2025 · Regular session · Senate bill
SB523
SB523 lets qualifying parole and probation officers use an office address instead of their home address on a Texas driver’s license.
Official caption: Relating to the issuance of a driver's license to certain persons that includes an alternative to the license holder's residence address.
Official report lists Senate author(s): Zaffirini. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.
Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.
Bill highlights
Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.
- SB523 lets qualifying parole and probation officers use an office address instead of their home address on a Texas driver’s license.
- The law uses the Government Code definition of parole officer and defines a probation officer as a law-enforcement professional who supervises people placed on probation.
- Existing application safeguards still apply: the person must apply to DPS, supply acceptable proof of eligible status and surrender another DPS-issued driver’s license when the alternative-address license is issued.
What does it do?
SB523 lets qualifying parole and probation officers use an office address instead of their home address on a Texas driver’s license. It adds them to the existing alternative-address provision for peace officers and prosecutors. For the new categories, the accepted alternative is an address of an office of that officer—not any address the person chooses. Expanded eligibility and allowed addresses.
The law uses the Government Code definition of parole officer and defines a probation officer as a law-enforcement professional who supervises people placed on probation. It does not grant this option to all correctional employees or to people who are themselves on parole or probation. Signed June 20, 2025, it took effect September 1, 2025. Definitions and effective date; History.
Existing application safeguards still apply: the person must apply to DPS, supply acceptable proof of eligible status and surrender another DPS-issued driver’s license when the alternative-address license is issued. Losing eligible status requires an application for a duplicate displaying the actual home address within 30 days. SB523 also requires notice to DPS within 30 days of a residence or name change, or an office-address change for parole officers, probation officers and prosecutors, with the license number and relevant old and new information. Retained application and status-change rules: official historical statute; Amended change-notification rule.
What changed along the way?
The introduced bill added parole officers. The Senate committee substitute also added probation officers, including their definition, office-address option and office-change notification requirement. Peace officers and prosecutors already had alternative-address rights; SB523 did not first create those protections. Introduced proposal; Committee substitute.
The substitute’s operative language remained the same in the engrossed, House committee and enrolled versions. The official amendment index lists no floor amendments, consistent with the recorded passage without additional amendment. All five versions; Amendment index.
For the full amendment record, open the official amendment index.
Official bill versions
Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.
Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?
The practical benefit is less routine exposure of an eligible officer’s home address when showing a driver’s license. It is not a promise that the address disappears from every government record or online source, and DPS must still receive required address changes. Applicants and DPS must verify eligibility and maintain current information. Limited address substitution; Retained application safeguards.
The February 23 introduced and March 4 substituted fiscal notes anticipate no significant state or local fiscal impact and assume the associated impacts would be insignificant. They do not estimate how many officers will use the option or measure any reduction in harassment or safety incidents. Applicable fiscal note.
Official sources
- Bill history and latest recorded action
- Bill versions, analyses and fiscal notes
- Action history and votes
- Amendment index
Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.
