A criminal penalty clause in SB2807 means any Texas transportation company operating driverless vehicles commercially must obtain state approval or face misdemeanor charges.
Most Texas transportation and trucking business owners haven't heard about a provision buried in SB2807 that could expose them to criminal liability if they operate driverless vehicles without state permission. The law creates a new compliance requirement—and a new criminal offense—that affects anyone in commercial freight, delivery, or automated transport.
Here's what the law requires:
Under Section 545.455(c) of SB2807, any company that commercially operates an automated motor vehicle (a vehicle designed to operate with minimal human intervention) must first obtain authorization from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV). This isn't optional, and it isn't a registration or licensing renewal. It's a separate approval process.
Beyond TxDMV approval, companies must also file an emergency-services interaction plan with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). This plan explains how the vehicle will communicate with and respond to law enforcement and emergency responders.
Who this affects: delivery companies using autonomous vehicles, freight carriers testing or deploying driverless trucks, rideshare operators, and any transportation business operating a commercial driverless vehicle in Texas.
Operating a driverless vehicle commercially without both the TxDMV authorization and the DPS emergency plan is classified as a Class B misdemeanor. Critically, the law states that each day of violation constitutes a separate offense. This means a company operating an unauthorized driverless vehicle for a week could face seven separate criminal charges, with compounding legal and financial consequences.
For context, a Class B misdemeanor in Texas carries penalties up to 180 days in jail and/or a fine up to $2,000 per violation.
The TxDMV board and the Public Safety Commission are required to adopt rules governing this authorization process by December 1, 2025. However, companies won't be required to comply until 90 days after both agencies have finalized their rules. This means the actual compliance deadline depends on when both rule sets are complete—likely sometime in early 2026, though the exact date isn't yet set.
If you're operating or planning to operate a driverless vehicle in Texas, now is the time to monitor TxDMV and DPS announcements for the release of these rules and application procedures.
The provision reflects Texas regulators' intent to maintain oversight of autonomous vehicle operations while they're still in early commercial deployment. It's not a ban on driverless transport, but it does mean the Wild West days of testing or operating these vehicles without formal state approval are over.
Source: SB2807, Section 545.455(c), Section 1 of the bill; Texas Legislature Online.