My birthday is end of Feb. I got pulled over in March right before spring break and got a ticket for an expired DL. That is one way to find out. Anyway I said OK I will handle it when I get back from spring break. I get into April and get a letter from the court saying pay by May 1 or else. OK. I go in and pay the $191 ticket and set an appointment to get my new license.

Appointment is today. Apparently my license is now suspended, I think because I paid the ticket admitting guilt? Maybe? And I need this Sr-22 insurance which I just went and bought. And I have to pay a $105 reinstatement fee? OK. I just paid that. And I have to email this SR-22 insurance in, which I just did.

And I may have to wait up to 21 days? I hope not because my next employer needs a current ID in 15 days. But I doubt it takes that long.

But looking at this paperwork nonsense it is saying that my license is suspended for TWO ****ING YEARS and I have to apply for an occupational license???? WTF is that.

This is all because I was two weeks late renewing my license and paid the ticket. Which doesnt make any sense.

Do I need to call an attorney? Would that do any good? Is it really 21 days? If so I am out of a job.

Any advice would help.

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Lawyer.

It appears you probably pled guilty (I am making an assumption based on the fact you paid the ticket) to DWLI. Texas has a mandatory suspension for a DWLI conviction so that is how you got the suspension. Additionally, and I cannot emphasize this enough, do not drive until you actually get that occupational license or the suspension lifted. Having a previous DWLI conviction makes the next one a Class B misdemeanor and depending on the officer/agency there is a strong likelihood you spend the evening in county.
ETA: if your employer needs ID the easiest thing would be provide your passport.

Hope you don't have to drive for your job.

What violation did you commit to get pulled over and then LEO then seeing you had an expired DL and citing you for driving with an expired license? Did you get a ticket for that violation that he pulled you over originally for as well?

Call up your cousin in Oklahoma and see if he'll let you borrow his address to get an OK license. Man, once the system gets ahold of you, it's easy to see how it's hard to get straight again.

Seriously though, find the best traffic attorney in the county where it happened, and let them know it's urgent.

Nope. He said I took a left onto Lake road in Belton without using my blinker and gave me a warning.

And to I am a Critic there is no disconnect here. I have never had any kind of suspended license or anything like that. I am 48 and can count on one hand how many moving violations I have had in my entire life. I have never been to jail and have held several different occupational licenses(non driving) that require fingerprints and backgrounds. Never had a DUI, no weed, nothing other than an MIP at 16 in Dallas at Lollapalooza.

Ticket was maybe March 11 or so. Paid it maybe April 21 or so. I went online in early April and the first open date at the DMV was today(May 12). I got a letter sometime early April that said to pay it by May 1.

I am at a loss. I have never done anything. And yes this new job requires me to be able to drive. That is the problem. A big problem. a life changing problem unfortunately. I really want this job and by the end of May or so need an DL.

I don't understand what I did wrong other than not realize my DL had expired.

Again I am at a loss.

cslifer said:

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It appears you probably pled guilty (I am making an assumption based on the fact you paid the ticket) to DWLI. Texas has a mandatory suspension for a DWLI conviction so that is how you got the suspension. Additionally, and I cannot emphasize this enough, do not drive until you actually get that occupational license or the suspension lifted. Having a previous DWLI conviction makes the next one a Class B misdemeanor and depending on the officer/agency there is a strong likelihood you spend the evening in county.
ETA: if your employer needs ID the easiest thing would be provide your passport.

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Yea So I am not going to drive anymore. But in three weeks or so I need a clear DL.

I had no idea that paying the ticket was the wrong thing to do. That just doesn't make any sense to me.

What should I do? I need that suspension lifted. Now. Why in the world would I not be able to get a regular license now? I don't get it. I went and got this SR22 insurance. I paid the $105 fee. Why in the world would I not be able to just get my DL?

Again. I am at a total loss.

I agree it is a dumb way they have it set up. I thought the legislature had talked about carving out an exemption for first time offenders a while back but I don't think it went anywhere, though honestly I haven't studied the nuances of the TTC since the academy. I would contact an attorney that deals with traffic in that jurisdiction, the likely deal with this type thing quite a bit.

Call you congressman and see if they have a contact who can assist.

If you're comfortable with it, send me your DL number to unevenpanda at google mail. I can access TLETS through work tomorrow and will walk you through your DL history.

In short, your license won't get suspended for 2 yrs for an expired DL citation. There may be more to it buried in your history that you've forgotten about.

EDIT: If you do decide to email, let me know here. It's a junk email account I don't check unless I have reason to.

This is insanity.

My lord.

Yea man. I will send it. I don't think anyone couldn't me any further than what is happening right now.

Good point. What is throwing me off is that the suspension leads me to believe he was charged with DWLI. 521.026makes an expired license essential a fix it ticket if you take care of it within 20 days.

Good deal. I'll be at work in the morning and get with you. Add your number and we can chat about it.

cslifer said:

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Good point. What is throwing me off is that the suspension leads me to believe he was charged with DWLI. 521.06 makes an expired license essential a fix it ticket if you take care of it within 20 days.

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I didn't take care of it within 20 days. I went to spring break then back to work and got a notice that I had until May 1. I probably took 40 days.

It takes 30 days to get a new license.

Sorry, it is 20 working days or first court appearance. Again, talk to a traffic attorney, this might not be a big deal. If for some reason you were charged with DWLI then it is slightly more of a pain but this is all fixable.

cslifer said:

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Sorry, it is 20 working days or first court appearance. Again, talk to a traffic attorney, this might not be a big deal. If for some reason you were charged with DWLI then it is slightly more of a pain but this is all fixable.

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That is the charge that I apparently pled guilty too. DWLI.


I need this **** fixed. Quickly.

Already answered but will restate it. Get an attorney involved immediately. Stakes are too high with potential loss of job and / or driving privileges. Sorry this happened to you.

Should've got a letter from dps re the suspension and how you can contest the license suspension in JP court.

George08 said:

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Should've got a letter from dps re the suspension and how you can contest the license suspension in JP court.

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Have not received that letter.

fire09 said:

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Already answered but will restate it. Get an attorney involved immediately. Stakes are too high with potential loss of job and / or driving privileges. Sorry this happened to you.

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Yea I talked to a criminal defense attorney friend last night and am calling a traffic attorney this morning.

George08 said:

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Should've got a letter from dps re the suspension and how you can contest the license suspension in JP court.

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I received a letter from Bell County on maybe April 10th(it is dated April 8) that said I am hereby ordered to be in court at 1:30 on 5/1/25 to show cause why I failed to make my initial appearance(apparently I had 20 days), or you can pay the fine by May 1. I saw this and thought 'I will just go pay the fine' which I did sometime around April 21 or 22nd. At this point I had the earliest appointment that I could get at DPS which was yesterday.

I also had a parking ticket in Bryan from April of 2024. $75. We were in town for a baseball tournament and somewhere in there me or my wife or our friend who was with us must have parked somewhere too long. But that's a parking ticket not a moving violation. As I understand it that shouldn't have anything to do with it. But at this point I have no idea.

agsalaska said:

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cslifer said:

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Good point. What is throwing me off is that the suspension leads me to believe he was charged with DWLI. 521.06 makes an expired license essential a fix it ticket if you take care of it within 20 days.

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I didn't take care of it within 20 days. I went to spring break then back to work and got a notice that I had until May 1. I probably took 40 days.

It takes 30 days to get a new license.

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When you got to the DPS office to renew your DL, they immediately give you a temporary license that would've been able to take to court to show that you renewed it. Instead, it sounds like you dicked around and now it's biting you in the ass.

Aaaaaaand I just renewed my license 7 months early.

I Am A Critic said:

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agsalaska said:

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cslifer said:

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Good point. What is throwing me off is that the suspension leads me to believe he was charged with DWLI. 521.06 makes an expired license essential a fix it ticket if you take care of it within 20 days.

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I didn't take care of it within 20 days. I went to spring break then back to work and got a notice that I had until May 1. I probably took 40 days.

It takes 30 days to get a new license.

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When you got to the DPS office to renew your DL, they immediately give you a temporary license that would've been able to take to court to show that you renewed it. Instead, it sounds like you dicked around and now it's biting you in the ass.

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User name checks out

So it looks like when I got pulled over March 9 my license was already suspended. That's why it went from driving with an expired license to driving with a license invalid.

There was an unpaid $75 parking ticket from April 2024 from College Station that on Feb 28th this year hit my record. So if I would have gone and renewed my license before I got pulled over I would have found out about it and paid it off. But because it was there when my license expired it automatically became suspended.

I didn't know that and I don't think the cop did either. I didn't know there was a difference between expired and invalid. That is crystal clear now.

I couldn't get into the DMV fast enough to appeal it or anything so I just paid the ticket off. When I did that was a guilty please. The part that got me was the letter from Belton says 'The judgement and sentence for the offense you are charged with is the payment of the fine and court costs.' A couple of sentences later it says, in bold, Failure to Appear by this date and time will result in a Warrant for you arrest and/or Driver's License hold with the Texas Department of Public Safety.....' That date was May 1 but only applied if I didnt make the payment, which I did on April 21.

I am fully responsible. Don't get me wrong. I let my license expire(I will talk with my wife about that parking ticket). But I would have known about that if I had just done what I was supposed to do. That being said, the punishment, two years suspended license, is absolutely ridiculous for a $190 ticket and a $75 ticket, both paid in full and neither resulting in any warrants. That is still inconceivable to me.

I am working with my attorney on a possible appeal and an occupational license. The occupational license is going to happen. Not sure about the appeal. The boss of my new job surprisingly told me I would be fine with an occupational license. I just have to get it in three weeks.

This thread scares the crap out of me. Really strange series of unfortunate events.

I went and renewed the registration on one of my cars just so that I don't have some strange snowball effect land me in the vertical bar motel.

I had a friend from Baylor visit me at A&M in the 90s. He got a parking ticket and said, "I am not paying it, I just won't go to College Station again".

His dad ended up with a warrant for his arrest. His dad was a deacon at the local Baptist church but I am pretty sure that he placed a size 12 shoe right up my buddie's azs.

ETA: I don't know how you end up with a warrant over a parking ticket, but that is the story that I was told.

FYI, your license expires on your birthday of some year.

Ok how many people on this thread just checked their license?

Sorry OP, hope you get it worked out soon.

As they say, a good lawyer knows the law, but a great lawyer knows the judge.

That's a very unfortunate series of events. I was entering a casino earlier this year when I learned/remembered mine had expired. I had received the notification in the mail approx 6 months before and just plain forgot. I would have never guessed it could potentially turn into a big deal but still got the earliest appointment I could find even though it meant a bit of a drive out of the Houston area

I renewed my DL back in 2/23. When I got it in the mail my expiration date is my BD 2031. When did they start issuing 8 year term DL renewals in Texas?

agsalaska said:

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My birthday is end of Feb. I got pulled over in March right before spring break and got a ticket for an expired DL. That is one way to find out. Anyway I said OK I will handle it when I get back from spring break. I get into April and get a letter from the court saying pay by May 1 or else. OK. I go in and pay the $191 ticket and set an appointment to get my new license.

Appointment is today. Apparently my license is now suspended, I think because I paid the ticket admitting guilt? Maybe? And I need this Sr-22 insurance which I just went and bought. And I have to pay a $105 reinstatement fee? OK. I just paid that. And I have to email this SR-22 insurance in, which I just did.

And I may have to wait up to 21 days? I hope not because my next employer needs a current ID in 15 days. But I doubt it takes that long.

But looking at this paperwork nonsense it is saying that my license is suspended for TWO ****ING YEARS and I have to apply for an occupational license???? WTF is that.

This is all because I was two weeks late renewing my license and paid the ticket. Which doesnt make any sense.

Do I need to call an attorney? Would that do any good? Is it really 21 days? If so I am out of a job.

Any advice would help.

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do you have a passport and SS card? why does your employer need a DL... unless it's a driving job, which in case, you may be effed.

He said in another post there will be driving at the new job, but an occupational license will be fine according to the employer.