What is the Penalty for a DWI With a Child Passenger?

If you are convicted of driving while intoxicated (DWI) with a child passenger, you could face fines, jail time, and other collateral consequences.

If you were arrested with your kids in the car, call Blass Law at (713) 664-4000 today. CPS may call you before the DA does, and what you tell them matters in both cases.

Per Texas Penal Code §49.04, a DWI is a Class B misdemeanor. Having a child passenger changes the nature of the charge completely, moving your DWI from a misdemeanor to a felony. It is not the only thing that does. Under § 49.04(e), effective September 1, 2025, a first offense committed in a school crossing zone is a state jail felony on its own. Penalties for a DWI can have collateral consequences and impact your personal and professional life.

Legal Penalties for a DWI With a Child Passenger

If you are convicted of DWI with a child passenger under Penal Code § 49.045, you could face:

• Fines: An ordinary first DWI carries a fine of up to $2,000. With a child in the car, the fine can be up to $10,000 (Penal Code § 12.35).
• Jail time: DWI with a passenger younger than 15 is a state jail felony under Penal Code § 49.045, punishable by 180 days to two years in a state jail (§ 12.35).
• Loss of license: A conviction suspends your license for 90 days to a year under Transportation Code § 521.344, the same range as an ordinary first DWI. The child in the car doesn’t add extra time.
• Community supervision: Instead of jail time, a DWI charge could result in community supervision, also known as probation. This requires an offender to follow all of the terms and conditions of probation, which usually include checking in with a probation officer periodically and avoiding committing any other criminal offenses.
• Installation of an ignition interlock device: An interlock device prevents you from starting your car if a specified level of alcohol is detected. For someone on probation for a DWI, this level is usually 0.00. It is essentially an in-car breathalyzer that requires you to be sober.

Consequences Extend Outside the Legal System

Unfortunately, penalties for a DWI can extend beyond imprisonment, fines, and license suspension. You can be punished in the court of law for your DWI, but you can also be punished in your professional and personal life. If you are found guilty of driving while intoxicated with a child passenger in your vehicle, consequences could include:

• Loss of professional license
• Job loss
• Issues in custody cases
• Damage to your reputation
• An increase in car insurance premiums
• A civil suit against you, if someone else was harmed by your negligence

A DWI charge can turn your life upside down and do lasting damage. You need a lawyer who’s going to build a real defense and fight for it.

Why Hiring a Lawyer Can Help

A DWI lawyer in Houston, TX, from our firm can do everything possible to protect yourself from these penalties. Your attorney can:

Formulate Your Defense and Gather Counterevidence

Your attorney will gather evidence that refutes the state’s case against you. We can show that the police had no reason to stop you or that the equipment or method the police used to test your blood alcohol content was faulty. Anything that shows that the state’s case is not as tight as they want to think can be introduced as evidence in your defense.

Handle All Communications

Your lawyer will handle any communications for you. We’ll take control of the situation and make sure you don’t incriminate yourself or make a mistake that puts you in deeper legal trouble.

Work to Clear Your Record

If the DWI charge is dismissed, a lawyer from our firm can help you clear up your record with an expunction. Legal penalties are not the only worry in a case like this.

A DWI charge, even one that you beat, can affect your personal and professional life. Your lawyer will help you keep your record clean.

Evaluate Plea Deals

If it does not appear that things will go your way and result in an acquittal, your lawyer can assist you by evaluating plea deals and fighting to help you avoid the worst legal consequences. They will fight every detail on your behalf no matter what kind of outcome looks likely.

Our DWI with a child passenger page explains how we defend these cases in Houston, including the CPS side.

How these cases actually get resolved

Deferred adjudication isn’t available on DWI with a child passenger (Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 42A.102), but probation is. The real goal is getting out from under the felony. Either the prosecutor agrees to treat it as a Class A misdemeanor under Penal Code § 12.44(b), or the charge gets reduced to a misdemeanor DWI. That negotiation, and the CPS case that usually opens at the same time, is where these cases are won.

Learn More About Your Legal Options With Our Attorneys

If you have been charged for a DWI with a child passenger in your vehicle, you have a right to have a legal advocate on your side. Call (713) 664-4000 to learn more about your legal options. An attorney can fight this DWI charge.