What are Omnibase Holds on a Texas Drivers License?

Attorneys that Remove Drivers License Holds in Farmers Branch

What is the Omnibase System?

214-321-4105

In the state of Texas, if an individual does not resolve their citations within the allowed time frame, the court will begin to take different steps to get the person to come to court and handle the ticket. The first one will be to issue an arrest warrant for the ticket. Another option could be having an omnibase hold placed on the privilege to renew a drivers license. There are some courts who will only use one of the two mentioned previously. In some courts, they will use both. It is important to understand that each court is different and that the way they handle unresolved tickets will also be different. This article will outline the law that the courts have to abide by when it comes to drivers license holds in Texas. If after reading this article, you would like to talk to an attorney that can help with removing holds on your drivers license due to old tickets, please do not hesitate to call out office at 214-321-4105.

Drivers License Holds Law in Texas

In order for a court to be allowed to place a hold on a person’s drivers license for not handling their traffic citations in time, the ticket itself must have a statutory warning listed on the ticket.

  • Sec. 706.003. WARNING; CITATION.

    • (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.

These warnings are placed on the back of the citation in the fine print or sometimes in the lower part of the ticket. If that warning is missing, the court has no jurisdiction to to report the drivers license number to the omnibase system.

How to Remove a Hold that Prevents License Renewal

ATTORNEY FOR DRIVERS LICENSE HOLDS IN FARMERS BRANCH

ATTORNEY FOR DRIVERS LICENSE HOLDS IN FARMERS BRANCH

There are two things that have to be done before the hold is lifted on the license. First, if there is a warrant, it must be lifted by either posting a cash bond or an appearance bond through a lawyer. In the long run, the better thing to do is to lift the warrant through an attorney. It is normally a whole lot cheaper to have an attorney post a surety bond that to post a cash bond. The attorney also is able to represent you in court after the appearance bond is accepted. This allows you to protect your record by having an attorney fight for you in court. If you were to go down to the court to pay the ticket off, that will then be automatically reported as a conviction on your record. For more information on how paying off old tickets can damage your driving privileges, click here for this article.

Once the warrant is removed, a fee must be paid to the Texas Department of Public Safety to be able to remove the hold on the drivers license. This is an administrative fee and is not included in the fine amount that must be paif to the court to the ticket. It can be thought of as an upkeep fee. That fee pays the labor that it take to put the hold on the license as well as the labor to take off the hold. From the governments stand point, it is seen as you having to pay for them having to do more work on the file than what was originally required. The legislation was established based on that way that thought process. The actual laws that apply to removing the hold are as follows:

  • 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…

Contact an Attorney to Remove a Hold on a Drivers License

 

It is important to understand all the options that are available to you. Bottom line, the best way to understand that is by contact an attorney so that everything is done in your best interest. The biggest mistake traffic attorneys see is people just paying off tickets to remove the holds on their drivers license. The convictions for these traffic tickets end up being more expensive the hold itself. There is a process to follow in order to prevent a conviction. If you find yourself with hold that prevent you to renew your drivers license, take the time to contact an attorney to discuss your options.