How to Deregister

STEP ONE: Determine if you are eligible to deregister. Only certain offenses are eligible for deregistration. The Texas Department of Public Safety publishes a list of eligible offenses. Click on this to get the TDPS list of sex offenses that are eligible for deregistration: TDPS Deregistration Eligibility Chart September 2022. Find your offense in the list. If your offense  is in green, you can deregister. You should go to step two.  If your offense in red, you are not eligible to deregister. If you think the table is wrong, or you want a second opinion, you can contact an attorney who is knowledgeable about the Texas deregistration laws.

STEP TWO: Submit an application to the Council on Sex Offender Treatment. In order to start the application process, click on this link and print the form: Council SO Treatment Dereg Checklist 07-15-20  This is a a two page form. The first page is a questionnaire. Complete the questionnaire. The second page is a list of documents you must collect and send to the Council on Sex Offender Treatment. You have to follow these instructions.  You will notice that you have to obtain your Texas Department of Public Safety (TDPS) and FBI criminal histories. You can contact TDPS for your state criminal history. The quickest way to obtain your FBI criminal history is to use a “FBI Channeler.” Just Google the term “FBI Channeler” and you will find some options. You will also need to send in information about your offense, like a probable cause affidavit.  Once you have gathered all the required information, mail your application along with the Application Fee to Council on Sex Offender Treatment.  It might take a few weeks but the Council on Sex Offender Treatment will respond by sending you a letter telling you whether or not you can deregister. If you think it is taking a long time for the Council on Sex Offender Treatment to respond you can call them at 512-834-4530.

DO NOT MAIL YOUR APPLICATION TO DEREGISTERTEXAS.

DO NOT CALL DEREGISTERTEXAS TO ASK YOUR APPLICATION AFTER YOU HAVE MAILED YOUR APPLICATION. YOU HAVE TO CALL THE COUNCIL ON SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT TO FIND OUT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR APPLICATION.

STEP THREE: Obtain a Deregistration Evaluation. If the Council on Sex Offender Treatment approves you to deregister, the next step is to contact a deregistration specialist and schedule a deregistration evaluation. When the Council on Sex Offender Treatment approves your application,  they will mail you a list of deregistration evaluation specialists. There are approximately 22 deregistration evaluation specialists in Texas. You can be evaluated by any one of these deregistration evaluation specialists. On the other hand, you can contact Dr. Ferrara and he can conduct your deregistration evaluation (see Contact page on this website).  Keep in mind that Dr. Ferrara has trained all the deregistration evaluation specialist in the State of Texas, so you might want to consider being evaluated by him.

If you have been through sex offender treatment, then you have a pretty good idea about the nature of the deregistration evaluation. Most of the time, a deregistration evaluation takes three to four hours. About half of the time is spent doing paperwork and the other half of the time is spent in an interview.

Deregistration is designed for people who have been convicted of a sex offense. This includes deferred adjudication. You do not have to be innocent of your sex crime in order to deregister. When you are participating in the deregistration evaluation, it is best to admit to your sex offense. If you deny, minimize, or blame, it could hurt your chances of deregistering.

Once the evaluation is completed, the evaluation specialist sends the assessment report to the Council on Sex Offender Treatment. The report is reviewed by Council on Sex Offender Treatment. The Council on Sex Offender Treatment will put an official stamp on the report and send the report to you, or your attorney. When you petition the court to get off the registry, you must use the report that has been stamped by the Council on Sex Offender Treatment.

STEP FOUR: Petition the Court. If the deregistration evaluation specialist found that you meet the risk assessment criteria to deregister, you and your attorney (if you have one) must petition the court to deregister. You have to go back to the court in which you were sentenced and you must petition the court to be released from the registry. If the court approves you to deregister, you send the court order that the judge signed to TDPS  and they will take you off the registry.

Use of an Attorney –  You do not have to use an attorney to deregister. You can go through all of the steps of the deregistration without using an attorney…but it might be a good idea to consider using an attorney. An attorney can help you with each step of the deregistration process.  With  STEP ONE, an attorney could help you determine if you are eligible to deregister. With STEP TWO, an attorney could  help you fill-out the forms. With STEP THREE, an attorney could help you find a deregistration evaluation specialist. With STEP FOUR, the attorney can help you petition the court.

There are many courts and district attorney offices in Texas that know very little about deregistration. If you hire an attorney, the attorney can talk with the district attorney and court, which could improve your chances to deregister. This will improve your chances of successfully deregistering.

An attorney is very valuable if the district attorney opposes your petition to deregister. Your attorney can call witnesses and explain to the judge why you should be permitted to deregister.

WARNING! There are companies sending letters to individuals on the registry. These companies offer to help you through the deregistration  process. Some companies are legitimate and helpful. Others are not helpful because they tell you there is only one deregistration specialist you should go to. That is not true. There are 22 deregistration specialists in Texas. You can go to any of those specialists. Or, they tell you that you must submit to a polygraph exam. That is not true. You do not need to submit to a polygraph exam as part of a deregistration evaluation.

Be very careful. It can be difficult to distinguish a legitimate company from one that might cost you a lot of extra and unnecessary time and money.