Texas insurance glossary
Surcharge
A surcharge is an amount added to an insurance premium for a rated event such as an at-fault crash or a conviction.
Two senses travel under the word and only one of them is still live. A carrier surcharge is part of how a policy is rated, applied under rates the carrier has filed with TDI, and it is the mechanism by which a violation moves a premium.
The state sense is obsolete. Texas ran a Driver Responsibility Program that charged annual surcharges against a driver record, and it was repealed effective 1 September 2019. Advice, court paperwork or county petition packets telling a driver to pay surcharges before reinstatement are out of date, and some are still in circulation.
What is actually owed on a record is shown by the DPS License Eligibility system.
Sources: Texas DPS — Driver Responsibility Program (repealed 1 September 2019); Texas DPS — reinstatement fees and special licenses FAQ (section 7); TDI — how auto and homeowners insurance costs are calculated. 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.