The 15-Day / 40-Day ALR Timeline: Texas 2026

Every Texas DWI arrest opens a second, civil case against your driver's license, and this chart puts that case on a single timeline. It runs from Day 0, the arrest and notice of suspension, through the 15-day window to demand an Administrative License Revocation (ALR) hearing, to Day 40, when the suspension starts automatically if nothing was filed. It also covers the Day 5 rule for mailed notice, the typical weeks 4 to 10 hearing window at the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH), the fork between requesting the hearing and missing the deadline, and a table of suspension lengths for failed tests and refusals.

How to read this chart

Start at the left edge of the track. Day 0 is the arrest, when the officer serves the notice of suspension. The orange segment is your 15-day window, and the red Day 15 callout marks the hard deadline: DPS must receive the written hearing request by that day, at its headquarters in Austin, by fax or another manner DPS prescribes. The gray segment after Day 15 is dead time. If nothing was filed, the countdown simply runs until Day 40, where the dark red segment begins, and the suspension takes effect automatically.

Two notes sit below the track. The Day 5 note covers mailed notice, which the chart flags as common in blood-draw cases: when DPS mails the notice instead of the officer serving it, the notice is presumed received on the fifth day after mailing, and both the 15-day and 40-day clocks start on that date, not the arrest date. The green band shows the hearing window: a timely-requested hearing is usually set in weeks 4 to 10, and not earlier than the 11th day after you get notice of the setting unless that is waived. The chart is explicit that this window reflects typical SOAH practice, not a statutory guarantee.

The two cards below the timeline show the fork. Request the hearing by Day 15 and the suspension does not begin on Day 40; it is stayed until the judge's final decision. DPS carries the burden to prove the stop, the arrest, and the failure or refusal, and the statute requires reinstatement if DPS falls short on any element. The hearing can also put the arresting officer under oath months before the criminal trial. Let Day 15 pass and the hearing right is gone: the suspension starts automatically on Day 40, may not be probated, and the fallback is an occupational (essential need) license for limited driving.

The table at the bottom gives suspension lengths for adult drivers. A failed test, meaning breath or blood at 0.08 or more, draws 90 days on a first offense and 1 year with an alcohol or drug-related enforcement contact in the prior 10 years. A refusal draws 180 days on a first offense and 2 years with a prior contact. The chart's framing note matters: the ALR case is civil and runs separately from the criminal DWI charge, although an acquittal on the criminal charge requires DPS to rescind the ALR suspension. Minors face different suspension periods of 60, 120, or 180 days.