Texas Driving Record System

Unlike most states, Texas does not use a numeric DMV point system. There is no 4-points-in-12-months threshold and no formal "negligent operator" classification on Texas adult driver records. Texas relies on direct conviction tracking, court-ordered actions, and a few targeted statutes — and 2019 reforms eliminated the surcharge program that had replaced points for two decades.

Why Texas dropped the point system

Texas formally retired its DPS-administered point system in 2019 when Senate Bill 1 repealed the Driver Responsibility Program (DRP). The DRP had charged annual surcharges on drivers who accumulated certain conviction combinations — for example, a $300 surcharge for two-or-more moving violations within 36 months, or up to $2,000 a year for a DWI. The program raised hundreds of millions of dollars but pushed many drivers into license suspensions for nonpayment, particularly low-income drivers.

The 2019 repeal:

• Eliminated all DRP surcharges going forward.
• Waived nearly all outstanding DRP balances.
• Reinstated licenses suspended only because of unpaid DRP debt.
• Shifted DWI surcharges into one-time conviction-based fines paid at sentencing instead.

How violations affect a Texas driver

Today, Texas tracks moving violations on the driver's record through DPS, but the record's effect on driving privileges flows from specific statutes rather than from accumulated points:

• Two convictions in 12 months for a teen with a provisional license trigger a 30-day suspension under Texas teen license rules.
• Four moving violation convictions in 12 months on any record can trigger a discretionary DPS Driver License Improvement and Compliance Action — usually a warning letter, sometimes a probationary period.
• Seven or more moving violations in 24 months can be cited as habitual violator behavior in any related court action.
• Specific-offense suspensions for DWI, drag racing, evading arrest, leaving the scene, fleeing, or causing serious injury operate on their own statutory schedule.
• Failure to appear or pay on a Texas court ticket creates an OmniBase hold that prevents license renewal until cleared — see Texas traffic tickets.

Insurance still cares — a lot

Texas auto insurers don't need a state point system to react to your record. Carriers pull a copy of your Texas driving record at every renewal and price moving violations on their own internal scoring. A typical Texas insurer surcharges a single speeding ticket 15-25% for three years, and a DWI conviction can triple the rate or push the driver into the non-standard market and require an SR-22.

Defensive Driving Course (DDC) dismissal

Texas allows most drivers to dismiss a moving violation by completing a state-approved Defensive Driving Course (DDC) — six hours, online or in classroom — once every 12 months. The driver requests the option at the issuing court (justice court or municipal court), pays a court administrative fee (usually $144 plus the citation cost minus any base fine), and submits the DDC completion certificate within the deadline (usually 90 days). The conviction is dismissed, no points are added (none exist anyway), and the violation does not appear on the public-facing Type 2 driving record. Insurers also typically don't see DDC dismissals.

CDL holders

A Texas CDL holder is subject to federal disqualification rules from FMCSA on top of state law. A "serious traffic violation" — speeding 15+ mph over the limit, reckless driving, lane-change violations, following too closely — leads to 60-day disqualification on a second offense within 3 years, 120 days on a third. A DWI conviction in any vehicle (personal or commercial) is an automatic 1-year CDL disqualification. See commercial license for the full federal table.

Out-of-state convictions

Through the multi-state Driver License Compact, Texas DPS receives notice of moving violation and DUI convictions in nearly every other state. They appear on the Texas record and are treated as if the violation had occurred in Texas for purposes of any DPS suspension trigger. The five states not in the Compact (Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee, Wisconsin) report some violations through other channels.