Texas DWI Laws

For adults, Texas uses DWI: driving while intoxicated under Penal Code Sec. 49.04. It can mean BAC 0.08 or more, or impairment from alcohol, drugs, medication, another substance, or a combination. Texas uses DUI in the narrower under-21 statute, Alcoholic Beverage Code Sec. 106.041, for a minor with any detectable amount of alcohol.

The ordinary adult per-se DWI number is 0.08 or more. A commercial motor vehicle driver faces a 0.04-or-more CDL threshold, plus a 24-hour out-of-service rule for any measurable or detectable alcohol. A driver under 21 can be charged with DUI by Minor for any detectable amount of alcohol, so Texas should not be treated as a 0.02 under-21 state.

Yes. Texas defines intoxicated to include loss of normal mental or physical faculties because of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of substances, or any other substance. The State still has to prove intoxication; mere medication use is not the same thing as proved DWI.

A base first DWI is a Class B misdemeanor with at least 72 hours in jail, up to 180 days, and a fine up to $2,000. An open container in immediate possession raises the jail floor to six days. BAC 0.15 or more makes the first DWI a Class A misdemeanor with up to one year in jail and a fine up to $4,000.

A second countable DWI-type offense is a Class A misdemeanor under Penal Code Sec. 49.09(a). The jail range becomes 30 days to one year, the fine can be up to $4,000, and deferred adjudication is not available because the case is punishable under Sec. 49.09. Community-supervision IID rules also become mandatory under Art. 42A.408.

A current DWI-type offense becomes a third-degree felony if the State proves two prior countable intoxication-related offenses, or one prior intoxication-manslaughter-type offense. The ordinary third-degree felony range is 2 to 10 years and a fine up to $10,000. General habitual-felony enhancement law can be separate, but it is not part of this DWI-specific table.

BAC 0.15 or more matters even on a first case. It makes the first DWI a Class A misdemeanor, makes IID mandatory if community supervision is ordered, and blocks deferred adjudication for a Sec. 49.04 case. The trigger is 0.15 or more, not only above 0.15.

That is usually ALR, short for Administrative License Revocation, and it is separate from the criminal DWI case. A 0.08-or-more adult test result can trigger the Chapter 524 failure track: 90 days for a first adult contact, or one year if your driving record shows a prior alcohol- or drug-related enforcement contact in the preceding 10 years. Refusal can trigger the Chapter 724 refusal track: 180 days for a first refusal, or two years with that kind of prior 10-year contact. A later conviction suspension comes separately under Chapter 521, and Texas repealed old Driver Responsibility Program surcharges in HB 2048.

The 15-day deadline is the deadline to request an ALR hearing from DPS. For a test-failure suspension, the request must be received not later than the 15th day after notice under Chapter 524; for refusal, the same timing appears in Chapter 724. A timely hearing request stays the ALR suspension until the administrative law judge issues the final decision.

Texas uses two different IID rules. An IID is a breath-test device that prevents driving if alcohol is detected. After conviction or deferred adjudication, Art. 42A.408 lets the judge order IID and makes it mandatory in several situations: BAC 0.15 or more, repeat DWI punishment, some prior-conviction findings, under-21 defendants convicted of listed Chapter 49 intoxication offenses, and Sec. 49.04 deferred adjudication unless the judge enters the safety-waiver finding. When Art. 42A.408 requires IID, the device generally must be installed within 30 days and kept for at least half of the supervision period. Art. 17.441 is separate. It is a pretrial bond rule for later-count or serious Chapter 49 charges, and the magistrate may not impose it if that would not be in the best interest of justice.

Refusal is not its own Texas crime. It can suspend your license through the Chapter 724 ALR refusal track, and Sec. 724.061 allows the refusal to be introduced at trial. It can also lead an officer to seek a warrant, but refusal itself is an administrative and evidentiary consequence, not a separate misdemeanor or felony charge.

Sec. 724.012 lists mandatory-specimen situations after refusal, including serious crash injury or death, bodily injury with hospital transport, child-passenger intoxication offenses, and certain prior histories. Current Sec. 724.012(e) adds the key limit: the officer may not require the specimen unless the officer obtains a warrant or has probable cause to believe exigent circumstances exist. In plain English, the statute creates a mandatory-request category, not a blanket power to take blood without Fourth Amendment limits.

They are distinct Penal Code Chapter 49 offenses, not ordinary DWI tiers. Intoxication Assault generally means intoxication caused serious bodily injury by accident or mistake and is ordinarily a third-degree felony. Intoxication Manslaughter means intoxication caused death by accident or mistake and is ordinarily a second-degree felony, with first-degree variants in current Sec. 49.09.

Sometimes, but only for a narrow first-time case. Deferred adjudication means the judge puts you on supervision and does not enter a final conviction if you complete it. Texas excludes many Chapter 49 cases: DWI with Child Passenger, Flying While Intoxicated, Boating While Intoxicated with Child Passenger, amusement-ride intoxication, Intoxication Assault, Intoxication Manslaughter, a Sec. 49.04 or Sec. 49.06 case involving a CDL/CLP or BAC 0.15 or more, and any repeat-punishment case under Sec. 49.09. Even after successful Sec. 49.04 deferred adjudication, Sec. 49.09(g) counts it as a conviction for a future DWI enhancement.

Texas has a separate offense for DWI with Child Passenger. Under Penal Code Sec. 49.045, it applies when the person is intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle in a public place and the vehicle is occupied by a passenger younger than 15. The offense is a state jail felony, so it is not merely a normal first-DWI aggravator.

For DWI offense tiers, current Texas law has no fixed 10-year lookback window. The old window language in Penal Code Sec. 49.09(e) and (f) has been repealed, and Texas can also count defined out-of-state intoxication-related offenses when they fit Sec. 49.09(c). Separate rules use shorter windows for other issues, such as ALR repeat contacts in the prior 10 years, Art. 42A.408 prior-conviction IID findings, and the recent-repeat IID order in Sec. 49.09(h). Those shorter windows do not turn the DWI tier-counting rule into a 10-year lookback.