Restriction A on a Texas driver’s license means you must wear corrective lenses, glasses or contacts, every time you drive. The Texas Department of Public Safety adds the code when you can’t pass the vision screening without lenses but can meet the standard with them. The letter “A” prints on the front of your license in the restrictions field, and it applies to all driving: day or night, short trip or long haul.1Texas Department of Public Safety. Driver License Endorsements and Restrictions
Why DPS Put Restriction A on Your License
Texas uses a tiered vision standard. To drive without any restriction, you need 20/40 or better in each eye and in both eyes together, measured without corrective lenses. Fall below that line unaided, and the DPS looks at your corrected vision instead.2Legal Information Institute. 37 Texas Administrative Code 15.51 – Vision Tests
If your corrected vision reaches 20/50 or better in your best eye or in both eyes together, you get Restriction A and can drive normally as long as you have your lenses on. Most people with Restriction A land here: uncorrected vision somewhere in the 20/50 to 20/100 range that lenses bring back to 20/40 or 20/50.
Worse corrected vision stacks additional restrictions on top of A. Corrected acuity in the 20/60 to 20/70 range triggers daytime-only driving, a 45-mph speed cap, and any further limits the DPS considers advisable. Corrected vision worse than 20/70 with no further improvement possible means no license at all.2Legal Information Institute. 37 Texas Administrative Code 15.51 – Vision Tests If you see other codes alongside A on your card, each one applies independently and every one must be followed.
What Happens If You Drive Without Your Glasses or Contacts
Driving in violation of a license restriction is a misdemeanor under Section 521.221 of the Texas Transportation Code, punishable under the general penalty provision in Section 521.461.3State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 521-457 The fine can run up to $500, plus court costs. The violation also goes on your driving record, where your insurer can see it at renewal.
The bigger exposure comes if you cause a crash while driving uncorrected. A license-restriction violation can be treated as negligence per se in a civil lawsuit, which means the violation itself is enough to establish negligence without the other side having to prove you drove carelessly. That can leave you personally on the hook for injuries and property damage. An insurer reviewing your claim may also look for ways to limit coverage when you were violating your license terms at the time of the accident. The traffic ticket is usually the smallest cost involved.
How to Get Restriction A Removed
The usual reason people want the restriction off is corrective eye surgery, most often LASIK. A letter from your surgeon or optometrist alone will not do it. The restriction stays on your license, and you can still be cited for driving without lenses, until you go in person to a DPS office and pass the unaided vision test.
Retaking the Vision Test
Visit any Texas DPS driver license office and ask to retake the screening. Read 20/40 or better in each eye and in both eyes together without lenses, and the examiner removes Restriction A on the spot. You pay $11 for a replacement card with the updated information, and your expiration date stays the same.4Texas Department of Public Safety. Driver License Fees For most post-LASIK patients this takes one visit.
Using Form DL-63
If your situation is more complex, a licensed ophthalmologist or optometrist can complete Form DL-63, “Explanation for Eye Specialist,” documenting your acuity measurements.5Texas Department of Public Safety. Explanation for Eye Specialist You submit the completed form to DPS. This route helps when a standard DPS screening machine may not capture your vision well, such as during recovery from surgery when acuity is still stabilizing.
Commercial Drivers: A Different Standard
If you hold a commercial driver’s license, federal rules apply on top of the state ones. Under 49 CFR 391.41, commercial drivers need at least 20/40 in each eye and 20/40 binocular with or without lenses, at least 70 degrees of horizontal field of vision in each eye, and the ability to recognize standard red, green, and amber traffic signals.6eCFR. 49 CFR 391.41 When you need lenses to reach 20/40, the medical examiner notes it on your federal medical certificate and you must wear them whenever you operate a commercial vehicle. Drivers who cannot meet the standard with lenses in their worse eye may be eligible for a federal vision exemption through the FMCSA, through a separate application and safety review.7Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Examining FMCSA Vision Standard for CMV Drivers and Waiver Program The field-of-vision and color requirements go beyond anything the state screening measures.