Texas insurance glossary
DWI
DWI is driving while intoxicated: the Texas offense of operating a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated, under Penal Code § 49.04.
Chapter 49 of the Penal Code defines intoxication as not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of alcohol or another substance, or having an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more.
It reaches insurance indirectly. The conviction can produce a license suspension; the suspension is what puts a driver under a financial responsibility filing; the filing is the SR-22. The certificate is a consequence of the suspension rather than of the charge.
What a conviction does to placement and to the two-year clock is the DWI article. This entry only fixes the term.
Sources: Tex. Penal Code ch. 49 — intoxication offenses, including § 49.04; Texas DPS — SR-22 proof of financial responsibility FAQ (section 9). Verified .
A definition, not legal advice and not a quote. Rules and figures change; confirm your own situation against the source named above, or with us, before you act on it. Last checked .
Where this is handled
A definition does not file anything. When the suspension date is closer than the research, one independent agency on FM 1959 can transmit the SR-22 to the DPS and tell you what the state wants before you pay anyone anything.