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I was in the process of filling out the online application when I hit a brick wall with the criminal history section. When I was 17 or 18 (10+ years ago) I was arrested for a stupid theft deal. I spent a night in jail, saw a judge the following day and paid a fine and went home.

I also was arrested twice more. Once on a traffic ticket warrant, and then once when I was pulled over and hauled in for making three traffic violations.

The truth is, I don’t remember any of the details. I assume these are things I need to report.
How do I go about getting the information I need so I can fill out this form correctly and not have to worry with making a mistake?
I was told once that all this info is public record, but I have no idea how to get it.

you have to go to the county clerks office in the county it occurred.
you need to get a disposition for each of the cases .

someone else here will probably add something i missed .

BTW...17 is considered an adult in the eyes of the law .
i know from personal experience .

Hi jdice1980, and welcome to the forum! Glad to have you with us.

USA1 is exactly correct. When the time comes for you to send off your application, you must list on P.3 of the app, "criminal history". You need to include all arrests that include taken to jail, photographed and fingerprinted.

But you don't have to do it just to apply for an application packet. I didn't.

But now is a good time to start work on getting certified copies of what we call 'disposition'. The proper name that the county clerks will recognize is "Final Sentence and Judgement". That's the official name of the form you are looking for, and it MUST be certified by the court clerk.

Hope that helps a little bit. And do not be hesitant to ask as many questions as you want. We are here to help. Sooooo....ask away!

I think I just wasted my time and money trying to find it through a website. The site told me who I am related to, which was correct, but it came back and said there was no criminal history. I just wasted $20 didn't I?

jdice1980 wrote: I just wasted $20 didn't I?

yes .
its something you have to do in person .

Ok, another question. I went here https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/DPS_W ... index.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and did a search also. Again, nothing comes up.

When reading the information, it says agencies only have to report Class B and up...I am assuming everything is class C...I guess that has to be reported too. If the DPS site doesn't have it on record I don't know what to do...

jdice1980 wrote:Ok, another question. I went here https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/DPS_W ... index.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and did a search also. Again, nothing comes up.

When reading the information, it says agencies only have to report Class B and up...I am assuming everything is class C...I guess that has to be reported too. If the DPS site doesn't have it on record I don't know what to do...

jdice, I did exactly the same thing....went to that web site and did a search and nothing popped up. But I know I was arrested, fingerprinted and photographed, for traffic tickets that went to warrant. You cannot rely on that or any other website to get the information you need.

You have to go to the county courthouse personally...it cannot be done over the internet or over the phone. You have to go in person to the county courthouse where you were arrested and booked and get those certified copies of the final Sentence and Judgment. Sorry, but there is no other way.

For the traffic tickets you can go to the city where you went before the municipal court judge. Go to the municipal court clerk and ask for the final Sentence and Judgement. That will be included in your statement on the application, and you will forward the original certified copy to DPS for processing.

Thank you for the answer. That is fine, just thought I may be able to save some time. All three events happened in the same county, so that should make things easier.

We're glad to help, and good luck to you!

Edit to add:

You have to go to the county courthouse personally...it cannot be done over the internet or over the phone

While it is true that you cannot do it over the internet or the telephone, you CAN do it by mail, as was pointed out by Seamus. Sorry I left that out.

And thank you Jim for clarifying.