If you take only one thing from this page: you have 15 days from your DWI arrest to request an ALR hearing, or your license is suspended automatically. No reminder letter saves you. No extension for weekends or holidays. Fifteen days.
What the ALR process is
ALR — Administrative License Revocation — is a civil process run by the Texas Department of Public Safety, completely separate from your criminal DWI case. When you're arrested for DWI and either fail (BAC 0.08+) or refuse a breath or blood test, the officer confiscates your license, hands you a temporary driving permit, and serves a suspension notice. From that moment:
- You have 15 days to request a hearing;
- If you don't, the suspension takes effect on the 40th day after the notice;
- If you do, the suspension is paused until your hearing is decided.
Suspension lengths if you lose (or don't fight)
| Scenario | First alcohol contact | With prior DWI/suspension history |
|---|---|---|
| Failed the test (BAC 0.08+) | 90 days | 1 year |
| Refused the test | 180 days | 2 years |
After any suspension, reinstatement costs $125 plus DPS fees and usually requires an SR-22 insurance filing.
Why attorneys love ALR hearings (even when they lose)
The ALR hearing is the one chance to put the arresting officer under oath before the prosecutor has prepped them. Your attorney can subpoena the officer, lock in their testimony, and obtain DPS's evidence — the same evidence the DA will use in your criminal case. If the officer doesn't appear, the suspension is dismissed outright. Defense attorneys treat it as free discovery with a license on the line.
What DPS must prove at the hearing
- If you failed the test: reasonable suspicion for the stop, probable cause for the arrest, and a BAC of 0.08 or higher on a properly administered test.
- If you refused: reasonable suspicion, probable cause, that you were properly asked, and that you actually refused.
Break any link in that chain — a bad stop, a defective warning, a test administered against protocol — and the suspension dies.
If your license is suspended anyway
You can usually petition for an occupational driver's license allowing essential driving (work, school, household duties), sometimes with an ignition interlock requirement. Your attorney handles that petition too.
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