Texas Charge Code Lookup

Type a Texas charge code from a booking sheet, jail roster or ticket and see which law book and section it points to, with a link to the official text. It runs in your browser and nothing is stored.

Enter a code to see which law book it comes from and open the official text.

Texas criminal code books and abbreviations

Texas defines offenses in more than one law book, so the abbreviation on the record tells you which one:

  • Penal Code (PC, Tex. Penal Code, TX PC). Sections are written as chapter.section (22.01); link opens the chapter page, for example 22.01, 49.04, 30.02. See section 22.01
  • Health and Safety Code (HSC, Tex. Health & Safety Code). Sections are written as chapter.section (481.115); link opens the chapter page, for example 481.115, 481.121, 481.112. See section 481.115
  • Transportation Code (TC, Tex. Transp. Code, Transportation Code). Sections are written as chapter.section (545.351); link opens the chapter page, for example 545.351, 521.457, 550.021. See section 545.351
  • Alcoholic Beverage Code (ABC, Tex. Alco. Bev. Code). Sections are written as chapter.section (106.02); link opens the chapter page, for example 106.02, 106.04, 101.31. See section 106.02

After an arrest in Texas: the first court appearance

The arrested person must be taken before a magistrate without unnecessary delay and no later than 48 hours after arrest. (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 15.17(a))

(a) In each case enumerated in this Code, the person making the arrest or the person having custody of the person arrested shall without unnecessary delay, but not later than 48 hours after the person is arrested, take the person arrested or have him taken before some magistrate of the county where the accused was arrested or, to provide more expeditiously to the person arrested the warnings described by this article, before a magistrate in any other county of this state.

Texas courts call this hearing the magistration.

What this page does not do

  • It does not look up a person, a booking or a case.
  • It does not say what a charge will lead to; the prosecutor decides what is filed.
  • It collects nothing; what you type stays in your browser.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I read a Texas charge code?

Find the number and the abbreviation. PC is the Penal Code; HSC is the Health and Safety Code; TC is the Transportation Code; ABC is the Alcoholic Beverage Code. A section is written as chapter.section (22.01); link opens the chapter page. The lookup above links the official text.

How long can you be held in Texas before seeing a judge?

The arrested person must be taken before a magistrate without unnecessary delay and no later than 48 hours after arrest. (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 15.17(a)).

Sources

Checked against the sources above on October 20, 2026.

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