Last Updated on June 19, 2025 by Beltz Law Group
Help With Warrants In North Texas
Dallas Traffic Ticket Lawyers for Warrants: Finding and Resolving Your Cases Safely
The annual “Great Texas Warrant Roundup” serves as a stark reminder for many Texans that outstanding traffic tickets can quickly escalate into active arrest warrants. While highly publicized “roundup” periods occur, it’s crucial to understand that warrants can be executed by law enforcement at any time of the year. The primary challenge for individuals with warrants is often simply locating them so they can be properly resolved in a way that safeguards their permanent driving record, insurance rates, and driving privileges.
This article is designed to help you find your old tickets that have gone into warrant status and understand the critical steps to resolving them. If you’d like to discuss your traffic tickets that have gone into warrant with an experienced lawyer, feel free to contact our Dallas Traffic Ticket Lawyers at 214-321-4105.
Finding Old Traffic Tickets in Warrant Status in Texas
Even in today’s digital age, finding information about active traffic warrants can be surprisingly difficult. While some Texas courts have robust online portals, many still lack user-friendly systems to freely share this information with the public. Even for experienced lawyers, locating all outstanding warrants for a client can sometimes be a challenge.
However, there are reliable online tools that can help you begin your search:
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Texas Failure to Appear Website: This is one of the most comprehensive tools available. By entering your driver’s license number and date of birth, this website will display all citations that have been reported to the OMNIBASE system. It will also indicate if your driver’s license renewal is blocked until these listed citations are resolved.
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Dallas County Wanted Search Website: For those specifically in Dallas County, this portal can be very helpful. By plugging in your first and last name, it can bring up any cases that have gone into warrant status in the Justice of the Peace Courts for Dallas County, as well as some other participating courts within the county.
- URL: https://www.dallascounty.org/dcwantedsearch/search.jsp
- Note: The City of Dallas Municipal Court also has its own citation/warrant search portal on their city hall website if your ticket was issued by Dallas PD within Dallas city limits.
How to Remove Warrants for Traffic Tickets Without Hurting Your Record
Once you have located your warrant information, the most critical step is to resolve them properly. A common and potentially damaging mistake is to simply rush to the courthouse and pay the fine. While this might clear the warrant immediately, it almost always results in a conviction being entered on your permanent driving record.
Even though the Texas Driver Responsibility Program (which included surcharges and the points system) was repealed on September 1, 2019, convictions for traffic tickets still carry significant consequences:
- Permanent Record Damage: A conviction becomes part of your driving history, which is accessible to insurance companies and potentially future employers. Removing these convictions from your record is incredibly difficult once they are reported.
- Increased Insurance Premiums: Insurance companies view convictions as indicators of higher risk. This will almost certainly lead to a substantial increase in your auto insurance rates for several years, often far exceeding the original fine amount.
- Potential DPS Suspensions: While the “points” system is gone, the DPS can still impose a driver’s license suspension if you accumulate too many moving violation convictions within a specific timeframe (e.g., 4 or more in 12 months, or 7 or more in 24 months).
The Solution: A Strategic Approach with an Attorney
North Texas Ticket Defense Lawyer
If you’re going to pay money to a court, you should ensure you get something valuable in return: the protection of your driving record. To achieve this, you need a lawyer who can implement a strategic approach:
- Warrant Removal via Appearance Bond: A Dallas traffic ticket lawyer will file an appearance bond with the court where your ticket is pending. This legal document is a promise that your attorney will appear in court on your behalf. Once this bond is filed, the warrant for your arrest is typically removed immediately, and a new court date is set. This process allows you to address the warrant without facing immediate arrest.
- OMNI Hold Clearance: If your ticket has an OMNIBASE hold on your driver’s license renewal, your attorney will also ensure the required administrative OMNI fee is paid (currently $10 per reported offense for violations reported on or after January 1, 2020; $30 for earlier violations). This triggers the court to notify DPS to release the hold, allowing you to renew your license.
- Record Protection in Court: After the warrant is lifted and the hold is cleared, your attorney will attend court on your behalf to defend your driving record. Their goal is to negotiate a resolution that avoids a conviction. This could include:
- Deferred Disposition: Where the case is dismissed if you successfully complete a probationary period (e.g., no new tickets for a set time, pay court costs).
- Defensive Driving: If eligible, completing a state-approved defensive driving course can lead to dismissal.
- Dismissal for Legal Grounds: Challenging the citation based on legal defects or insufficient evidence.
This is one of the only ways to both remove the warrant and protect your permanent record. Doing otherwise can cause serious financial harm and long-term issues with your driving privileges.
We strongly suggest that once you have found your warrant information for your old traffic tickets, you contact a lawyer to discuss the best strategy to both remove the warrant and protect your record. To discuss your warrants with our Dallas traffic ticket lawyers, call us today at 214-321-4105.
