The following flow chart depicts when a defendant is eligible to apply for and receive an occupational driver’s license following a conviction for DWI.  The flow chart is divided between defendants under 21 years of age and over 21 at the time they commit the offense.

The flow chart is set up to be used in conjunction with a Texas driver’s license printout or driver’s license “certified packet” from Austin.  By answering a few preliminary questions regarding the case, the appropriate path can be used to determine when and if the defendant can apply for an occupational license.  The relevant sections of the Transportation Code and Code of Criminal Procedure are provided for easy reference.

A. CAN'T DENY OCCUPATIONAL LICENSE FOR FAILURE TO PAY SURCHARGE 

Wood v. Texas Department of Public Safety, 2010 WL 4813021 (Tex.App.—Fort Worth 2010). 

The Court holds that it was improper to deny the defendant an occupational license for failure to pay surcharges. Failure to pay surcharges is not listed as a basis for such denial and Court assumes that if the legislature had intended that drivers suspended for failure to pay surcharges be ineligible for occupational licenses, it would have said so.