Title TN, Transportation Code

Sec. 521.201. LICENSE INELIGIBILITY IN GENERAL. The department may not issue any license to a person who: (1) is under 15 years of age; (2) is under 18 years of age unless the person complies with the requirements imposed by Section 521.204; (3) is shown to be addicted to the use…

Sec. 521.202. INELIGIBILITY FOR LICENSE BASED ON CERTAIN CONVICTIONS. (a) Unless the period of suspension that would have applied if the person held a license at the time of the conviction has expired, the department may not issue a license to a person convicted of an offense: (1…

Sec. 521.203. RESTRICTIONS ON CLASS A AND B LICENSES. The department may not issue a Class A or Class B driver's license to a person who: (1) is under 17 years of age; (2) is under 18 years of age unless the person has completed a driver training course approved by the Texas Depa…

Sec. 521.204. RESTRICTIONS ON MINOR. (a) The department may issue a Class C driver's license to an applicant under 18 years of age only if the applicant: (1) is 16 years of age or older; (2) has submitted to the department a driver education certificate issued under Section 1001.…

Sec. 521.206. COLLISION RATE STATISTICS PUBLICATION. (a) The department shall collect data regarding collisions of students taught by public schools, driver education providers licensed under Chapter 1001, Education Code, and other entities that offer driver education courses to …

Sec. 521.221. IMPOSITION OF SPECIAL RESTRICTIONS AND ENDORSEMENTS. (a) For good cause the department may impose a restriction or require an endorsement suitable to the driver's license holder's driving ability. The restriction or endorsement may relate to: (1) the type of motor v…

Sec. 521.222. LEARNER LICENSE. (a) The department may issue a learner license, including a Class A or Class B driver's learner license, to a person who: (1) is 15 years of age or older but under 18 years of age; (2) has satisfactorily completed and passed the classroom phase of a…

Sec. 521.223. HARDSHIP LICENSE. (a) The department may issue a license to a person who complies with the requirements of Subsection (b) if the department finds that: (1) the failure to issue the license will result in an unusual economic hardship for the family of the applicant; …

Sec. 521.224. RESTRICTED CLASS M LICENSE. (a) Repealed by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 882 (H.B. 3171), Sec. 3.01(1), eff. September 1, 2019. (b) The department may issue a special restricted Class M license that authorizes the holder to operate only a motorcycle that has not …

Sec. 521.241. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: (1) "Essential need" means a need of a person to operate a motor vehicle: (A) in the performance of an occupation or trade or for transportation to and from the place at which the person practices the person's occupation or trade; (B…

Sec. 521.242. ELIGIBILITY. (a) A person is eligible to apply for an occupational driver's license if: (1) the person's license has been suspended, revoked, or canceled for a cause other than: (A) a physical or mental disability or impairment; or (B) a determination by the departm…

Sec. 521.2421. PETITION. (a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c), a person may apply for an occupational driver's license by filing a verified petition with the clerk of a justice, county, or district court with jurisdiction that includes the county in which: (1) the pe…

Sec. 521.2422. COURT COSTS. (a) A petitioner must pay the filing fee the court charges for filing a civil action or file a statement of inability to afford payment of court costs under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. If a petition is dismissed under Section 521.2421(f), the c…

Sec. 521.2423. FORMS. A court shall make the forms required for petitioning for an occupational driver's license and for the statement of inability to afford payment of court costs available at no cost. Added by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 386 (H.B. 291), Sec. 2, eff. Septemb…

Sec. 521.2424. COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES. A court may not grant an occupational driver's license for the operation of a commercial motor vehicle to which Chapter 522 applies. This section does not prevent a person who has been issued a commercial driver's license from obtaining a…

Sec. 521.243. NOTICE TO STATE; PRESENTATION OF EVIDENCE. (a) Unless the petition is dismissed under Section 521.2421(f), the clerk of the court shall send electronically or by a delivery method described by Rule 21a, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, to the attorney representing th…

Sec. 521.244. DETERMINATION OF ESSENTIAL NEED; HEARING AND ORDER. (a) The judge shall hold a hearing on the petition if the petitioner's license was suspended, revoked, or canceled following a conviction for: (1) an offense under Section 19.05 or Sections 49.04-49.08, Penal Code;…

Sec. 521.245. REQUIRED ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE COUNSELING. (a) If the petitioner's license has been suspended under Chapter 524 or 724, or as the result of a conviction for an offense relating to the operating of a motor vehicle while intoxicated, the court shall require the petitione…

Sec. 521.246. IGNITION INTERLOCK DEVICE REQUIREMENT. (a) Subject to Subsection (b-1), the judge shall restrict the person to the operation of a motor vehicle equipped with an ignition interlock device if: (1) the person is currently under an order restricting the person to the op…

Sec. 521.2461. TESTING FOR ALCOHOL OR CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES. The court granting an occupational driver's license under this subchapter may require as a condition of the license that the person submit to periodic testing for alcohol or controlled substances, to be conducted by an …

Sec. 521.2462. SUPERVISION OF PERSON ISSUED OCCUPATIONAL DRIVER'S LICENSE. (a) The court granting an occupational driver's license under this subchapter may order the person receiving the license to submit to supervision for the purpose of verifying the person's compliance with t…

Sec. 521.2465. RESTRICTED LICENSE. (a) On receipt of notice that a person has been restricted to the use of a motor vehicle equipped with an ignition interlock device, the department shall notify that person that the person's driver's license expires on the 30th day after the dat…

Sec. 521.247. APPROVAL OF IGNITION INTERLOCK DEVICES BY DEPARTMENT. (a) The department shall adopt rules for the approval of ignition interlock devices used under this subchapter. (b) The department by rule shall establish general standards for the calibration and maintenance of …

Sec. 521.2475. IGNITION INTERLOCK DEVICE EVALUATION. (a) On January 1 of each year, the department shall issue an evaluation of each ignition interlock device approved under Section 521.247 using guidelines established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, includ…

Sec. 521.2476. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR VENDORS OF IGNITION INTERLOCK DEVICES. (a) The department by rule shall establish: (1) minimum standards for vendors of ignition interlock devices who conduct business in this state; and (2) procedures to ensure compliance with those standards…

Sec. 521.248. ORDER GRANTING LICENSE. (a) An order granting an occupational driver's license must specify: (1) the hours of the day and days of the week during which the person may operate a motor vehicle; (2) the reasons for which the person may operate a motor vehicle; (3) area…

Sec. 521.249. NOTICE TO DEPARTMENT; ISSUANCE OF OCCUPATIONAL DRIVER'S LICENSE. (a) The court shall send a certified copy of the petition and the court order setting out the judge's findings and restrictions to the department. The person may use a copy of the order as a restricted…

Sec. 521.250. COURT ORDER IN OPERATOR'S POSSESSION. A person who is issued an occupational driver's license shall have in the person's possession a certified copy of the court order granting the license while operating a motor vehicle. The person shall allow a peace officer to ex…

Sec. 521.252. LICENSE REVOCATION. (a) The court that signs an order granting an occupational driver's license may, at any time, issue an order revoking the license for good cause. (b) The court that signed an order granting an occupational driver's license shall issue an order re…

Sec. 521.253. CRIMINAL OFFENSE; PENALTY. (a) A person who holds an occupational driver's license commits an offense if the person: (1) operates a motor vehicle in violation of a restriction imposed on the license; or (2) fails to have in the person's possession a certified copy o…

Sec. 521.271. LICENSE EXPIRATION. (a) Each original driver's license, provisional license, learner license, or occupational driver's license issued to an applicant who is a citizen, national, or legal permanent resident of the United States or a refugee or asylee lawfully admitte…

Sec. 521.2711. LICENSE EXPIRATION: PERSON AT LEAST 85 YEARS OF AGE. (a) Each original driver's license of a person 85 years of age or older expires on the license holder's second birthday after the date of the license application. (b) A driver's license of a person 85 years of ag…

Sec. 521.272. RENEWAL OF LICENSE ISSUED TO CERTAIN SEX OFFENDERS. (a) The department may issue an original or renewal driver's license to a person whose driver's license or personal identification certificate record indicates that the person is subject to the registration require…

Sec. 521.273. RENEWAL EXAMINATIONS. (a) The department may require and prescribe the procedure and standards for an examination for the renewal of a driver's license. (b) A license holder who fails to obtain a renewal license as provided by this subchapter may be required to take…

Sec. 521.274. RENEWAL BY MAIL OR ELECTRONIC MEANS. (a) The department by rule may provide that the holder of a driver's license may renew the license by mail, by telephone, over the Internet, or by other electronic means. (b) A rule adopted under this section: (1) may prescribe e…

Sec. 521.275. CHANGE OF DRIVER'S LICENSE OR PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION CERTIFICATE NUMBER. (a) The department shall issue to a person a new driver's license number or personal identification certificate number on the person's showing a court order stating that the person has been th…

Sec. 521.291. RULES. The department shall adopt rules to administer this subchapter. Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1117, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2000.

Sec. 521.292. DEPARTMENT'S DETERMINATION FOR LICENSE SUSPENSION. (a) Except as provided by Section 521.457(h), the department shall suspend the person's license if the department determines that the person: (1) has operated a motor vehicle on a highway while the person's license …

Sec. 521.293. PERIOD OF SUSPENSION UNDER SECTION 521.292. If the person does not request a hearing, the period of license suspension under Section 521.292 is 90 days. Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1117, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2000. Amended by: Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. …

Sec. 521.294. DEPARTMENT'S DETERMINATION FOR LICENSE REVOCATION. The department shall revoke the person's license if the department determines that the person: (1) is incapable of safely operating a motor vehicle; (2) has not complied with the terms of a citation issued by a juri…

Sec. 521.295. NOTICE OF DEPARTMENT'S DETERMINATION. (a) If the department suspends a person's license under Section 521.292 or revokes a person's license under Section 521.294, the department shall send a notice of suspension or revocation by: (1) first class mail to the person's…

Sec. 521.296. NOTICE OF SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION. A notice of suspension under Section 521.292 or revocation under Section 521.294 must state: (1) the reason and statutory grounds for the suspension or revocation; (2) the effective date of the suspension or revocation; (3) the ri…

Sec. 521.297. SUSPENSION, REVOCATION, OR DISQUALIFICATION EFFECTIVE DATE. (a) A license suspension under Section 521.292 or revocation under Section 521.294 takes effect on the 40th day after the date the person is considered to have received notice of the suspension or revocatio…

Sec. 521.298. HEARING REQUEST. If, not later than the 15th day after the date on which the person is considered to have received notice of the suspension or revocation under Section 521.295(b), the department receives at its headquarters in Austin, in writing, including a facsimi…

Sec. 521.299. HEARING DATE; RESCHEDULING. (a) A hearing requested under Section 521.298 shall be held not earlier than the 11th day after the date on which the person requesting the hearing is notified of the hearing. The hearing shall be set for the earliest practical date. (b) …

Sec. 521.300. HEARING: LOCATION; PRESIDING OFFICER. (a) A hearing under this subchapter shall be conducted in a municipal court or a justice court in the county in which the person resides. The judge of the municipal court or the justice is designated as the presiding officer. (a…