Texas state law, not the city you drive in, sets the vehicle and driver requirements for Uber and Lyft in Texas. Chapter 2402 of the Texas Occupations Code holds those rules. One requirement recently vanished. House Bill 3297 ended the annual state safety inspection on January 1, 2025.
What Are the Driver Requirements for Uber and Lyft in Texas?
Texas law requires a transportation network company, the legal term for a rideshare platform, to clear a driver before that driver can log in. The company must confirm the driver is at least 18 and holds a valid license from Texas, another state, or the District of Columbia.
The company must also confirm proof of registration and financial responsibility for the vehicle.
Section 2402.107 of the Texas Occupations Code adds two duties:
- Run, or have run, a local, state, and national criminal background check, and repeat it every year.
- Obtain and review the driver’s driving record.
Which Drivers Are Disqualified?
Texas law bars a rideshare company from letting a person drive with too many recent moving violations, certain driving or criminal convictions, or a listing on a state or national sex offender registry. The two lookback windows:
- Three-year window: Three or more moving violations, or a conviction for fleeing an officer, reckless driving, or driving without a valid license or with an invalid one.
- Seven-year window: Driving while intoxicated, using a vehicle to commit a felony, or a felony involving property damage, fraud, theft, violence, or terrorism.
A sex offender registry listing carries no lookback window.
What Are the Vehicle Requirements for Uber and Lyft in Texas?
A vehicle used for Uber or Lyft in Texas must have four doors and carry no more than eight people including the driver. The car must also meet the requirements of Chapter 548 of the Texas Transportation Code.
Section 2402.111 of the Texas Occupations Code sets those conditions, and adds two wrinkles:
- The driver need not own the car. It may be leased, rented, or otherwise made available to them.
- An automated motor vehicle used for these rides is excused only from the four-door rule.
Texas No Longer Requires an Annual Safety Inspection
Since January 1, 2025, no Texas noncommercial vehicle has to pass an annual state safety inspection, and that includes a car used for Uber or Lyft. The Legislature repealed the inspection requirement in the Texas Transportation Code and replaced it with a fee collected at registration.
The rideshare vehicle statute points to Chapter 548 instead of listing car standards of its own, so what a rideshare vehicle must meet changed along with the repeal. Emissions testing survives in some areas, decided by federal law or the state air quality plan.
Uber and Lyft still run their own inspections and set vehicle and driver standards above the state floor, as a matter of platform policy rather than state law.
Do Cities Like Austin Set Their Own Rideshare Rules?
No. Only the State of Texas may regulate rideshare companies, their drivers, and the vehicles used for prearranged rides. A city or other local entity may not add its own taxes, additional permits, rates, or operating requirements.
Section 2402.003 of the Texas Occupations Code sets that rule. Two exceptions apply. Airports and cruise ship terminals may set their own rules and charge a reasonable fee on rides to or from them.
Neither exception may add driver requirements beyond what state law already sets. Ordinary local traffic rules still apply to everyone.
How Do These Requirements Affect an Injury Claim?
After a rideshare crash in Texas, the coverage available usually turns on what the driver was doing at that moment. State law sets very different minimum coverage depending on whether the driver was on a prearranged ride or just logged in and waiting for one, shown in the table below.
Section 1954.052 of the Texas Insurance Code covers the waiting stretch and Section 1954.053 covers the ride. Both also require uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage plus personal injury protection, where state law calls for it. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough.
| Driver status | Minimum coverage |
| Logged in, waiting | $50,000 per person, $100,000 per incident, and $25,000 for property damage |
| On a prearranged ride | $1 million total aggregate for death, bodily injury, and property damage per incident |
Whether the company met its driver-screening duties described above is a separate question from which policy pays.
Talk to Breeland Injury Law About Vehicle and Driver Requirements for Uber and Lyft in Texas
If you were hurt in a crash involving an Uber or Lyft in Texas, the vehicle and driver requirements for Uber and Lyft in Texas show who was allowed to be driving and which policy applies. The trip record on your phone, including when the app switched from waiting to engaged, matters.
If a rideshare driver caused your crash, our rideshare accident team can help you sort out coverage. Learn more about Breeland Injury Law, or contact us to talk through what happened, or call 512-764-3380.
