Record Removal Policy

Our removal commitment

OpenArrest will remove or suppress a record under any of the qualifying conditions below. We never charge for removal. If any service offers to remove a record from OpenArrest for a fee, it is not affiliated with us and we recommend you report it.

Who qualifies for removal

We remove records meeting any of the following criteria:

1. The case has been dismissed. If the charges associated with the booking have been formally dismissed by a court, the record qualifies for removal. Please include the case number or court order.
2. The case has been expunged or sealed. If you have obtained an order of expunction or non-disclosure under Texas law, attach the order and we will remove the record immediately on verification.
3. You were a victim, witness, or otherwise mis-listed. If the record attributes a charge to you that was actually filed against someone else, contact us and we will correct or remove the record.
4. The record is more than 90 days old AND you are the subject. Records older than 90 days are already noindex'd (hidden from search engines) and de-prioritized. Subjects of those records can request full removal on request, without a court order, by verifying identity.
5. You are listed but were not the person actually arrested (e.g., mistaken identity, identity theft). Please include a police report or other supporting documentation if available.

What we need from you

The removal request form collects:

• The URL of the specific record to remove.
• The reason for removal (one of the categories above).
• For expungement/dismissal cases: the court order, case number, or court clerk's URL.
• An email address where we can confirm receipt and request additional info if needed.

For records subject to identity verification, we may ask for a redacted photo ID matched against the booking record. We do not retain the ID after verification — it is reviewed and deleted within the same business day.

What we do not require

We do not require:

• Payment of any kind.
• An attorney's letter (though attorneys are welcome to submit on a client's behalf).
• Notarization, unless the underlying court order requires it.
• A subscription, account creation, or any kind of paid "monitoring" service.

Timeline and confirmation

Most removal requests are reviewed and acted on within 5 business days of submission. Complex cases (e.g., partial expungement, multiple co-defendants on a single booking) can take up to 10 business days.

You will receive an email confirmation when:

• Your request is received (within 1 business day).
• The record is removed from public view (immediately upon decision).
• We need additional information to verify the request.

Removed records are also submitted to Google's URL removal tool and the equivalent systems for Bing and Yandex, so the record is unlisted from third-party search engines within 24-48 hours of our action.

Records we will not remove

We will not remove records solely because:

• You are awaiting trial. We respect the presumption of innocence in our copy and display, but the underlying public record is preserved until the case resolves.
• The record is embarrassing or inconvenient. Public records are public, and our role is to mirror what the county already publishes.
• You have negotiated a plea deal with no expungement. Plea deals do not seal the underlying booking record.

If you believe your situation is unusual and should qualify despite not fitting the categories above, contact [email protected] and we will review case-by-case.

Disputes

If you disagree with our removal decision, you can appeal by replying to the email we send and providing additional context or documentation. Decisions are reviewed by a senior team member within 3 business days of the appeal.

Court orders and subpoenas

Court orders requiring removal are honored immediately upon receipt and verification. Send them to [email protected]. Subpoenas for record retention or production are reviewed by counsel and answered per applicable law.