Before you start

A valid visa or other admission category, and work authorisation from DHS for anything paid
An electronic I-94 record from the CBP website
Evidence of lawful presence, which Texas requires for a driver licence
A Texas address, evidenced for the licensing application
A booked DPS appointment

Step-by-step

1
Download your I-94 in the first few days
It records your admission class and 'admit until' date, and it is what employers, DPS and the Social Security Administration will ask for. Retrieved electronically from the CBP website, free.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
2
Wait about ten days, then apply for a Social Security number
The SSA verifies your status against DHS systems that lag entry by one to two weeks. File Form SS-5 in person with your passport, visa and I-94. There is no fee.
In personWho: YouFrom ~day 10Free
3
If you cannot get an SSN, file for an ITIN
IRS Form W-7 produces an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number for tax filing, accepted by many banks and landlords. It grants no right to work.
OnlineWho: You
4
Book a DPS appointment immediately, and search the whole metroplex
Texas gives new residents 90 days, but appointment availability is the binding constraint. Because DFW has many DPS offices across several counties, checking Hurst, Cleburne, Weatherford and Denton as well as central Fort Worth often finds a slot weeks earlier than the nearest office. Book as soon as you have a Texas address you can evidence.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
5
Assemble lawful-presence evidence before the appointment
Texas requires proof of lawful presence for a driver licence, and issues a licence valid only for the duration of your authorised stay. Bring the passport, visa, I-94 and any approval notices — a missing document means rebooking, not a same-day fix.
In personWho: You
6
Work out which city and which school district your address is in
Fort Worth's boundary is irregular and the metroplex is a patchwork of incorporated cities — White Settlement, Westworth Village, River Oaks, Sansom Park, Benbrook, Saginaw, Haltom City, Everman, Forest Hill — several of which are wholly or partly surrounded by Fort Worth. School districts are a separate patchwork again, with more than a dozen serving the city. Check both against the exact address.
OnlineWho: You
7
Note the city services number — Fort Worth does not use 311
Potholes, code complaints, bulk pickup and water issues go through the city's customer care line or the MyFW app rather than a 311 line. Save the number before you need it.
Mobile appWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport with valid visa
I-94 admission record from the CBP website
Form SS-5 for a Social Security number, or IRS Form W-7 for an ITIN
Two proofs of a Texas residential address, as specified by DPS
Certified English translations of any non-English documents
Evidence of lawful presence — required for any Texas driver licence

Things most newcomers don’t know

Search every DPS office in the metroplex, not the nearest one.

Appointment availability varies enormously between offices in the same metro, and the DFW system covers a dozen counties. People book eight weeks out at the closest office when a suburban one thirty minutes away has something next week. This is the single highest-value ten minutes of admin in your first fortnight here — and it is an advantage Fort Worth has over a single-office city.

Source: Texas Department of Public Safety

Texas will not license a resident who cannot prove lawful presence.

Some states — Maryland, California, Illinois, Minnesota among them — issue a driving credential regardless of immigration status. Texas does not. That makes the driver licence a downstream consequence of your immigration paperwork, in a metro where being unable to drive is a serious practical constraint.

Source: Texas Department of Public Safety

Your address may not be in Fort Worth, and almost certainly is not in one obvious school district.

Fort Worth's boundary is irregular and it surrounds or abuts a dozen small incorporated cities with their own police, permits and codes. Independently of that, more than a dozen school districts carve up the city, and Fort Worth ISD serves only part of it. Two separate boundary questions, neither answered by the postal address, and the school one has the larger financial consequences.

Source: City of Fort Worth / Tarrant Appraisal District

The visa sticker's expiry is not your permission to stay.

A visa authorises travel to a port of entry; the officer there decides how long you may remain and records it on the I-94. People routinely plan around the wrong date and discover the error at renewal.

Source: US Customs and Border Protection — I-94 record

Common mistakes to avoid

Booking only the nearest DPS office when another in the metroplex is weeks earlier.
Visiting a Social Security office in the first week, before DHS records have synced.
Arriving at DPS without complete lawful-presence documentation.
Assuming Texas issues a licence regardless of status, as several other states do.
Assuming a Fort Worth postal address means Fort Worth ISD, or the City of Fort Worth.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.