A lot of things are illegal in Texas, and the question of what is illegal in Texas reaches across the Penal Code, the Health and Safety Code, the Transportation Code, and the Alcoholic Beverage Code. Penalties start at $500 fines for Class C misdemeanors and climb to life in prison for first-degree felonies. The same rules apply to residents and visitors alike.
Driving Offenses
Driving while intoxicated is the most heavily enforced driving crime. Under Penal Code Section 49.04, you are intoxicated if your blood alcohol concentration is 0.08 or higher, or if you have lost the normal use of your mental or physical faculties from alcohol, drugs, or both.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 49.04 – Driving While Intoxicated A first offense is a Class B misdemeanor with a mandatory 72 hours in jail, which jumps to six days if there was an open container in the vehicle. A BAC of 0.15 or higher turns the charge into a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.21 – Class A Misdemeanor
The open container law stands on its own. Under Penal Code Section 49.031, knowingly having an opened bottle, can, or other alcohol container in the passenger area of a vehicle on a public road is a Class C misdemeanor, whether the car is moving or parked on the shoulder. Drivers and passengers can both be cited.3State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 49.031 – Possession of Alcoholic Beverage in Motor Vehicle
Texting while driving is banned under Transportation Code Section 545.4251. You cannot read, write, or send an electronic message on a handheld device while your vehicle is in motion, though the rule does not apply when you are stopped or when the communication is an emergency.4State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 545.4251 – Use of Portable Wireless Communication Device for Electronic Messaging And every child under eight must ride in a properly installed child safety seat unless they are taller than four feet nine inches, with fines running from $25 to $250 per violation.5State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 545.412 – Child Passenger Safety Seat Systems
Drugs and Marijuana
Recreational marijuana is still illegal in Texas, no matter the amount. Possessing two ounces or less is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine, and penalties scale sharply upward with weight.6State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 481.121 – Offense: Possession of Marihuana7State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.22 – Class B Misdemeanor Hemp products are legal only if they contain no more than 0.3 percent Delta-9 THC by dry weight; anything above that threshold is treated as illegal marijuana, and the line between a legal product and a criminal one often comes down to lab testing.8Texas State Law Library. Consumable Hemp Products – Cannabis and the Law
Harder drugs fall under the Texas Controlled Substances Act, which sorts substances into penalty groups. Cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine sit in Penalty Group 1. Possessing less than one gram of a Penalty Group 1 substance is a state jail felony, meaning 180 days to two years of confinement and a potential $10,000 fine.9State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 481.115 – Offense: Possession of Substance in Penalty Group 1 or 1-B10State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.35 – State Jail Felony Punishment Larger quantities move the charge up through the felony grades.
Theft
Theft in Texas is any taking of someone else’s property without consent and with intent to keep it. The charge depends almost entirely on value:
- Under $100: Class C misdemeanor, fine up to $500
- $100 to $749: Class B misdemeanor, up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine
- $750 to $2,499: Class A misdemeanor, up to a year and a $4,000 fine
- $2,500 to $29,999: state jail felony, 180 days to two years and up to $10,000
- $30,000 to $149,999: third-degree felony, two to ten years
- $150,000 to $299,999: second-degree felony, two to twenty years
- $300,000 or more: first-degree felony, five to ninety-nine years or life
Some property types bypass the value tiers. Stealing a firearm is automatically a state jail felony, as is theft from a person’s body, catalytic converter theft under $30,000, and theft of metals like copper or aluminum under $20,000.11State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 31.03 – Theft
Assault
Penal Code Section 22.01 covers three forms of basic assault: causing bodily injury, threatening someone with imminent injury, and making physical contact you know will be received as offensive. Threats and offensive contact are Class C misdemeanors. Actually injuring someone is a Class A misdemeanor with up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.12State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.01 – Assault
Several situations push assault to a third-degree felony: assaulting a public servant on duty, choking or strangling a family or household member, assaulting someone you know is pregnant, and having a prior family violence conviction on your record.
Firearms: Where You Can’t Carry
Texas is permissive about owning guns, but Penal Code Section 46.03 lists places where firearms, clubs, and prohibited weapons cannot go. Carrying into most of these locations is a third-degree felony punishable by two to ten years in prison.13State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.03 – Places Weapons Prohibited14State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.34 – Third Degree Felony Punishment The restricted locations include:
- Public and private schools and other educational institutions
- Polling places on election days and during early voting
- Government courts and offices used by courts
- Secured areas of airports past security
- Bars that get 51 percent or more of revenue from on-premises alcohol sales
- Racetracks, sporting events, and correctional facilities
- Hospitals and nursing facilities, absent written authorization
- Amusement parks
Section 46.05 bans certain weapons outright no matter where you are: improvised explosive devices, armor-piercing ammunition, zip guns, chemical dispensing devices, and tire deflation devices. Explosive weapons and machine guns are banned unless registered in the federal National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.15State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.05 – Prohibited Weapons
Alcohol Rules
Liquor stores cannot sell on Sundays, New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, or Christmas Day. Daily sales are capped at 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. If Christmas or New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday, the closure extends to Monday.16State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 105.01 – Hours of Sale: Liquor
Public intoxication under Penal Code Section 49.02 is a standalone Class C misdemeanor with a fine up to $500. You can be charged for being in a public place, including a bar or restaurant, so intoxicated that you pose a danger to yourself or others. Officers have discretion on whether to arrest.17State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 49.02 – Public Intoxication
Furnishing alcohol to anyone under 21 is a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. The rule applies to bartenders, store clerks, and anyone else who buys or hands alcohol to a minor.18State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 106.06 – Purchase of Alcohol for a Minor; Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor
Gambling
Texas gambling law is strict. Under Penal Code Section 47.02, betting on the outcome of a game, contest, or election, or playing cards, dice, or other gambling devices for money, is a Class C misdemeanor.19State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 47.02 – Gambling There are no legal casinos and no legal sports betting in the state. The narrow exceptions are the state lottery, certain charitable bingo games, and horse and greyhound racing at licensed tracks. Placing sports bets through apps while physically in Texas violates state law, even if the app itself is legal where you live.
Trespass and Disorderly Conduct
Penal Code Section 30.05 makes it criminal trespass to enter or stay on someone’s property after being told not to, or when the property is clearly posted. The baseline charge is a Class B misdemeanor. Trespassing on agricultural land within 100 feet of the boundary drops to a Class C misdemeanor; trespassing in a home, on critical infrastructure, or while carrying a deadly weapon rises to a Class A misdemeanor.20State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 30.05 – Criminal Trespass
Disorderly conduct under Section 42.01 catches fighting in public, making unreasonable noise near a home, using language that tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace, creating noxious odors by chemical means, and public exposure. Most forms are Class C misdemeanors. Firing a gun in a public place or displaying a deadly weapon in a way meant to alarm others is a Class B misdemeanor.21State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 42.01 – Disorderly Conduct
Online Impersonation and Recording
Penal Code Section 33.07 makes it a third-degree felony to use someone else’s name or identity to set up a social media profile or post messages, without their consent, when you intend to harm, defraud, or threaten someone. A related provision covers sending emails, texts, or similar messages that make the recipient believe another person sent them; that offense is a Class A misdemeanor, rising to a third-degree felony if the purpose was to trigger an emergency services response.22State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 33.07 – Online Impersonation
Texas is a one-party consent state for recording. Under Penal Code Section 16.02, you can record a phone call or in-person conversation as long as at least one participant consents, and recording your own conversations is legal without telling anyone. Secretly recording a conversation between other people when none of them consent is not.
Buying or Selling Human Organs
Penal Code Section 48.02 makes it illegal to buy or sell human organs, keeping donation voluntary and noncommercial. A violation is a Class A misdemeanor.
The Cow-Milking Myth
The oft-repeated claim that it’s specifically illegal to milk another person’s cow in Texas is outdated. A standalone cow-milking statute existed in the 1925 Penal Code, but Texas repealed it in 1974 during the full criminal code overhaul. Taking milk from someone else’s livestock is still illegal today, just under the general theft statute rather than any novelty provision.11State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 31.03 – Theft