Lawyers That Remove Driver License Holds
The Omnibase System In Texas
214-321-4105
In Texas, if a person does not resolve their citations in a timely manner, there are a few measures that courts can use to motivate a person to do so. First, a court can issue a warrant for the arrest of that person. Second, a court can place an omnibase hold on the renewal of their driving privileges. Third, a court can issue a warrant and place the omnibase hold on the license. Some courts take advantage of one remedy and don’t use the other. Some courts use both. Every court is different when it comes to the remedies they use to motivate people to resolve outstanding traffic tickets in their jurisdiction. This article will outline the legal authority of courts to take advantage of the driver license hold omnibase system in Texas. If after reading this article, you would like to talk with a lawyer that can help remove a hold on your driver license due to outstanding traffic tickets, feel free to contact our office at 214-321-4105.
The Law For Driver License Holds In Texas
First, in order for a court to be able to place a hold on a person’s driver license for not resolving their traffic tickets in a timely manner, the citation itself must have statutory warning listed on the ticket.
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Sec. 706.003. WARNING; CITATION.
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(a) If a political subdivision has contracted with the department, a peace officer authorized to issue a citation in the jurisdiction of the political subdivision shall issue a written warning to each person to whom the officer issues a citation for a violation of a traffic law in the jurisdiction of the political subdivision.
(b) The warning under Subsection (a):
(1) is in addition to any other warning required by law;
(2) must state in substance that if the person fails to appear in court as provided by law for the prosecution of the offense or if the person fails to pay or satisfy a judgment ordering the payment of a fine and cost in the manner ordered by the court, the person may be denied renewal of the person’s driver’s license; and
(3) may be printed on the same instrument as the citation.
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These warnings are usually contained in the fine print on the back of the citation or on the lower portion of the citation. If it is not there, then the court has no jurisdiction to report the driver license number to the omnibase system for Texas.
How To Clear A Driver License Renewal Hold In Texas
Two things must happen in order to clear a driver license hold in Texas. First, the warrant must be removed by filing either a cash bond or an appearance bond through an attorney. The most effective way is definitely the appearance bond in that you normally can hire a lawyer at a substantially less amount than a cash bond to file the appearance bond on your behalf. Further, the attorney will normally include representation of you in court after the appearance bond is accepted for the same fee. This gives you an opportunity to keep your record clear without having a conviction being reported on your record. If a person simply goes down to the court and pays off the ticket, then it is automatically reported as a conviction on their record. For more information on how paying off old tickets can cause serious damage to your driving privileges click here.
Once the warrant is lifted, a fee must be paid to DPS in order to remove the hold on the license. This fee is administrative and is not related to the fine amount that may have to be paid to the court for the underlying traffic ticket. Think of it as a fee related to the maintenance of the file. Basically, it is a fee that pays the cost of labor that it takes to place the hold on the license and then take it off. It is related to the government’s stance that by making them do more work on the file than they should have been required to do, that you now get to flip the bill for the cost of the employee. This was how the legislative history established the omnibase system in the beginning when it was being passed into law. The specific laws that apply to removing the hold are as follows:
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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, other than a dismissal with prejudice by motion of the appropriate prosecuting attorney for lack of evidence;
(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;
(3) that the charge on which the person failed to appear was dismissed with prejudice by motion of the appropriate prosecuting attorney for lack of evidence; or
(4) 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) Except as provided by Subsection (d), 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…
Hire A Lawyer To Remove A Driver License Hold
The bottom line on cases like this is that you need to consult a lawyer to get the job done right so that you don’t make a mistake and have a conviction reported along with the removal of the driver license hold. The biggest mistake our traffic ticket lawyers see is that many people just pay off the old tickets to remove the hold. The convictions caused by doing that can cause more financial harm than the hold itself. You have to take these specific steps to avoid the conviction. So when you are faced with a driver license renewal hold on your Texas driver license, contact a lawyer to discuss your options.