5 Tips to Get or Keep a Professional License in Texas with a Criminal Record
A criminal record doesn’t have to spell the end of your professional dreams. This revealing episode of Know Your Regulator tackles one of the most anxiety-inducing questions facing many aspiring professionals: can you obtain or maintain a professional license with a criminal history in your background?
Host Cimone Murphree dismantles the myth that past convictions automatically disqualify candidates from licensure. Drawing from conversations with attorneys and regulators who handle these cases daily, she presents five practical, actionable strategies that can make all the difference in your licensing journey. You’ll discover how licensing boards actually evaluate criminal history (it’s more nuanced than you think), why proactive demonstration of rehabilitation matters, and the critical importance of honest disclosure—even for those seemingly minor misdemeanors you might be tempted to hide.
The episode delves into the often-overlooked connection between criminal proceedings and administrative licensing processes, revealing how decisions in one arena can dramatically impact outcomes in the other. Perhaps most valuable is the guidance on building the right legal team, one that understands both systems and can develop strategies that protect your professional future while addressing immediate legal concerns.
Whether you’re just starting your career path or working to maintain your professional standing after a legal setback, this episode provides the roadmap you need to navigate the complex intersection of criminal history and professional licensing with confidence and clarity. Your past doesn’t have to define your professional future, and this episode shows you exactly why.
Transcript
Speaker 1: 0:01
This podcast is for educational purposes only.
Speaker 2: 0:03
Does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you need legal assistance about a legal problem contact an attorney.
Speaker 1: 0:13
Welcome back to Know your Regulator, the podcast that inspires you to engage. I’m your host, Simone Murphy, and in today’s episode we’re diving into a topic that comes up more often than you would think what happens if you are applying for, or you already hold, a professional license and you have some criminal history in your background? For a lot of people, this idea is really terrifying that a misdemeanor or a conviction could end your career before it begins. But the reality is it’s not as black and white as it seems. So today we’re going to walk through five practical tips that can help you if you’re in this situation, or if you know someone who is.
Speaker 1: 0:47
These are pulled straight from past conversations that we’ve had with attorneys and regulators who deal with these types of cases day in and day out. So let’s get started. One of the most common misconceptions is that a past conviction automatically disqualifies you, and that’s just not true. Licensing boards like the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, for example. They actually take a more balanced approach, so they look at the nature of the offense, how long ago it was and what you’ve done since then to kind of build your life back.
Speaker 3: 1:17
The important thing is how much time has passed since the last offense occurred. Obviously, the longer in time you go without having a new crime, the better it is, the more you’ve shown that you’ve rehabilitated yourself. Proof of rehabilitation efforts is a big one, you know. I find it very persuasive if somebody can present to me here’s the rehabilitation I’ve done for my drug addiction.
Speaker 1: 1:41
So for example, if a serious offense that occurred two years ago is not viewed the same as something very minor from, say, 20 years ago, and if you have spent that time kind of building back a track record of responsibility, you’ve got steady employment and maybe even some volunteer work or rehabilitation in there. That absolutely matters. So the first tip is understand how your board evaluates criminal history. Don’t assume that your case is hopeless. The board is looking at the full picture. They’re not just looking at your rap sheet. So super important you understand how they’re evaluating and what that process is. Tip number two builds right on top of that. Don’t wait for the boards to fill in the gaps. Show them your progress proactively. A lot of agencies have tools that you can use before you even apply. Save yourself a lot of heartache, some time getting kind of wrapped up into that application. For instance, tdlr, they have a criminal history evaluation letter. I think it’s like $10, but absolutely do that so you kind of know your chances or if you’re going to have some trouble going into some things.
Speaker 4: 2:49
I can’t emphasize enough People make mistakes. If you can recognize it and take corrective action, that goes a long way towards resolving any issues.
Speaker 1: 2:59
Talking about rehabilitation, it doesn’t mean just staying out of trouble. It means that you’re showing steady work and you know finishing treatment or education programs, letters of recommendation, anything you can do to kind of demonstrate that that’s not who you are today. So this next one kind of trips people up, sometimes Always disclose your history, even misdemeanors. I know that it is really tempting to say that this is a small instance, that it’s in the past, they will never notice. But here’s the thing they absolutely will notice. The boards have access to more records than you realize and when you don’t disclose suddenly that tiny little misdemeanor is not the problem, it’s really the dishonesty and the fact that you are hiding things from the board, and that’s what they really don’t like.
Speaker 5: 3:49
When in doubt, disclose. So if you have any doubts, definitely err on the side of caution and disclose. But if you don’t understand something, if by reading the application it’s just too confusing, I’m just going to go back to my initial advice Call an attorney so they can walk you through the application process, because attorneys have more information than just the four corners of that application. They understand the processes and what these boards are looking for is in terms of an answer so they can really navigate through, so you can have the best opportunity to obtain that license.
Speaker 1: 4:35
So make it a rule for yourself that honesty is first, and if you’re unsure about what to disclose, you can talk to an attorney. But don’t take the risk of leaving it off. And you know nine times out of 10 that cover-up is going to be worse than the actual admission or the crime itself. So this next tip is something that a lot of people don’t realize until it’s too late, and that’s that what happens in your criminal case doesn’t always stay in your criminal case. So your license and your legal record are connected, and a charge, even before a conviction, can trigger that administrative process. Sometimes you know what you do at the administrative level can also help your criminal case too, but it’s crucial that you understand that those two are connected.
Speaker 2: 5:21
So somebody might be thinking about what happens. You know if I don’t like the result. The ISCs are not binding. The offer generally comes after you know the ISC closes. Sometimes it’s immediately after. Sometimes they take something under advisement and you’ll hear back in like a week or so. But eventually, once you get whatever that offer is, you do get some time to read it over and think about it and then you do have the option to reject it.
Speaker 1: 5:48
So tip number four is don’t treat these two as separate tracks. Think strategically, because the decisions that you make in one case could ripple and have effects in the other case. And finally, this leads us to our last tip, tip number five, which is make sure you have the right legal help.
Speaker 4: 6:06
Not every criminal defense attorney understands how licensing boards work and not every licensing attorney understands how the criminal justice system works to an administrative lawyer, because a lot of criminal lawyers don’t realize that even a deferred or a pretrial diversion can be considered a conviction on the administrative side. Lawyers unfortunately don’t think about these things. They just want to get their client what they consider the best deal possible, when the best deal possible could be the worst deal possible.
Speaker 1: 6:47
It’s crucial that you find an attorney who understands both, because sometimes the advice that protects you in court, like admitting to certain facts or agreeing to certain items, can completely sink you with the board. Having an attorney who sees both sides of this is going to save you from making choices that may feel good in the short term but have very long-term consequences for your professional future. So think of it as you are creating a team that is prepared for you know the entire situation, not just a portion of it. So let’s recap the five tips. Number one understand how licensing boards evaluate criminal history. Number two show your rehabilitation proactively. Number three always self-disclose, even misdemeanors. Number four consider administrative strategies if you’ve got a criminal case. And number five work with attorneys who know both systems.
Speaker 1: 7:46
It’s crucial that you find an attorney who understands the administrative process as well as the criminal justice system. Your license is your livelihood and while a mistake in your past may shape your journey, it truly doesn’t have to define it. There’s so many tools out there that you could use to learn about your chances of obtaining a license, of renewing a license, and really, with the right strategy, the right legal support, you can move forward. Absolutely. See what an attorney may be able to do for you if you find yourself in a situation where you’ve got some criminal history in your background and you’re having some trouble renewing or applying for that license obtaining it. Thanks for tuning in, and if you want to dig deeper, you can check out the full episodes that we pulled the clips from in our description below. Follow and subscribe to get alerts when our new episodes drop. And until next time, stay inspired and continue engaging with your regulatory agency.
Speaker 2: 8:44
Know your Regulator. The podcast that inspires you to engage.