⚠️  The 15-day deadline

When you fail or refuse a breath or blood test in Texas, the officer typically confiscates your license and hands you a notice of suspension (form DIC-25). That notice doubles as a temporary driving permit — and it starts a clock.

You have 15 days from the date you receive that notice to request an ALR hearing. Miss the window and your suspension begins automatically on the 40th day after notice — no hearing, no fight, no review.

Request the hearing on time and your license remains valid until the hearing is decided. That alone often keeps clients driving legally for weeks or months longer.

When you hire our firm on a DWI, requesting and handling the ALR hearing is part of the representation. We calendar the deadline the day you retain us.

📜  What an ALR hearing actually is

The ALR process is a civil, administrative proceeding under Texas Transportation Code Chapters 524 and 724. It is about one thing only: whether the Department of Public Safety may suspend your driver’s license.

It is completely separate from your criminal DWI case. A different judge, a different agency, a different standard. Losing the ALR hearing does not make you guilty of DWI, and winning it does not dismiss your criminal charge.

The hearing is decided by an administrative law judge at the State Office of Administrative Hearings. For Central Texas cases, SOAH operates out of the William P. Clements Building, 300 W. 15th St, Austin — but most ALR hearings are conducted by telephone, which is one more reason your personal attendance is not part of the process.

⚖️  What DPS has to prove

At the hearing, DPS carries the burden. In a test-failure case, DPS must prove the officer had a lawful basis for the stop, probable cause to arrest, and that you had an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more while operating a motor vehicle in a public place.

In a refusal case, DPS must prove the stop and arrest were lawful, that you were properly warned of the consequences of refusing, and that you actually refused testing.

If DPS fails to carry that burden on any required element, the suspension is not authorized and you keep your license.

🎯  Why the hearing matters beyond your license

The ALR hearing is one of the most valuable early tools in a DWI defense — even in cases where the suspension odds are long.

We can subpoena the arresting officer to testify under oath, months before your criminal case is decided. That locks in the officer’s version of the stop, the field sobriety tests, and the arrest — testimony we can use to challenge the criminal case later.

If a properly subpoenaed officer fails to appear, the suspension can be defeated on that basis alone.

Either way, the hearing forces early discovery of the evidence against you. It is a preview of the State’s case, and we take it every time it serves the defense.

📅  What’s at stake: suspension lengths

Failed a breath or blood test (0.08 or more): 90 days for a first offense, or 1 year if you have an alcohol- or drug-related enforcement contact within the preceding 10 years.

Refused testing: 180 days for a first refusal, or 2 years with a prior contact within 10 years.

Refusal suspensions are longer than failure suspensions — a detail that surprises many people, and one of several reasons every case deserves a hearing request.

🚗  If the suspension goes through

Losing the ALR hearing rarely means you stop driving. Most clients qualify for an occupational driver’s license (ODL) — a court-ordered restricted license that allows driving to work, school, and essential household duties during the suspension.

We handle ODL applications for our clients so the transition is seamless if a suspension takes effect.

🤵  Your role as a client

Simple: tell us everything about the stop while it is fresh, get us the paperwork from your arrest, and let us handle the rest.

You will not appear at the hearing. You will not testify. We appear for you, cross-examine the officer when it serves the defense, and report the result to you the same day.

Your attorney’s specific instructions for your case always control — this guide is general background information only.