PLEASE NOTE: THIS PAGE DOES NOT PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE. PLEASE CONSULT AN ATTORNEY FOR INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION.
The Order of the Court directs the Department of Public Safety to issue the Petitioner an Essential Needs License. It must be forwarded to the DPS (with an SR-22 and any reinstatement fee) to secure issuance of the license. The Court Order itself may only be used as a license for 45 days (Texas Transportation Code 521.249). After the DPS has issued a license a certified copy of the Court Order must be carried with the license holder (TTC 521.250). Occupational Licenses cannot be granted for the operation of commercial vehicles (TTC 521.242(f)).
JURISDICTIONAL MATTERS
The County Courts at Law do not have jurisdiction over occupational license applications if the suspension is the result of a DWI conviction. You must apply to the convicting court. Petitioners must be Tarrant County residents for seeking a license as a result of a suspension arising out of a law enforcement action in Tarrant County (Texas Transportation Code 521.242).
GENERAL MATTERS
County Court at Law No. 3 will grant most unopposed occupational driver's licenses without a hearing. Pro se litigants and Petitioners under 25 years of age will require a hearing. Do not use orders or affidavits that are found on the Internet, most are for criminal courts only. This is a civil court. If you have a "fill-in-the-blank" form, you must handwrite it or re-type it. The Court will not accept "fill-in-the-blank" forms.
MATERIALS WHICH MUST BE FILED
The following materials must be submitted to the Court Clerk. No action will be taken on the application until all materials are submitted.
"Petitioner is ordered to keep at all times, in any vehicle driven, a log book and accurately record therein the dates, times and purposes for which Petitioner is driving. Petitioner is ordered to show said log book to any law enforcement officer upon request. Petitioner is restricted to driving no more than 12 hours in a 24 hour period."
HEARINGS
The Court will require hearings on all safety responsibility suspensions; all habitual violator suspensions; all alcohol related suspensions where the petitioner is under the age of 25; all pro se applications; and when requested by the District Attorney's Office.
ORDERS
The Court's Preferred Order is available as a .pdf or Word Document. All parties are encouraged to use the Preferred Order.
All Orders must contain the following language (in addition to that regarding a log book, if requested):
APPEALS OF ADMINISTRATIVE LICENSE SUSPENSIONS
If an occupational license is requested after an administrative hearing at the State Office of Administrative Hearings, and you are not actually appealing the decision, use the conditions above and add the following:
"The (date of the ALJ ruling) ruling of the Administrative Law Judge is hereby upheld and Petitioner's appeal dismissed."
CLERK'S REQUIREMENTS
County Telephone Operator 817-884-1111
Tarrant County provides the information contained in this web site as a public service. Every effort is made to ensure that information provided is correct. However, in any case where legal reliance on information contained in these pages is required, the official records of Tarrant County should be consulted. Tarrant County is not responsible for the content of, nor endorses any site which has a link from the Tarrant County web site.
This site is best experienced with supported browsers: Internet Explorer 9 and above, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari. If you use an older or unsupported browser, you might notice that some features do not function properly. Click the browser name above to learn more about the recommended browsers.
100 E. Weatherford, Fort Worth, Texas 76196
Copyright 2001-2022 Tarrant County, TX