What Is a Texas ALR Hearing, and How Do I Stop My License From Being Suspended After a DWI Arrest?

An ALR (Administrative License Revocation) hearing is a civil proceeding, separate from your criminal DWI case, where you contest the suspension of your driver's license. You have 15 days from being served notice to request one; miss it and your license is automatically suspended on the 40th day. Requesting the hearing pauses that suspension and opens a discovery window.

The Statute 

Two chapters of the Texas Transportation Code drive the ALR process, and which one applies depends on what happened at the roadside. 

• Chapter 524: Failed Test. Applies when you provided a breath or blood specimen and the result was an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more (Penal Code § 49.01(2)(B)), or any detectable alcohol if you are a minor. 
• Chapter 724: Refusal. Applies when you refused to provide a specimen. Texas is an "implied consent" state: under § 724.011, by driving on a public road you are deemed to have consented to testing if lawfully arrested for DWI. 

The operative deadlines and rules are the same in structure across both chapters: 

• 15-day deadline to request a hearing. Under § 524.031 (failed test) and § 724.041 (refusal), the Department of Public Safety (DPS) must receive your written request no later than the 15th day after you were served notice of suspension. 
• 40-day automatic suspension. Under § 524.021 and § 724.035(c), the suspension takes effect on the 40th day after notice, unless you timely request a hearing, which stays the suspension until an administrative law judge (ALJ) rules. 
• Length of suspension. For a failed test, § 524.022 sets 90 days with no alcohol- or drug-related enforcement contact in the prior 10 years, or one year if you have one or more. For a refusal, § 724.035 sets 180 days for a first refusal, or two years with a qualifying prior contact. 
• What must be proved. At the hearing, DPS carries the burden by a preponderance of the evidence. Under § 524.035 (failed test), the issues are whether reasonable suspicion or probable cause existed to stop or arrest you, and whether your alcohol concentration was 0.08 or more. Under § 724.042 (refusal), DPS must show the stop/arrest was justified, that there was probable cause to believe you were driving while intoxicated, that you were arrested and asked for a specimen, and that you refused. 
• Who hears it. Under § 524.033 (failed test) and § 724.041 (refusal), the hearing is conducted by an administrative law judge (ALJ) employed by the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH), not DPS and not the criminal court.

What It Means in Practice 

The clock is short and unforgiving. The 15 days run from when you were served the notice of suspension (typically the DIC-25 form the officer hands you at arrest, which also serves as a temporary driving permit). The days are counted on the calendar, including weekends and holidays; if the 15th day itself falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline generally extends to the next business day under the Code Construction Act (Tex. Gov't Code § 311.014(b)). But because DPS must actually receive the request by the deadline, do not wait until the last day.  Miss the window, and you lose the right to a hearing; the suspension simply takes effect on day 40 with no further process. 

Requesting the hearing keeps you driving. A timely request stays the suspension. You keep a valid license until the ALJ issues a decision, which is often weeks or months out. For many clients, that alone is a reason to request the hearing: it preserves your ability to get to work while the criminal case is pending. 

The hearing is narrow and civil. SOAH hearings are decided by an ALJ, not a jury, and are frequently held by telephone or video. DPS must prove the limited issues listed above. If DPS does not prove every required issue, the ALJ does not sustain the suspension, and your license is reinstated. If DPS prevails, the suspension begins, and you may then apply for an occupational (essential need) driver's license to keep driving for work, school, and household needs.  

You can compel the officer to show up. When you request the hearing, your attorney can subpoena the arresting officer to testify under oath. This is the strategic heart of the ALR process, discussed further below. 

Winning the ALR does not end the criminal case, and losing it does not decide it. The two proceedings run on separate tracks with different burdens, different decision-makers, and different consequences. The ALR affects only your license; the criminal DWI charge is prosecuted separately in county or district court. 

Failed Test vs. Refusal: How the Two Tracks Compare

Common Misconceptions

Myth: "The ALR hearing decides whether I'm guilty of DWI." 
It does not. The ALR is a civil license matter. Guilt or innocence of the criminal DWI charge is decided separately in criminal court, under a much higher burden (beyond a reasonable doubt). An ALJ cannot convict you or put you in jail. 

Myth: "If I lose the ALR, I'll be convicted of DWI." 
No. Losing the ALR means your license is suspended; it is not a criminal conviction and does not automatically decide the criminal case. The criminal DWI charge is litigated separately, on its own record and under its own, higher burden of proof. 

Myth: "There's no point requesting a hearing, I'll just lose." 
Requesting the hearing stays the suspension so you keep driving in the meantime, and it gives your attorney a chance to put the arresting officer's testimony on the record under oath. That testimony is often among the most useful things a defense obtains before trial. Skipping the request forfeits both. 

Myth: "Refusing the test protects my license." 
Refusing avoids providing a chemical number, but it triggers a longer administrative suspension (180 days minimum, versus 90 days for a failed first test) and the officer's report of the refusal becomes its own issue. 

How It Affects Your Case

The ALR hearing is best understood as early, low-cost discovery for your criminal defense. Because your attorney can subpoena the arresting officer and question them under oath, often months before any criminal trial setting, the ALR can do three things a defense lawyer values: 

1. It can lock in the officer's testimony. Whatever the officer says under oath at SOAH becomes a fixed account. If their trial testimony later shifts, that inconsistency can become impeachment material. 
2. It surfaces the State's paperwork and video. The process typically brings the officer's sworn report (form DIC-23), the statutory warning read to you (DIC-24), and the notice of suspension/temporary driving permit (DIC-25), and it gives your attorney reason to demand the dashcam and body-worn camera footage early. Weaknesses in the stop, the field sobriety testing, or the reading of the statutory warnings often show up here first. 
3. It builds the record for a motion to suppress. If the stop lacked reasonable suspicion or the arrest lacked probable cause, the facts developed at the ALR can support a suppression motion in the criminal case, a challenge that can, in the right case, exclude the State's evidence. 

None of this guarantees a particular result, and every case turns on its own facts. But letting the 15-day deadline lapse throws all of it away. That is why the first thing to do after a DWI arrest is calendar the deadline and request the hearing, ideally through counsel who will appear and cross-examine.

Talk to a Texas DWI Lawyer: Free Case Review

The 15-day clock starts at arrest. Do not let it run out. 

📞 Call (737) 324-7540 for a free, confidential case review.
Lance Kennedy Law: Texas criminal defense, based in Austin with service in San Antonio. We request your ALR hearing, appear at SOAH, and use it to fight the criminal case. 

Pair this page with our ALR Deadline Calculator to see exactly when your 15-day request is due and when a suspension would take effect. 

Related Reading 

• Texas DWI Defense: The Complete Overview 
• ALR Deadline Calculator 
• Refusing a Breath or Blood Test in Texas: What Happens 
• Occupational (Essential Need) Driver's Licenses in Texas 
• Texas DWI First Offense: Penalties and Process