Site Policies | Department of Public Safety

Accessibility

Information on this Texas Department of Public Safety (TxDPS) website is being formatted to accommodate screen readers used by persons who are blind or visually impaired wherever possible. Our standards need to be in compliance with section 508 federal accessibility guidelines. Some information on this site may be in the form of Adobe Acrobat PDF documents. Refer to Adobe’s website for information regarding tools to allow access to PDF files for the visually impaired.

EIR (Electronic Information Resources) Accessibility Coordinator

DPS has designated an Accessibility Coordinator to monitor the agency’s compliance with this policy. If you use assistive technology and the format of any material on this agency’s Web sites interferes with your ability to access the information, please use the following points of contact for assistance. Please indicate the nature of your accessibility problem, the format in which you would like to receive the material, the Web address of the requested material and your contact information. DPS welcomes comments on how to improve its pages for persons with disabilities.

Voice (512) 424-2000
TDD (512) 854-9210
EIR Accessibility Coordinator

Additional information about accessibility programs in Texas is available from the Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities.

Exceptions

TAC §213.17 provides state agencies a means for exceptions to compliance with standards and specifications for new or modified Web pages and content and electronic and information resources developed, procured, or changed on or after September 1, 2006. DPS may approve an exception if the agency determines that compliance would impose a “significant difficulty or expense.” If the DPS claims an exception, the agency may use an alternative method to communicating the information, as explained in Section 2054.460, Texas Government Code (PDF, 260K).

Current EIR Compliance Exceptions:

EIR Exception TDCJ Offender Card MMR Screen
EIR Exception ITD Web Portal
EIR Exception Central Human Resource Payroll/Personnel System (CAPPS) and Financials Application and Portal (PDF) – Valid through 03/01/2018

Validation of Standards

To improve the accessibility of our Web site, we test individual pages with screen readers and other Web tools. Tools used include:

W3C HTML Validation Service
W3C CSS Validation Service
Web Design Group WDG HTML Validator
Watchfire® Bobby™ 5.0 Accessibility Validator
JAWS Screen Reader
ZoomText Screen Magnifier
Various versions of different Web browsers

Privacy Statement

The Texas Department of Public Safety (TxDPS) maintains the TxDPS web site as a public service. The following is the privacy policy for this site (all publicly accessible pages in the TxDPS.state.tx.us domain):

The TxDPS web site will not require the use of cookie files or cookies to view public information. A cookie file is an electronic record containing unique information a web site can use to track such things as passwords; lists of pages visited; and the date when a specific page was accessed; or to identify a user session at a particular web site. A cookie is often used in commercial sites to identify the items selected for a specific shopping cart or web portal. The TxDPS website may require the use of cookies to facilitate applications that display user-specific web pages. Information gathered through the use of cookies will only be used by the TxDPS web site to facilitate the display of information to the web user.

If you send us an electronic mail message with a question or comment that contains personally identifying information, or fill out a form that transmits this information to us, we will only use the personally identifiable information to respond to your request and analyze trends. We may redirect the text of your message to another government agency or person who is in a better position to answer your question. While doing this, however, we are bound by procedure to withhold your identifying personal information from the forwarded email. We may direct you to personally contact another agency or person.

For site management functions, information is collected for analysis and statistical purposes. This information is not reported or used in any manner that would reveal personally identifiable information. We use log analysis tools to create summary statistics, which are used for purposes such as assessing what information is of most interest, determining technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas.

Please be aware that all information accessible to a state agency is presumed to be public, subject to specific exceptions in the Public Information Act (Chapter 552 of the Texas Government Code).

Privacy Policy

The Department of Public Safety maintains this Web site (txdps.state.tx.us) as a public service. This policy describes the Department’s privacy practices regarding information collected from visitors to the site. It contains information about what information is collected and how that information is used. Please note that all information collected or maintained by the DPS is subject to the provisions of the Texas Public Information Act (Chapter 552, Texas Government Code).

Information Collected

Server Logs/Log Analysis Tools
DPS utilizes server logs and log analysis tools to create summary statistics about the use of the Web site. The summary statistics are used for purposes such as assessing what information is of most interest to users, determining technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas. The following information is collected for this analysis:

User/client hostname – The hostname (or IP address, if DNS is disabled) of the user/client requesting access.
HTTP header, “user-agent” – The user-agent information includes the type of browser used, the browser version, and the operating system it is running on.
HTTP header, “referrer” – The referrer specifies the page from which the user/client accessed the current page.
System date – The date and time of the user/client request.
Full request – The exact request the user/client made.
Status – The status code the server returned to the user/client.
Content length – The content length, in bytes, of the document sent to the user/client.
Method – The request method used.
Universal Resource Identifier (URI) – The location of a resource on the server.
Query string of the URI – Anything after the question mark in a URI.
Protocol – The transport protocol and version used.

For site security purposes and to ensure that the site remains available to all users, the Department uses software to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits. Raw data logs are used for no other purposes. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this site are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Texas Penal Code Chapters 33 (Computer Crimes) or 33A (Telecommunications Crimes).

E-mail
Personally identifiable information contained in a question or comment sent to the Department in an e-mail message or in an online form submitted to the Department will be used by the DPS to respond to the request and to analyze trends. The Department may redirect the message to another government agency or person who is in a better position to answer the question.

Web-based forms
The DPS uses Web-based forms. Personally identifiable information collected from these forms has a specified use (e.g., registration, survey response, etc.) and the information is used by the DPS only for that purpose. Each form contains a link to this privacy policy.

Gov. Code §559.003. Right To Notice About Certain Information Laws and Practices.
(a) Each state governmental body that collects information about an individual by means of a form that the individual completes and files with the governmental body in a paper format or in an electronic format on an Internet site shall prominently state, on the paper form and prominently post on the Internet site in connection with the electronic form, that:
(1) with few exceptions, the individual is entitled on request to be informed about the information that the state governmental body collects about the individual;
(2) under Sections 552.021 and 552.023 of the Government Code, the individual is entitled to receive and review the information; and
(3) under Section 559.004 of the Government Code, the individual is entitled to have the state governmental body correct information about the individual that is incorrect.
(b) Each state governmental body that collects information about an individual by means of an Internet site or that collects information about the computer network location or identity of a user of the Internet site shall prominently post on the Internet site what information is being collected through the site about the individual or about the computer network location or identity of a user of the site, including what information is being collected by means that are not obvious.

Use/Release of Information
All information collected from the DPS Web site, including the summary server log information, e-mails sent to the Web site, and information collected from Web-based forms, is subject to the Texas Public Information Act. Pursuant to Sec. 559.004, Government Code, you have a right to have DPS correct information about you that is possessed by DPS and that is incorrect.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission provides information for educating consumers and businesses about the importance of personal information privacy.

Security

For site security purposes and to ensure that the site remains available to all users, TxDPS uses software to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits. Raw data logs are used for no other purposes. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this site are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Texas Penal Code Chapters 33 (Computer Crimes) or 33A (Telecommunications Crimes).

Copyright/Disclaimer

The TxDPS provides information via this website as a public service. Any links outside the TxDPS web site are provided as a convenience to our viewers. TxDPS has no control over the content of these linked sites. TxDPS does not necessarily endorse any products or services sold by any of these linked sites. TxDPS will link to sites only if they are determined to be aligned with the agency’s own goals and positions. If you discover an error on one of the sites, contact the webmaster of that linked site. All of the information provided is believed to be accurate and reliable; however, TxDPS assumes no responsibility for any errors, appearing in rules or otherwise. Further, TxDPS assumes no responsibility for the use of the information provided. TxDPS specifically disclaims any and all liability for any claims or damages that may result from providing the information contained on the site, including any web sites maintained by third parties and linked to the TxDPS web site. The responsibility for content rests with the organizations that provide the information. The inclusion of links from this site does not imply endorsement by TxDPS. Specific questions regarding a document should be directed to the appropriate organization and not necessarily to the TxDPS Webmaster. TxDPS makes no effort to independently verify, and does not exert editorial control over, information on pages outside of the txdps.state.tx.us domain.

Linking to the TxDPS Web Site What you can do:
You do not need to get advance permission to link to the TxDPS web site if you are making a simple link to our agency’s homepage. You may also link to one of our sub pages, where appropriate. We reserve the right to change sub pages at any time without notice, so it is up to you to continuously verify your links to our sub pages.

What you should not do:
Please do not capture our pages within your frames, or otherwise present our content as your own. Any link to our site should be a full forward link that passes the client browser to our site unencumbered. The BACK button should return the visitor to your site if the visitor wishes to back out. You should not link to individual graphics or tables within our pages, especially in an effort to place the downloading burden on our servers. Such an action may be considered a misuse of state resources.

Reciprocal links
The TxDPS does not enter into reciprocal link agreements. We provide links to sites that are appropriate to our mission. Our creation of a link to your site does not obligate you to provide a link back to us, but you are, of course, welcome to do so.

Read the Texas State Linking and Privacy Policy

Links from DPS

This section outlines the criteria and requirements that external websites must meet to have a link on the DPS website. It also details how links are accepted and removed from the DPS website.

DPS reserves the right to link to external websites that it feels would provide a service or otherwise be of value to constituents.

Acceptance Criteria
DPS links to federal, state, and local governments that provide information and services that benefit Texas citizens, Texas local government, and Texas state agencies. At its discretion, DPS will consider link requests to non-governmental websites that contain information and/or services that further the purpose of DPS, including sites of DPS-contracted vendors, and relevant and timely and relevant publications.

The DPS website is not a forum for public communication and debate. The criteria outlined in this section have been established to ensure that the DPS website remains a non-public forum.

Every link request must undergo review to determine its relevance and appropriateness to the purpose of DPS. Links are approved for DPS based on the following criteria:

The external website corresponds with the purpose of DPS
The site’s content is appropriate with respect to the purpose of DPS and the site is not a:
- Site that contains material which infringes copyrighted material;
- Site that exhibits hate, bias, discrimination, pornography, libelous or otherwise defamatory content;
- Site that advocates or promotes the use of alcohol or tobacco;
- Site belonging to or supporting a political affiliation;
- Site that furthers the agenda of a political organization or candidate running for office.

DPS reserves the right to deny links if it determines that a website contains misleading or unsubstantiated claims, conflicts with the purpose of DPS, or does not meet one or more of the criteria set forth above in numbered sections or set out below in the section on Conditions for Link Maintenance on DPS.

Review Process

Email link requests to Webrequests, indicating “Link Request” in the subject line. Each link request should address how the site meets the two acceptance criteria outlined above.
The link request will be reviewed against the acceptance criteria set forth above. The decision of the DPS webmaster is final as to whether the requesting site may have a link from DPS.
Approved sites must comply with the following conditions for link maintenance and may be required to enter into a written linking agreement with DPS.

Conditions for Link Maintenance on DPS
To give superior customer service to citizens and businesses accessing governmental information and services through DPS, we require that external websites linked from DPS meet the following conditions in order to maintain a link on DPS:

The linked site must provide the user with access to an email address and/or a customer service telephone number so that users may contact the site if there are problems with format, accuracy, timeliness, or payment processing.
Linked sites should not excessively burden the DPS customer support system. If the site excessively burdens the DPS customer support system, DPS has discretion to take linked site off of the DPS website.
When the user clicks on the external website link, he/she must have easy access back to DPS. One of two options can accomplish this:
- A link to DPS can be established on the external website’s main page; or
- The “Back” button returns the user to DPS.
Linked sites must have a privacy and security policy accessible from their home page informing the user of what information is collected, how it is collected, and how it is used. DPS encourages linked sites to comply with industry-accepted accessibility standards to ensure that persons with disabilities may access these sites.
Linked sites must notify DPS at the email address provided below if the site to which DPS links become inaccurate or inactive.

Removal Process
DPS reserves the right to remove links if it determines that a website contains misleading or unsubstantiated claims, conflicts with the purpose of DPS, or does not meet one or more of the criteria set forth above in the Acceptance Criteria section or set out above in the Conditions for Link Maintenance on DPS section.

Links from DPS will be reviewed regularly and may be removed for the following reasons:

The link no longer points to the original information or resource to which it was intended to point;
The website pointed to by the link contains inaccurate or misleading information or has changed such that it is no longer in compliance with the acceptance criteria;
The website pointed to by the link violates the conditions for link maintenance or infringes copyright interests;
Access to the information has become difficult due to non-standard formatting, lengthy download times, or intrusive advertising;
The link is permanently unreachable or remains unavailable for a lengthy period; and
The external website fails to comply with the written linking agreement, if any.
The decision of the DPS webmaster is final as to whether a link is to be removed from DPS.