Last Updated on July 23, 2025 by Beltz Law Group
Clear Your Driving Record: How to Properly Remove a Hold on Your Texas Driver’s License
OMNI Holds Texas
Having a hold on your Texas driver’s license due to outstanding traffic tickets can be a significant roadblock, preventing you from renewing your license and potentially impacting your job and daily life. It’s crucial to understand the proper way to resolve these holds to avoid further, more serious damage to your driving record.
This article from Beltz Law Group will explain exactly how these holds are placed, the major mistake many people make when trying to resolve them, and the correct steps to remove the hold while protecting your driving record.
If you have questions about removing a driver’s license hold for old tickets in Texas after reading this article, feel free to contact our office at 214-321-4105.
How a Hold Is Placed on Your Driver’s License for Traffic Tickets
When you receive a traffic ticket in Texas, you are given a specific date to appear in court or resolve the citation. If you fail to appear or fail to resolve the ticket by that due date, the court can report your case to the Texas Failure To Appear / Failure To Pay (FTAP) Program, often referred to as “OmniBase.”
Once reported to OmniBase, a “hold” is placed on your driver’s license renewal. This means that when your current license expires, you will not be able to renew it until all outstanding cases reported to OmniBase are cleared.
To check if you have outstanding tickets reported to the Texas Failure To Appear program, you can visit the official website: texasfailuretoappear.com You’ll need to enter your driver’s license number and date of birth to see a list of any outstanding tickets that have caused a hold.
The BIG Mistake: Why Simply Paying Off Old Tickets Can Be Disastrous
OMNI Hold Removal North Texas
Removing a driver’s license hold properly is the single most important step. Many courts might simply tell you, “Just pay off your old tickets, and the hold will be removed.” While this is technically true in that the hold will be lifted, it’s often a trap that leads to far worse consequences for your driving record.
MISTAKE #1 – SIMPLY PAYING OFF THE OLD TICKETS:
Here’s why this is such a dangerous mistake:
- Automatic Convictions: In Texas, when you pay off a traffic ticket that has gone past its due date (especially if it resulted in a Failure To Appear/Pay report), that payment is typically treated as a plea of “guilty” or “no contest.” This results in an automatic conviction being entered on your criminal record and, more importantly, on your permanent driving record.
- DPS Notification: These convictions are then reported to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).
- License Suspension: Even without the old “points” system, DPS still monitors your driving record for patterns of convictions. Accumulating a certain number of moving violation convictions within specific periods (e.g., 4 or more in 12 months, or 7 or more in 24 months) can trigger an independent driver’s license suspension initiated by the DPS.
Imagine this: You pay off 4 or 5 old tickets, thinking you’re finally getting your license back. The OmniBase hold is removed, and you renew your license. Weeks or months later, you receive a suspension notice from the DPS, informing you that your newly renewed license is now suspended due to the very convictions you just created by paying those old tickets!
This mistake puts you in a much worse position than when you started. You’ve moved from having a hold on your license to an actual suspension, which can be far more difficult to resolve and may involve mandatory suspension periods. Do not make this mistake! We highly suggest you contact a traffic ticket attorney in your area before attempting to remove a driver’s license hold to ensure you protect your record.
Removing OMNI Hold On Driver License
How to Properly Remove a Driver’s License Hold While Protecting Your Record
The goal when removing a driver’s license hold is not just to get the hold lifted, but to do so in a way that minimizes or eliminates negative consequences on your driving record. This requires a strategic approach, often with the help of a legal professional:
- Posting an Attorney Bond:
- The first crucial step is for an attorney to post an attorney bond with the court(s) where your outstanding tickets originated.
- What this does: Posting a bond “restarts” the case from the beginning, as if it never went past due. It effectively lifts any arrest warrants associated with the failure to appear and gets your case back on the court’s active docket.
- Key Advantage: Crucially, posting a bond does not result in an immediate conviction being reported to DPS. It puts you in a position to negotiate with the prosecutor.
- Negotiating for Record Protection:
- Once the bond is posted, your attorney has the opportunity to represent you at a pretrial hearing and negotiate with the prosecutor.
- The Goal: The primary goal is to resolve the underlying traffic tickets in a way that does not result in a conviction on your permanent driving record. This can involve options such as:
- Deferred Disposition: A form of probation where, if you meet certain conditions (e.g., pay court costs, take a defensive driving course, have no new tickets for a set period), the case is ultimately dismissed, and no conviction is reported.
- Defensive Driving Course (DSC): For certain eligible offenses, completing a state-approved defensive driving course can lead to dismissal.
- Dismissal for Compliance: Some courts may dismiss tickets if you provide proof of compliance (e.g., renewed registration, updated driver’s license) if the original ticket was for an correctable issue.
- Negotiation for Non-Moving Violations: In some cases, an attorney can negotiate to have a moving violation reduced to a non-moving violation (like a parking ticket), which typically does not go on your driving record.
- Paying the OmniBase Fee (OMNI Hold Removal):
- After the bond is posted and the court’s hold is released, the court will then require payment of a state-mandated OmniBase (FTAP) administrative fee. This fee (currently $10 per offense) is separate from any fines or court costs for the underlying tickets.
- Immediate Hold Removal: Once the bond is posted and the OmniBase fee is paid, the court is legally obligated to immediately notify OmniBase Services to remove the hold on your license renewal. This means you should then be able to renew your license immediately.
- Potential Challenges: While this process generally takes less than a week, we have occasionally seen courts in North Texas fail to immediately remove the hold as required by law. In such rare instances, discussing filing a complaint with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct might be considered.
Traffic Ticket Defense Attorney in North Texas
Keeping a Clean Record While Removing the Hold
Remember, the ultimate goal when removing a driver’s license hold in Texas is to minimize any long-term damage to your driving record. This protects you from:
- Future Driver’s License Suspensions: Avoiding new convictions keeps you below the threshold that could trigger a suspension by DPS.
- Increased Insurance Rates: Every conviction for a moving violation acts as a red flag for insurance companies, almost inevitably leading to significantly higher auto insurance premiums for several years. The cost of an attorney often pales in comparison to the thousands you could save on insurance over time.
By exhibiting patience, diligently gathering documents, and most importantly, seeking the help of a legal professional experienced in traffic ticket defense, you will significantly increase your chances of getting your driver’s license renewed without suffering the severe financial and practical consequences of a damaged driving record.
If you have further questions about how to remove a driver’s license hold in Texas, feel free to call our traffic ticket attorneys at 214-321-4105.
