Texas Emergency Vehicle Light Laws: Color by Class, Volunteer POVs & Security Patrol Green

Key Takeaways

• Texas Transportation Code § 547.305(b) prohibits any vehicle other than a police vehicle from displaying a red light visible from directly in front of the center of the vehicle, except as expressly authorized by law.
• Under Texas Transportation Code § 547.305(c), a person may not operate a motor vehicle equipped with a red, white or blue beacon, flashing or alternating light unless the equipment is used as specifically authorized by Chapter 547.
• HB 2812 of the 85th Texas Legislature amended § 547.305 to limit security patrol vehicles to green, amber or white lights. Security operators in Texas may not use red, white and blue emergency configurations.
• The private vehicle of a volunteer firefighter or a certified emergency medical services employee or volunteer in Texas may be equipped with warning lights when responding to a fire alarm or medical emergency, under Texas Transportation Code § 547.305(d).
• Texas Transportation Code § 546.004(a) provides that a volunteer firefighter operating a private vehicle as an authorized emergency vehicle may engage in the conduct permitted by § 546.001 only while using visual signals meeting the requirements of §§ 547.305 and 547.702.
• Texas tow trucks may display flashing lighting equipment alternately while under the direction of a law enforcement officer at the scene of a collision, while hooking up to a disabled vehicle on a roadway, or when fitted with a mounted light bar that also carries turn signals and stop lamps.

Texas writes its lighting rules as a prohibition with a list of authorized users, in Transportation Code § 547.305, with the equipment requirements for authorized emergency vehicles in § 547.702 and the operating privileges in Chapter 546.

Texas also has a rule that surprises operators moving in from other states. Security patrol vehicles here are limited to green, amber or white. The Texas Department of Public Safety maintains a page on this specifically for the private security industry, and it is the authoritative reference for that class.

The Two Prohibitions in 547.305

Subsection (b) is the forward-facing red rule. Except as expressly authorized by law, no person may operate or move equipment or a vehicle, other than a police vehicle, with a lamp or device that displays a red light visible from directly in front of the center of the equipment or vehicle.

Subsection (c) is the beacon rule. A person may not operate a motor vehicle equipped with a red, white or blue beacon, flashing or alternating light unless the equipment is used as specifically authorized by Chapter 547.

Subsection (a) adds an intensity and aim rule that applies far more broadly than most people realize. A motor vehicle lamp or illuminating device other than a headlamp, spotlamp, auxiliary lamp, turn signal lamp, or emergency vehicle, tow truck or school bus warning lamp, that projects a beam brighter than 300 candlepower, must be directed so that no part of the high intensity portion of the beam strikes the roadway more than 75 feet from the vehicle.

Security Patrol Vehicles: Green, Amber or White

HB 2812 of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session, amended § 547.305 to limit security patrol vehicles to green, amber or white lights. Texas DPS notes the amendment directly on its private security guidance.

This makes Texas one of the more significant green light markets in the country. In most states green signals command post or volunteer EMS. In Texas it is also the color a licensed security patrol operation can legitimately run, and it is the color that distinguishes a security vehicle from an emergency vehicle at a glance.

For fleet buyers, this is a straightforward spec decision. Green and amber are in, and any red, white and blue configuration marketed as a security package is not usable on a Texas security patrol vehicle.

Volunteer Firefighters & EMS In Private Vehicles

Section 547.305(d) lists the vehicles that may be equipped with the alternately flashing lighting equipment described by § 547.701 or § 547.702. The list includes the private vehicle of a volunteer firefighter or a certified emergency medical services employee or volunteer when responding to a fire alarm or medical emergency.

The list also covers industrial emergency response vehicles, including industrial ambulances, subject to criteria in effect September 1, 1989, established by the Texas Industrial Fire Training Board of the State Firemen's and Fire Marshal's Association of Texas, and vehicles of accredited blood banks or tissue banks making emergency deliveries of blood, drugs, medicines, or organs.

Chapter 546 is where the privileges live, and it is conditional. Section 546.004(a) provides that a volunteer firefighter operating a private vehicle as an authorized emergency vehicle may engage in the conduct permitted by § 546.001 only when using visual signals meeting the pertinent requirements of §§ 547.305 and 547.702. Non-compliant equipment does not merely risk a citation. It removes the statutory basis for the privilege.

Color By Class in Texas

Tow trucks

Texas treats tow trucks with more nuance than most states. Under § 547.305(d) a tow truck may run flashing equipment alternately while under the direction of a law enforcement officer at the scene of a collision, or while hooking up to a disabled vehicle on a roadway.

Separately, a tow truck with a mounted light bar qualifies if the bar carries turn signals and stop lamps in addition to those required by §§ 547.322, 547.323 and 547.324. That is an equipment specification, not just a color rule, and it is worth checking against any bar you are considering.

Buying for Texas

Security operators should build around green and purple LEDs and amber lights. This is the single clearest color mandate in the Texas code and the easiest to get wrong by buying a generic package.

Volunteer fire and EMS responders should look at dash and window mount lights and hide-away LEDs, since § 546.004 makes compliant visual signals a precondition of the privilege rather than an optional extra.

Tow operators should review tow light bars with attention to integrated turn and stop lamps, plus traffic advisor arrow sticks for scene work. We carry Feniex and Whelen lines that are common on Texas fleet specifications.

Frequently asked questions

What color lights can security vehicles use in Texas?

Green, amber, or white. Texas Transportation Code § 547.305 was amended by HB 2812 of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session, to limit security patrol vehicles to those colors.

Can volunteer firefighters use emergency lights on a personal vehicle in Texas?

Yes. Texas Transportation Code § 547.305(d) includes the private vehicle of a volunteer firefighter or a certified emergency medical services employee or volunteer responding to a fire alarm or medical emergency. Under § 546.004(a), the operating privileges apply only while using visual signals meeting the requirements of §§ 547.305 and 547.702.

Are red lights illegal on the front of a vehicle in Texas?

Texas Transportation Code § 547.305(b) prohibits any vehicle other than a police vehicle from displaying a red light visible from directly in front of the center of the vehicle, except as expressly authorized by law.

When can a Texas tow truck use flashing lights?

Under § 547.305(d), while under the direction of a law enforcement officer at the scene of a collision, while hooking up to a disabled vehicle on a roadway, or where the tow truck has a mounted light bar that includes turn signals and stop lamps in addition to those required by §§ 547.322, 547.323 and 547.324.

Last Updated & Disclaimer

Last reviewed: September 2026. This page summarizes Tex. Transp. Code §§ 547.305, 547.702, 546.004 and related provisions for general informational purposes. It is not legal advice. Statutes are amended and agency requirements change. Confirm current requirements with the official sources linked above, your department or agency, and the relevant state motor vehicle authority before purchasing or installing warning equipment.