§ 521.453 — FICTITIOUS LICENSE OR CERTIFICATE.

Texas § 521.453

• Jurisdiction: Texas
• Code TN: Transportation Code

Text

Sec. 521.453. FICTITIOUS LICENSE OR CERTIFICATE. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (f), a person under the age of 21 years commits an offense if the person possesses, with the intent to represent that the person is 21 years of age or older, a document that is deceptively similar to a driver's license or a personal identification certificate unless the document displays the statement "NOT A GOVERNMENT DOCUMENT" diagonally printed clearly and indelibly on both the front and back of the document in solid red capital letters at least one-fourth inch in height.
(b) For purposes of this section, a document is deceptively similar to a driver's license or personal identification certificate if a reasonable person would assume that it was issued by the department, another agency of this state, another state, or the United States.
(c) A peace officer listed in Article 2A.001 , Code of Criminal Procedure, may confiscate a document that:
(1) is deceptively similar to a driver's license or personal identification certificate; and
(2) does not display the statement required under Subsection (a).
(d) For purposes of this section, an offense under Subsection (a) is a Class C misdemeanor.
(e) The attorney general, district attorney, or prosecuting attorney performing the duties of the district attorney may bring an action to enjoin a violation or threatened violation of this section. The action must be brought in a court in the county in which the violation or threatened violation occurs.
(f) Subsection (a) does not apply to:
(1) a government agency, office, or political subdivision that is authorized to produce or sell personal identification certificates; or
(2) a person that provides a document similar to a personal identification certificate to an employee of the person for a business purpose.
(g) In this section:
(1) "Driver's license" includes a driver's license issued by another state or by the United States.
(2) "Personal identification certificate" means a personal identification certificate issued by the department, by another agency of this state, by another state, or by the United States.
(h) In addition to the punishment provided by Subsection (d), a court, if the court is located in a municipality or county that has established a community service program, may order a person younger than 21 years of age who commits an offense under this section to perform eight hours of community service unless the person is shown to have previously committed an offense under this section, in which case the court may order the person to perform 12 hours of community service.
(i) If the person ordered to perform community service under Subsection (h) is younger than 17 years of age, the community service shall be performed as if ordered by a juvenile court under Section 54.044 (a), Family Code, as a condition of probation under Section 54.04 (d), Family Code.

Legislative History

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 823, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1358, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997. Amended by: Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 765 (H.B. 4504 ), Sec. 2.170, eff. January 1, 2025.