Dallas Traffic Ticket Attorney

OMNI Holds On Your Driver’s License

214-321-4105

Dallas Municipal Court

One of the most effective laws passed to help cities collect revenue from outstanding traffic tickets is the omni hold.  This term refers to the ability of Dallas Municipal Court to place a hold on your ability to renew your driver’s license when it expires.  This article is intended to outline the basic laws associated with omni holds and how to get them renewed so that you can get your license renewed.  If you would like to discuss your outstanding traffic tickets in Dallas Municipal Court after reading this article feel free to contact our legal professionals today.

Chapter 706 Of The Texas Transportation Code

Chapter 706 of the Texas Texas Transportation Code is where all research should start when dealing with a hold on your driver’s license.  This code outlines the requirements that Dallas Municipal Court must follow when placing a hold on a person’s driver’s license.  The relevant statutes are 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 in a matter involving an offense described by Section 706.002(a).
• 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.

• 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.

  (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.

In Dallas Municipal Court, the normal time to pay the fee is when the bond is posted by your attorney.  Many attorneys are not instructing their clients of this part of the case.  If a case is dismissed, then the fee will still be owed unless the defendant is acquitted at trial.  Therefore, those attorneys that are not instructing their clients of the hold fee will still not be able to renew their driver’s license until the fee is paid.

Jeffrey Beltz, Dallas Ticket Lawyer

Our office instructs our clients to pay the fee upon hiring our traffic ticket attorneys for their Dallas tickets.  We do not want our clients to forget about the fee until they have sat in line at DPS for hours only to be turned away.  If you have outstanding traffic tickets in Dallas that have holds placed on your license we encourage you to contact our Dallas traffic ticket attorneys today.

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