How To Remove A Hold From Your Driver’s License In Texas

Getting Your License Back After A Hold Has Been Placed On It

Understanding The Steps To Driving Legally Again

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One of the main reasons people hire our traffic ticket attorneys in Texas is due to holds that have been placed on their license due to outstanding traffic tickets.  This issue is an ever increasing concern for drivers across the State Of Texas.  This article is intended to help explain how the hold is issued and what needs to be done to remove the hold.  If you need the assistance of a Texas traffic ticket attorney to help you with a hold on your driver’s license call our legal professionals today at 214-321-4105.  Removing a hold on a driver license can seem complicated.  This article outlines the laws that apply to getting a hold removed.  Don’t get too caught up in the legal jargon listed below.  The 2 main steps to remove a hold are as follows:

1. Get the warrant removed by filing an appearance bond (an attorney can do this) and;
2. Pay the omni fee of $30.00 per violation to the court that placed the hold on the license.

If you need help accomplishing these 2 steps it is best to allow an experienced traffic ticket attorney to assist you.

Why It Is Important To Remove A Driver License Hold With These Steps

If you do not remove the hold properly, then you could face worse penalties than the hold itself.  Many Texans choose to just go and pay off the old tickets.  Sometimes they spend thousands paying off old tickets to try and get their license back.  The problem with that is that for every ticket that is paid off, each one is reported as a permanent conviction on their driving record.

In the past, when we had the Texas Surcharge Program, a second financial penalty would be assessed for just about any permanent conviction that was reported on a person’s record.  After the conviction was reported this program would then assess financial penalties against the person for each separate violation that was paid off and reported as a conviction.  As an example, a surcharge penalty for no insurance tickets is $780.00.  That can be as much as twice the cost of the fine paid at the courthouse.  Imagine a person paying two or three no insurance tickets.  That would be $780.00 in additional fees owed to DPS for each one.

So the person thought they were doing the right thing by paying off the tickets only to find that their license is now suspended indefinitely until they pay the surcharges as well.  It turned into an endless cycle of debt.

Luckily for Texans, the Texas Surcharge Program was repealed in 2019.  But that does not mean that people are not held responsible for convictions in Texas any longer.  It simply means that the financial penalties have been abolished.  You can still have a driver license suspension for getting too many traffic ticket convictions.  Paying off old tickets will most certainly cause irreparable damage to a person’s driving record.  In most cases, the person was paying off the tickets to get their license back.  Once the tickets are paid for, the court then reports all of those cases as convictions.  In many cases, these same convictions are then used by DPS to re-suspend the person’s driver license.  Don’t fall into this trap.  There is a way to resolve the tickets without destroying your driving record.

How Is The Hold Placed On A Texas Driver’s License

A hold is placed on a Texas driver’s license by allowing a ticket to go past the appearance date without resolving it.  For example, if you get a traffic ticket in Texas and neglect that citation until the time that it goes into warrant status, then the court where the ticket is pending can place a hold on a person’s ability to renew their driving privileges.  The law on this issue is as follows:

Sec. 706.004. DENIAL OF RENEWAL OF DRIVER’S LICENSE. (a) If a political subdivision has contracted with the department, on receiving the necessary information from the political subdivision the department may deny renewal of the person’s driver’s license for failure to appear based on a complaint or citation or failure to pay or satisfy a judgment ordering the payment of a fine and cost in the manner ordered by the court…

The complete reading of the law can be found by clicking here.

Removing The Hold On A Texas Driver’s License

Sec. 706.005. CLEARANCE NOTICE TO DEPARTMENT. (a) A political subdivision shall immediately notify the department that there is no cause to continue to deny renewal of a person’s driver’s license based on the person’s previous failure to appear or failure to pay or satisfy a judgment ordering the payment of a fine and cost in the manner ordered by the court in a matter involving an offense described by Section 706.002(a), on payment of a fee as provided by Section 706.006 and:

(1) the perfection of an appeal of the case for which the warrant of arrest was issued or judgment arose;

(2) the dismissal of the charge for which the warrant of arrest was issued or judgment arose;

(3) the posting of bond or the giving of other security to reinstate the charge for which the warrant was issued;

(4) the payment or discharge of the fine and cost owed on an outstanding judgment of the court; or

(5) other suitable arrangement to pay the fine and cost within the court’s discretion.

(b) The department may not continue to deny the renewal of the person’s driver’s license under this chapter after the department receives notice:

(1) under Subsection (a);

(2) that the person was acquitted of the charge on which the person failed to appear; or

(3) from the political subdivision that the failure to appear report or court order to pay a fine or cost relating to the person:

(A) was sent to the department in error; or

(B) has been destroyed in accordance with the political subdivision’s records retention policy.

First step then, is to lift the warrant for the outstanding traffic tickets.  This means that a lawyer must be hired to go to the court where the warrant is pending and file a surety bond to lift the warrant.  Once the warrant is lifted, then the administrative fee can be paid to remove the hold.

Sec. 706.006. PAYMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE FEE. (a) A person who fails to appear for a complaint or citation for an offense described by Section 706.002(a) shall be required to pay an administrative fee of $30 for each complaint or citation reported to the department under this chapter, unless the person is acquitted of the charges for which the person failed to appear. The person shall pay the fee when:

(1) the court enters judgment on the underlying offense reported to the department;

(2) the underlying offense is dismissed; or

(3) bond or other security is posted to reinstate the charge for which the warrant was issued.

(b) A person who fails to pay or satisfy a judgment ordering the payment of a fine and cost in the manner the court orders shall be required to pay an administrative fee of $30.

Attorney For Traffic Ticket Warrants

(c) The department may deny renewal of the driver’s license of a person who does not pay a fee due under this section until the fee is paid. The fee required by this section is in addition to any other fee required by law.

These two steps must be taken to remove the hold.  First, the warrant must be lifted.  Second, the administrative fee must be paid.

What You Need To Do If You Have A Hold On Your License In Texas

First, you need to get a lawyer.  The reason why is because a lawyer can remove any warrants that are pending without causing a conviction on your record.  Second, that same lawyer can then pay the OMNI fee as described above to remove the hold.  Thereafter, you will have the freedom to renew your driver license without getting convictions.  The attorney will then go back to court for you at a later date to either (1) get the tickets dismissed based on a legal reason or (2) negotiate payment deals that resolve the tickets and protect your record at the same time.  Again the steps are as follows:

1. An attorney files a bond that removes any outstanding warrants
2. The attorney then pays the OMNI fee attached to the case removing the hold on your ability to renew your driver license
3. You can then renew your license at that point
4. The attorney will go back to court for you at a later date to negotiate the dismissal of the tickets
5. If the cases cannot be dismissed, then the attorney will negotiate a deal that protects your record and you can pay off the tickets after that.

How To Find A Hold On Your Driver License

If you have a hold on your license, but are not sure how to find the tickets that are causing it you can use the sites below to check the status of your driver license.

• TEXAS FAILURE TO APPEAR WEBSITE

This website will allow you to put in your driver license number and see the courts that have now placed a hold on your license.

Hiring A Lawyer For A Hold On Your Texas Driver License

If you have a hold on your driver license and you want to get it removed properly, you are going to need the assistance of a lawyer.  There are steps that must be taken to avoid permanent damage to your driving record that an attorney can assist you with that may be difficult for you to achieve on your own.  As discussed above, the laws are difficult to navigate.  You don’t want to make a mistake and end up causing a driver license suspension in the process.  Take the time to contact our lawyers to discuss your driver license hold in Texas.  Call us at 214-321-4105 to discuss your case today.