felony conviction? If not you should put it on the application and attach a copy of the disposition paperwork from the court.

as far as i can remember i was never finger printed and formaly booked they just released me to my parents and then sent me a letter to go to court when i went to court the court sent me to a youth diognostic detention facility for 90 days but i was not in police custody then either my parents were responsible for me getting there and after 90 days my parents picked me up i then went back to court and they gave me 2 years probation and i had to pay the court some fines and that was it i dont remember what class misdemeanor it was but my charge was criminal damage to property . i figure i will list it on my application but as far as getting any paperwork or dipisition from the police or whoever in new mxico that will probably be next to impossible they are not the latest and greatest in anything if you know what i mean

You were arrested. As others have said, this is not disqualifying so just list it on the application noting you were a juvenile. If you have or can get disposition documents then get them and provide them, but if you can't because they were destroyed, then attach a cover letter to your application stating your efforts to get the records.

This doesn't guarantee you won't be delayed, or that DPS won't tell you to try again, but it helps.

Chas.

I was arrested on a misdemeanor charge back in the middle stone age, and records of it were long gone. I had to get a letter from the clerk of the court in the county where I was arrested, saying that they had no record of the event.

County clerks are equipped to do this. It happens all the time.

You can save some time by requesting the record now and including it with your application or sending it to DPS when they ask.

The only thing I'm wondering about here is being on "probation" for two years. Minors generally don't get probabation. The equivalent is called supervision, I think.

- Jim

thanks for the help guys i talked to the records dept in new mexico this morning and they said all records prior to 1993 heve been deleted from there system
the lady said she could not disclose the disposition because it was not there, so i asked them to fax me a letter saying the records were deleted and they said they would not do it.she stated that they will not disclose information on juvenile records even if it was there.and they cant disclose my information because there is nothing to disclose because its not on there files anymore.i guess i'll just put it on the form and see what happens.i really dont remember what class of misdameanor it was or the other ins and outs of the case.you know i just tried to forget about it and move on, i guess we will see what happens.
lets hope for a positive outcome!!!!

In my opinion, since you were not booked and no records exist, you could legally omit the incident from your application.

DPS is very specific about being taken into custody and fingerprinted. That is why things like traffic tickets and littering citations do not count.

Also, only a juvenile finding of a felony could affect your eligibility after all this time.

I am not a lawyer or CHL instructor, so this does not constitute legal or professional advice.

- Jim

well i just filled out and paid for my online application.i included everything they asked for even my previous record so they would not think i was hiding something.well now i must find a class to go to any recomendations,also has any one ever failed either part of the class is it as easy as they say it is.i pretty much know i can pass the shooting part but was not sure about the actuall test in the classroom is it pretty easy

For recommending instructors, it would help to know which county you live in.

The test is easy. I don't know what the passing rate is. I would guess upwards of 95%.

- Jim

i am sorry i live in roundrock which is in williamson county-once again i would like to thank everyone for the help it is appreciated

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Jim: If they can't find any record of your offense then why list it? If there's no record then how is DPS going to find this phantom record?