Is a DWI a felony in Texas?
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Not usually — but five separate routes make it one. The ordinary route is arithmetic: section 49.09(b) makes the offense a third-degree felony once you have two prior intoxication convictions, or one prior conviction for intoxication manslaughter. The other four routes have nothing to do with how many times you have been caught — they turn on who was in the car, where you were driving, and what happened to other people.
Written any number of ways — a 3rd DWI, a DWI 3rd, a felony DWI, or simply a DWI in TX — and the paperwork will use none of them. Texas charges it under a section number, and that is what decides the range below.
Grade. Third-degree felony on a third offense
Confinement. 2 to 10 years
Fine. Up to $10,000
Texas Penal Code, chapter 49 · Tex. Penal Code § 49.09(b); § 12.34 · checked 2026-09-04
The facts that make a DWI a felony here
Each line below is a separate provision with its own punishment range. They stack with the arithmetic of prior convictions rather than replacing it.
| The fact | What it makes it | Detail and source |
|---|---|---|
| A passenger younger than 15 | State jail felony, 180 days to 2 years | This one carries no counting at all: a child in the car makes the offense a state jail felony on a first arrest, with a fine of up to $10,000. It is the most common way an ordinary first DWI stops being a misdemeanor. Texas Penal Code, chapter 49 · Tex. Penal Code § 49.045; § 12.35 · checked 2026-09-04 |
| A school crossing zone, during the reduced-limit hours | State jail felony — new on 1 September 2025 | Senate Bill 826 added subsection (e) to the DWI offense: driving intoxicated in a school crossing zone while the reduced speed limit applies is a state jail felony. Location and time of day alone now decide whether the same conduct is a misdemeanor or a felony, and the change applies only to offenses committed on or after 1 September 2025. Texas Legislature, S.B. 826 (89R), enrolled text · Tex. Penal Code § 49.04(e) · checked 2026-09-04 |
| Serious bodily injury to someone else | Intoxication assault — third-degree felony, 2 to 10 years | Charged where intoxication caused serious bodily injury in a crash. It rises a degree when the injured person is a peace officer, a firefighter or emergency medical personnel acting in the line of duty. Texas Penal Code, chapter 49 · Tex. Penal Code § 49.07; § 49.09(b-1); § 12.34 · checked 2026-09-04 |
| A death | Intoxication manslaughter — second-degree felony, 2 to 20 years | And first-degree, 5 to 99 years or life, in three situations: the person killed was a peace officer, firefighter, emergency medical worker or judge on duty; more than one person died in the same criminal transaction (new since 1 September 2025); or the driver had a prior intoxication conviction and was in violation of chapter 51 at the time. Texas Legislature, S.B. 745 (89R), enrolled text · Tex. Penal Code § 49.08; § 49.09(b-2); § 12.33 · checked 2026-09-04 |
| A prior conviction of any age | It still counts — Texas priors do not wash out | There is no look-back window in the enhancement. A conviction from decades ago counts the same as one from last year, and the statute treats a conviction as final even where the sentence was probated, and counts deferred adjudication for a first DWI as a conviction for this purpose. This is the single most misunderstood point in Texas DWI arithmetic: people who checked how long a prior stays on the driving record conclude, wrongly, that it stops counting in court. Texas Penal Code, chapter 49 · Tex. Penal Code § 49.09(d), (g) · checked 2026-09-04 |
New Texas law you may have read about
Changes reach only conduct on or after the effective date — an arrest from before it is judged by the old law, whichever way that cuts.
A school crossing zone turns a DWI into a state jail felony
The bill amended the DWI section itself, adding subsection (e). No prior conviction is needed and no one has to be hurt — the offense is a felony if the vehicle was in a school crossing zone during the hours the reduced speed limit applies. It reaches only conduct on or after the effective date.
Texas Legislature, S.B. 826 (89R), enrolled text · checked 2026-09-04
Multiple deaths in one crash became a first-degree felony
Before this, prosecutors charged a separate second-degree count for each death and asked the court to stack the sentences. The amendment makes the offense first-degree — 5 to 99 years or life — where more than one person died in the same criminal transaction.
Texas Legislature, S.B. 745 (89R), enrolled text · checked 2026-09-04
A first-degree route that currently has no practical effect
The bill makes intoxication manslaughter a first-degree felony where the driver has a prior chapter 49 conviction and was in violation of chapter 51 at the time, and it bars probation and restricts parole for that enhanced offense. The state’s own impaired driving task force notes the catch: chapter 51 is not being prosecuted while federal court stays are in place, so until that changes the provision should not affect actual prosecutions.
Texas Legislature, H.B. 2017 (89R), enrolled text · checked 2026-09-04
The bill that would have raised a first DWI — and failed
It proposed making a first DWI a Class A misdemeanor and a first offense at 0.15 or higher a state jail felony. It did not make it out of committee in May 2025. A first DWI in Texas is still a Class B misdemeanor, and 0.15 or higher is still a Class A — exactly as before the session. If you read that Texas toughened its first-offense penalties in 2025, this is the bill you read about.
Texas Legislature Online, S.B. 2320 (89R) history · checked 2026-09-04
The device is a separate track
Texas attaches the interlock to the license itself: when a court order reaches the Department, your driving privilege is canceled on the 30th day after it notifies you, unless you fit a device and obtain a restricted interlock license. The restriction is also mandatory by statute for anyone granted an occupational license after a DWI conviction, whether or not the order spells it out — a judge can waive it only by finding it unnecessary for public safety.
In Texas the interlock term runs Length of suspension and is administered by Texas Department of Public Safety, on the court order — which is why a plea that settles the criminal case does not settle the device. What counts as a violation on it, and what an agency adds to the term, is its own arithmetic: violations and lockouts. Getting it off at the end is a procedure of its own too — removal and waivers.
Source: Texas Department of Public Safety, on the court order
Texas DWI questions
Is a DWI a felony in Texas?
Not usually — but five separate routes make it one. The ordinary route is arithmetic: section 49.09(b) makes the offense a third-degree felony once you have two prior intoxication convictions, or one prior conviction for intoxication manslaughter. The other four routes have nothing to do with how many times you have been caught — they turn on who was in the car, where you were driving, and what happened to other people. A passenger younger than 15: state jail felony, 180 days to 2 years. A school crossing zone, during the reduced-limit hours: state jail felony — new on 1 september 2025. Serious bodily injury to someone else: intoxication assault — third-degree felony, 2 to 10 years.
What does a 3rd DWI in Texas carry?
Third-degree felony on a third offense: 2 to 10 years, and a fine of up to $10,000. The range is set by Tex. Penal Code § 49.09(b); § 12.34, and the figures on this page come from the statute rather than from a summary of it.
What makes it worse in Texas?
A passenger younger than 15 — state jail felony, 180 days to 2 years. A school crossing zone, during the reduced-limit hours — state jail felony — new on 1 september 2025. Serious bodily injury to someone else — intoxication assault — third-degree felony, 2 to 10 years. A death — intoxication manslaughter — second-degree felony, 2 to 20 years. A prior conviction of any age — it still counts — texas priors do not wash out.
Does an interlock come with it in Texas?
Texas attaches the interlock to the license itself: when a court order reaches the Department, your driving privilege is canceled on the 30th day after it notifies you, unless you fit a device and obtain a restricted interlock license. The restriction is also mandatory by statute for anyone granted an occupational license after a DWI conviction, whether or not the order spells it out — a judge can waive it only by finding it unnecessary for public safety. The device requirement and the criminal penalty are separate tracks: one is handled by the court, the other by Texas Department of Public Safety, on the court order.
Other steps in Texas: first offense penalties and second offense penalties.
All Texas DWI rules →Penalties across the states →Texas DUI lawyers →Getting the license back →
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