Tampering With Governmental Record: Texas Penal Code §37.10

The Texas Tampering With Governmental Record law allows police to arrest you if they believe that you faked, altered or destroyed a government record, or that you had a blank or unused record that you intended to use falsely, or you traded in any such false records.

The Tampering With Governmental Record law has not substantially changed over the last few legislative sessions. But in 2021, the Legislature created a specific penalty level classification for offenses involving an application for a place on the ballot. And in 2023, the Legislature created a specific penalty level classification for tampering with temporary tags. The Legislature did not update this law in 2025.

This law was implicated in the high-profile First Amendment case involving Sylvia Gonzalez, a retiree in Castle Hills, Texas, who won a seat on her City Council and was arrested for Tampering With Governmental Record after a petition criticizing the local city manager ended up in her personal binder following a public meeting. Gonzalez maintained that she did not intentionally place the petition there, and prosecutors ultimately dismissed the charge. Gonzalez, represented by attorneys from the Institute for Justice, later sued Castle Hills officials and took her First Amendment retaliatory-arrest claim to the United States Supreme Court. In 2024, the Supreme Court vacated the judgment against Gonzalez and remanded the case for further proceedings.

The Penal Code classifies the Texas Tampering with Governmental Record law under Title 8 “Offenses Against Public Administration,” Chapter 37 “Perjury and Other Falsifications.” Learn more about the Texas offense of Tampering With Governmental Record below.

What is the current Texas law about Tampering With Governmental Record?

Texas Penal Code §37.10 currently defines Tampering With Governmental Record as follows:^[1]

(a) A person commits an offense if he:

(1) knowingly makes a false entry in, or false alteration of, a governmental record;

(2) makes, presents, or uses any record, document, or thing with knowledge of its falsity and with intent that it be taken as a genuine governmental record;

(3) intentionally destroys, conceals, removes, or otherwise impairs the verity, legibility, or availability of a governmental record;

(4) possesses, sells, or offers to sell a governmental record or a blank governmental record form with intent that it be used unlawfully;

(5) makes, presents, or uses a governmental record with knowledge of its falsity; or

(6) possesses, sells, or offers to sell a governmental record or a blank governmental record form with knowledge that it was obtained unlawfully.

What changed in 2021

In 2021, the Legislature made offenses involving applications for a place on the ballot a Class B misdemeanor when the actor knowingly provided false information.^[2] Learn more about the punishment for violations of Tampering With Governmental Record here.

What changed in 2023

In 2023, the Legislature added this offense to the list of Class A and Class B misdemeanor offenses that do not require a custodial arrest, but only when the tampering involves a temporary tag.^[3] In addition, the Legislature made tampering with a temporary tag a Class A misdemeanor.^[4] Learn more about the punishment for violations of Tampering With Governmental Record here.

What is the penalty for a Texas Tampering with Governmental Record offense?

Unless subsection (d) or subdivisions (2), (3), (4), (5), or (6) of subsection (c) apply, Tampering with Governmental Record is punished by default as a Class A misdemeanor, unless the actor’s intent was to defraud or harm another, in which event the offense is a state jail felony.^[5]

Subdivision (2) specifies that violations of the Tampering with Governmental Record law are classified as felonies of the third degree if the governmental record was:

(A) a public school record, report, or assessment instrument required under Chapter 39, Education Code, data reported for a school district or open-enrollment charter school to the Texas Education Agency through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) described by Section 42.006, Education Code, under a law or rule requiring that reporting, or a license, certificate, permit, seal, title, letter of patent, or similar document issued by government, by another state, or by the United States, unless the actor’s intent is to defraud or harm another, in which event the offense is a felony of the second degree;

(B) a written report of a medical, chemical, toxicological, ballistic, or other expert examination or test performed on physical evidence for the purpose of determining the connection or relevance of the evidence to a criminal action;

(C) a written report of the certification, inspection, or maintenance record of an instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, or other similar device used in the course of an examination or test performed on physical evidence for the purpose of determining the connection or relevance of the evidence to a criminal action; or

(D) a search warrant issued by a magistrate.

Subdivision (3) specifies that violations of the Tampering with Governmental Record law are classified as Class C misdemeanors if the governmental record is a governmental record that is required for enrollment of a student in a school district and was used by the actor to establish the residency of the student.

Subdivision (4) specifies that violations of the Tampering with Governmental Record law are classified as Class B misdemeanors if the governmental record is a written appraisal filed with an appraisal review board under Section 41.43(a-1), Tax Code, that was performed by a person who had a contingency interest in the outcome of the appraisal review board hearing.

Subdivision (5) specifies that violations of the Tampering with Governmental Record law are classified as Class B misdemeanors if the governmental record is an application for a place on the ballot under Section 141.031, Election Code, and the actor knowingly provides false information under Subsection (a)(4)(G) of that section.

Subdivision (6) specifies that violations of the Tampering with Governmental Record law are classified as Class A misdemeanors if the governmental record is a temporary tag issued under Chapter 502 or 503, Transportation Code.

Subsection (d) specifies that violations of the Tampering with Governmental Record law are classified as:

(1) a Class B misdemeanor if the offense is committed under Subsection (a)(2) or Subsection (a)(5) and the defendant is convicted of presenting or using the record;

(2) a felony of the third degree if the offense is committed under:

(A) Subsection (a)(1), (3), (4), or (6); or

(B) Subsection (a)(2) or (5) and the defendant is convicted of making the record; and

(3) a felony of the second degree, notwithstanding Subdivisions (1) and (2), if the actor’s intent in committing the offense was to defraud or harm another.

Learn about the differences between grades of felonies and misdemeanors here.

What are the affirmative defenses to Tampering with Governmental Record in Texas?

For offenses charged under subsection (a)(6) (possessing, selling, or offering to sell a governmental record or a blank governmental record form with knowledge that it was obtained unlawfully), the statute provides an affirmative defense if you can show that the possession occurred in the actual discharge of official duties as a public servant.^[6]

For offenses charged under subsections (a)(1), (a)(2), or (a)(5) (see above), it is a defense to prosecution that the false entry or false information could have no effect on the government’s purpose for requiring the governmental record.^[7]

However, the code specifies that it is not a defense to prosecution under subsection (a)(2) that the record, document, or thing made, presented, or used displays or contains the statement “NOT A GOVERNMENT DOCUMENT” or another substantially similar statement, unless the record, document, or thing displays the statement diagonally printed clearly and indelibly on both the front and back of the record, document, or thing in solid red capital letters at least one-fourth inch in height.^[8]

How can I be charged with a Tampering with Governmental Record offense in Texas?

You can be charged with Tampering with Governmental Record in Texas if the state’s attorneys believe that each of the elements of §37.10(a) as described in the section above has been met.

What is the statute of limitations for Tampering with Governmental Record in Texas?

Misdemeanor level Tampering with Governmental Record charges have a two-year limitations period.^[9] Felony level offenses follow the default felony limitations period rule, which specifies a three-year limitations period.^[10]

Can you get probation for Tampering with Governmental Record in Texas?

Yes. Probation is generally available for Tampering with Governmental Record in Texas. The Texas Code of Criminal Procedure allows both judges and juries to grant community supervision, commonly called probation, for Tampering with Governmental Record, and judges may also grant deferred adjudication community supervision.^[11]

However, important restrictions apply. Neither a judge nor a jury may grant community supervision if the imposed term of imprisonment exceeds 10 years.^[12] Additionally, a judge may not grant community supervision after a conviction if (1) the defendant used or exhibited a deadly weapon during the commission of the felony or immediate flight thereafter and (2) the defendant used or exhibited the deadly weapon himself or was a party to the offense and knew that a deadly weapon would be used or exhibited.^[13]

What level of crime is Tampering with Governmental Record in Texas?

The Penal Code classifies Tampering with Governmental Record as a Class A misdemeanor, state jail felony, third degree felony, or second degree felony, depending on the circumstances.

Learn more about the penalty range for this offense in the section above.

Legal References compiled by attorney Paul Saputo: