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Texas DWI penalties breakdown: every component, line by line

Our Texas DUI costs page gives the state overview. This page does one narrower job: it lays out each separate component a Texas DWI conviction can carry — the Penal Code fine, the separate state fine, the license fees — with the statute that sets each one, and no added-up total, because the components that apply depend on the charge level and the facts.

The criminal fine: Penal Code §§ 49.04 and 49.09

A first DWI under Texas Penal Code § 49.04 is a Class B misdemeanor: confinement in jail for a term not less than 72 hours and, under the Class B punishment range in § 12.22, a fine not to exceed $2,000. If it is shown on the trial of the offense that an open container was in the defendant's possession, § 49.04(c) raises the minimum confinement to six days. If an analysis of the defendant's blood, breath or urine showed an alcohol concentration of 0.15 or more, § 49.04(d) reclassifies the offense as a Class A misdemeanor, which under § 12.21 carries a fine not to exceed $4,000 and confinement of up to one year. A second DWI is also a Class A misdemeanor, with a minimum confinement of 30 days under § 49.09(a). A third or subsequent DWI is a third-degree felony under § 49.09(b): prison for two to ten years and a fine not to exceed $10,000 under § 12.34. A DWI with a child passenger under 15 is its own state jail felony under § 49.045, with a fine of up to $10,000 — covered in depth on our child-passenger page.

The state fine: Transportation Code § 709.001 — and the surcharge that no longer exists

Separate from the criminal fine, Transportation Code § 709.001 requires a person finally convicted of an intoxication offense to pay a state fine of $3,000 for a first conviction within a 36-month period, $4,500 for a second or subsequent conviction within a 36-month period, and $6,000 where the alcohol concentration was shown to be 0.15 or more. The court must waive the § 709.001 fine if it finds the person indigent, on the documentation the section describes. This fine is cumulative with the Penal Code fine: a first offender at 0.15 or higher faces the Class A criminal fine of up to $4,000 and the $6,000 state fine, as two distinct lines set by two distinct codes.

Older Texas pages — and many current ones — describe a DPS "surcharge" of $1,000 a year for three years instead. That was the Driver Responsibility Program, and it was repealed effective September 1, 2019; unpaid surcharges under it were waived by the repeal. The § 709.001 state fine was enacted in its place for offenses on or after that date. Anyone quoted a "three-year DPS surcharge" today is being quoted a repealed program. The current charge is the one-time state fine above, imposed at conviction — not an annual DPS bill.

Sources: Texas Penal Code §§ 49.04, 49.09, 49.045, 12.21, 12.22, 12.34; Texas Transportation Code §§ 709.001, 724.035, ch. 521 subch. L; Texas DPS driver-license fee schedules. Last verified: October 2026.

The license components

The license side runs on its own track. Under Transportation Code § 724.035, an Administrative License Revocation suspension is 90 days for a test failure and 180 days for a refusal on a first contact (longer with prior enforcement contacts, as our refusal page details), and the DPS reinstatement fee at the end of an ALR suspension is $125. A conviction adds a court-ordered suspension of 90 days to one year on a first DWI. A driver who needs to drive during a suspension may petition for an occupational driver license under chapter 521, subchapter L; the DPS fee is $10 per year of the order, while the petition's court filing fee is set by the county and has no statewide figure — a gap stated, not filled, on our hardship license page as well. Completion of the 12-hour DWI education program under Code of Criminal Procedure article 42A.403 is also a reinstatement condition on a first conviction; its fee is set by the approved provider, as the evaluation and treatment page explains.

Court costs are the remaining component, and they are the least standardised: Texas consolidated court costs and local fees are set by statute in part and by county in part, and the total on a given judgment depends on the court. This page lists the components the state publishes uniform figures for, and leaves county court costs to the judgment itself rather than quote a statewide number that does not exist.

Common questions

Is the $3,000 state fine the same as the old surcharge?

No. The surcharge was an annual DPS charge under the Driver Responsibility Program, repealed September 1, 2019. The $3,000 is a one-time state fine under Transportation Code § 709.001, imposed by the court at conviction for offenses on or after that date.

Can the state fine be waived?

Yes — § 709.001 requires waiver where the court finds the person indigent, proven with the tax-return or wage documentation the section lists. The Penal Code criminal fine is a separate matter for the sentencing court.

Why is there no total at the bottom of the table?

Because no two cases switch on the same components: the state fine tier, the criminal fine within its range, the ALR versus conviction suspension and the county costs all vary. Adding the maximums would invent a figure no statute publishes.

Sources: Texas Penal Code ch. 49 and §§ 12.21–12.34; Texas Transportation Code §§ 709.001, 724.035; Texas DPS fee schedules. Last verified: October 2026. This page is educational information about costs only — not legal advice. Laws and fees change; confirm current figures with your court and your state's driver-licensing agency.