Last Updated on June 19, 2025 by Beltz Law Group
Beltz Law Group
Warrant Roundup Information In Texas: What You Need to Know
The “Great Texas Warrant Roundup” is an annual, coordinated effort by law enforcement agencies across the state to address outstanding traffic tickets that have escalated to active arrest warrants. While highly publicized enforcement periods typically run from late February through April, it’s crucial to understand that an active warrant means you can be arrested at any time.
This article aims to provide current, helpful information for those with warrants during the Texas Warrant Roundup, helping you avoid common and costly mistakes. If you would like to discuss your outstanding traffic tickets with our experienced legal team, feel free to contact our office at 214-321-4105.
Understanding the Texas Warrant Roundup Schedule
Courts across Texas begin their Warrant Roundup preparations well in advance. Typically:
- January: Judges sign off on warrants, making them active and enforceable. Law enforcement agencies update their warrant lists.
- February (Mid-to-Late): Many cities begin publicly advertising their participation in the Warrant Roundup. This often includes an “amnesty period,” a crucial window where individuals are encouraged to voluntarily resolve their warrants without the immediate threat of arrest. This is your prime opportunity to take proactive steps.
- March – April: Police departments in the cities where warrants are outstanding intensify their efforts to locate and arrest individuals. This increased enforcement can lead to arrests during routine traffic stops, at your home, or even at your workplace.
The timing of these concentrated efforts often coincides with income tax season, as cities realize many individuals will have additional funds to resolve their outstanding obligations.
Help With Warrants In North Texas
The Major Mistake: Just Paying Off Old Traffic Tickets
By far, the biggest mistake our Dallas traffic ticket lawyers see during Warrant Roundup is when individuals simply pay off traffic tickets that have gone into warrant status. While this action will typically clear the immediate arrest warrant, it has severe and long-lasting negative consequences for your driving record.
Here’s why paying off old tickets directly is a significant error, even after recent legal changes:
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Automatic, Permanent Conviction: Under Texas law (Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 27.14), paying a fine for a traffic ticket is considered an admission of guilt. This means a conviction will automatically be entered on your criminal and driving records. This conviction is then reported to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). Once a conviction has been reported to your permanent record, it is exceptionally difficult, if not impossible, to remove. In fact, after a fine has been paid, your only legal remedy is often to file a “Motion for New Trial” within a very narrow 10-day window, with no guarantee it will be granted.
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No More Surcharges, But Still High Costs: The Texas Driver Responsibility Program (which included the surcharges and points system) was repealed effective September 1, 2019. This means you will no longer face state-imposed surcharges or “points” on your license solely from those older convictions. However, the absence of surcharges does NOT mean there are no financial or license consequences:
- Increased Insurance Premiums: Insurance companies regularly check your driving record. Every conviction for a moving violation signals a higher risk, almost certainly leading to a substantial increase in your auto insurance rates for several years. This increased cost can easily far exceed the original ticket fine.
- Potential DPS License Suspensions: While the “points system” is gone, the DPS still has the authority to suspend your driver’s license if you accumulate too many moving violation convictions within specific periods. For example, accumulating 4 or more moving violations in 12 months or 7 or more moving violations in 24 months can trigger a separate, state-initiated driver’s license suspension. This scenario often plays out when someone pays off a group of old tickets simultaneously (e.g., with a tax refund). Because the convictions are all reported around the same time, it can appear to the DPS that the driver is a habitual violator, triggering an automatic suspension action.
If you receive a driver’s license suspension notice because you paid off your tickets this way, contact our traffic ticket lawyers in Dallas, Texas, today.
North Texas Ticket Defense Lawyer
Help With Warrant Roundup: Resolving Warrants the Right Way
There is a correct way to resolve old traffic tickets that have gone into warrant status, and it involves protecting yourself from the long-term consequences outlined above. It’s about being smart with your money and your driving record.
The most effective approach is to hire an experienced traffic ticket lawyer to handle your warrants:
- Warrant Lifted Safely: Your attorney can go into court and lift the warrant by filing a legal document called an appearance bond. This action immediately removes the warrant without causing a conviction on your record, and without you having to be present initially.
- OMNI Hold Clearance: If your outstanding tickets have resulted in an OMNIBASE hold (preventing license renewal), your attorney will also ensure the necessary administrative OMNI fee is paid. This fee is $10 per offense for violations reported to OMNIBASE on or after January 1, 2020, and was $30 per offense for those reported prior to that date. This ensures the hold is removed and you can renew your license.
- Record Protection in Court: After the warrant is lifted, your attorney will then normally appear in court on your behalf to fight to protect your record. While a guaranteed dismissal is never possible, they can work to keep the court from reporting the case as a conviction on your permanent record through strategies like deferred disposition or defensive driving.
This comprehensive approach is one of the only ways to both remove the warrant and protect your permanent record. Failing to do so could cause serious financial harm in the form of increased insurance rates and potential future license suspensions.
Take the time to consult with an experienced traffic ticket lawyer in your area. It could be the difference between a suspended license, significantly higher insurance rates, and a clean driving record. Be smart with your money and consult a legal professional today. To discuss your warrants with our Dallas traffic ticket lawyers, call us at 214-321-4105.
