Driving for Uber and Lyft in San Antonio: Requirements, Sign-Up, and How the Work Really Pays

Texas runs rideshare, not the city

Since 2017, Texas law (House Bill 100, now Occupations Code Chapter 2402) licenses rideshare companies — called transportation network companies, or TNCs — through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The state holds the exclusive power to regulate the apps, their drivers, and their vehicles: San Antonio cannot make you get a city permit, a city license, or pay a city fee to drive for Uber or Lyft.

The state sets the floor for drivers. Before a TNC lets you log in, it must confirm you are at least 18, hold a valid driver's license, and have registration and insurance for your car. It must also run a criminal background check and review your driving record — and repeat those checks every year. The one place local control survives is the airport: the airport operator may set its own rules for rideshare work on its property, which is why the airport section below matters.

What Uber asks for in San Antonio

Uber's San Antonio driver pages list the basics: meet the minimum age to drive in your city, drive an eligible 4-door vehicle, hold a valid US driver's license, and have at least one year of licensed driving experience — three years if you are under 25. The app asks for your license, proof of residency, vehicle insurance if you drive your own car, and your Social Security number for the screening and background check.

Uber does not publish a single Texas minimum age on its public pages — the exact age for San Antonio is confirmed inside the app during sign-up, on top of the state's 18-and-over floor and Uber's experience rule. If you are under 25, plan on the three-year experience requirement being the part that decides it.

What Lyft asks for in Texas

Lyft publishes its Texas requirements as a statewide list. The headline items:

Lyft also runs a driver screening covering your driving history and a criminal background check, and requires a smartphone that can run the Lyft Driver app. If your car does not qualify, Lyft's Express Drive program rents cars to approved drivers, with standard insurance included.

• Age 25 or older
• A valid driver's license (a temporary or out-of-state license is acceptable)
• A 2009 or newer vehicle with 4 doors and 5 to 8 seats, including the driver's seat, and a valid license plate
• Proof of vehicle insurance
• Proof of your Texas Two Step inspection and registration sticker
• A driver profile photo

The record that keeps you off the apps

Texas law lists the convictions that bar a driver from logging in, and the apps must enforce them. In the 3 years before your record is checked: more than 3 moving violations, reckless driving, fleeing or trying to elude police, or driving without a valid license all disqualify you. In the 7 years before: a DWI, using a vehicle to commit a felony, a felony involving property damage, fraud, theft, an act of violence, or an act of terrorism. Anyone on the national sex offender registry is barred outright.

Both apps also work under the state's zero-tolerance rule: no intoxicating substances while logged in, ever. A single violation ends the discussion.

Insurance: two sets of numbers to know

Texas Insurance Code Chapter 1954 sets the coverage that must be in force while you drive. While you are logged in and waiting for a ride: at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for bodily injury, plus $25,000 for property damage. Once you have accepted a ride: a $1 million total limit per incident. If your own policy lapses or falls short, the TNC's coverage must respond from the first dollar of a claim.

What the law does not do is make your personal policy rideshare-friendly. Many personal policies exclude driving for hire, so check yours before your first trip — a gap between your policy and the app's coverage is exactly where drivers get hurt financially.

Working the airport queue

San Antonio International runs rideshare on a first-in, first-out queue. Per Uber's airport guide, drivers wait in the staging area at the former public cell phone lot on the corner of Airport Blvd and Northern Blvd, keep the app open while on airport property, and take pickups on the arrivals (lower) level outside Terminal A in the outer lanes — the inner lanes closest to the terminal are not for rideshare. Drop-offs go to the departures area at the rider's terminal.

You lose your queue spot if you go offline, leave the zone, or keep declining or cancelling requests. If the rider cancels, you keep your place at the top. Our separate SAT guide covers the free public cell phone lot, this year's curbside construction, and when the airport actually gets busy.

What it pays — the honest version

Uber's own San Antonio page cites a median of $24.12 per hour for local drivers, from its data for September 21 to October 19, 2026. That is Uber's marketing figure, it is gross — before gas, maintenance, tires, and depreciation on your own car — and Uber itself notes actual earnings vary. Treat it as the apps' best case, not a promise.

The drivers who make rideshare work treat it like a schedule, not a slot machine: airport banks in the morning and evening, downtown on weekend nights, and event surges like Spurs games. Our pay breakdown for delivery and gig work in San Antonio compares the official numbers across all of it.