What Is An Occupational Driver's License?

 Posted on July 24, 2020 in DWI

An immediate concern for a lot of people following a DWI arrest is how am I going to continue to drive. I've got to go to work; I've got to take my kids to school; I need to run errands and go to the grocery store. For people who find themselves in this kind of situation, oftentimes, an occupational driver's license is the perfect solution. An Occupational driver's license is simply a court-ordered driver's license that allows you to drive during your suspension. These occupational drivers licenses aren't good for up to two years which is usually enough time to serve out your suspension as well as reobtain your regular Class-C Texas driver's license.

What are the benefits of an occupational license?

So the good news is that Texas has really loosened the restrictions regarding occupational driver's licenses. You can now quickly obtain one that will allow you to drive for work, school, run day to day errands like going to the grocery store. Additionally, these occupational driver's licenses can now be used in multiple counties. So if you need to travel for work, you can also use one of these for that.

What will happen if I get caught driving with a suspended license?

A lot of people after having their driver's licenses suspended continue to drive. They operate under the idea of look I'm going to risk it. I will drive very carefully and I will avoid police officers at all costs. We really don't recommend that and here's why. If you are caught driving on a suspended license, you risk being rearrested, going to the County Jail, having to repost your bond and even picking up additional charges. Even worse, when you finally do go to court for your driving while intoxicated case, it's going to look poorly upon you that the judge put imposition on your driver's license, and the first thing that you did was turn around and break that rule by continuing to drive.

My license got suspended, what are my options?

People often feel after a DWI arrest that their life is over, and that they'll never drive again. But that's not the truth and quickly you'll need to get back to life; you'll need to start going back to work; you'll need to start taking your kids to school, running errands, going to the store. An occupational driver's license can prevent you from finding yourself with additional charges. So if you find yourself needing an occupational driver's license, give us a call. We have former DWI prosecutors on staff and we can certainly help you reobtain your driving privileges.