Driving While License Invalid

From the Law Office of Alison Grinter in Dallas, Texas

Contents 1 Degree 2 Statute 3 Collateral Consequences 4 Notes

Degree

Driving While License Invalid (DWLI) is a Class C Misdemeanor for the first offense, and a Class B Misdemeanor for a subsequent offense. It is also a Class B Misdemeanor if the license was suspended because of a DWI.

Statute

§ 521.457. DRIVING WHILE LICENSE INVALID.

(a) A person
commits an offense if the person operates a motor vehicle on a highway:
      (1) after the person's driver's license has been canceled under this chapter if the person does not have a license that was subsequently issued under this chapter;
      (2) during a period that the person's driver's license or privilege is suspended or revoked under any law of this state;
      (3) while the person's driver's license is expired if the license expired during a period of suspension; or
      (4) after renewal of the person's driver's license has been denied under any law of this state, if the person does not have a driver's license subsequently issued under this chapter.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person is the subject of an order issued under any law of this state that prohibits the person from obtaining a driver's license and the person operates a motor vehicle on a highway.
(c) It is not a defense to prosecution under this section that the person did not receive actual notice of a suspension imposed as a result of a conviction for an offense under Section 521.341.
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (c), it is an affirmative defense to prosecution of an offense, other than an offense under Section 521.341, that the person did not receive actual notice of a cancellation, suspension, revocation, or prohibition order relating to the person's license. For purposes of this section, actual notice is presumed if the notice was mailed in accordance with law.
(e) Except as provided by Subsections (f) and (f-1), an offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
(f) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this section that the person has previously been convicted of an offense under this section or an offense under Section 601.371(a), as that law existed before September 1, 2003, the offense is a Class B misdemeanor.
(f-1) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this section that the license of the person has previously been suspended as the result of an offense involving the operation of a motor vehicle while intoxicated, the offense is a Class B misdemeanor.
(g) For purposes of this section, a conviction for an offense that involves operation of a motor vehicle after August 31, 1987, is a final conviction, regardless of whether the sentence for the conviction is probated.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, § 30.98(a), eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1207, § 6, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 855, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1027, § 8, eff. September 1, 2007.

Collateral Consequences

Ironically, conviction for this offense incurrs a License suspension.

Notes

DWLI is an offense that often catches people by surprise. Most often, someone has incurred a Surcharge and failed to pay it (often because the notice was mailed to an old address). Failure to pay the surcharge leads to a suspension of the license, and since the driver didn't know about the surcharge to begin with, they don't know that they're driving on a suspended license. Some reports show that up to 20% of Texans on the road have a suspended license because of this system, and most don't even know it. This is a terrible law.

Discuss this article with  the Law Office of Alison Grinter