How Does the ALR Hearing Process Work in Travis County?
Most people arrested for DWI in Austin have never heard of an ALR hearing before the night of their arrest. By the time they find out it exists, they sometimes have only days left to request one. That is not an accident — the Administrative License Revocation process runs on its own timeline, completely separate from the criminal case, and the window to act is narrow enough that missing it costs you your license before your DWI case has barely started.
Understanding how the ALR process works in Travis County — what it is, what happens at the hearing, and what it can accomplish — is essential if you want to protect your driving privileges and build the strongest possible defense.
What Is an ALR Hearing?
An ALR hearing is an administrative proceeding, not a criminal court hearing. It is governed by Texas Transportation Code Chapter 724 and handled by the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH), not by the Travis County courts. The purpose is narrow: to determine whether the Texas Department of Public Safety has grounds to suspend your driver’s license following a DWI arrest.
The ALR process is triggered in one of two ways. Under Texas Transportation Code § 724.032, if you submitted to a breath or blood test and the result was a BAC of 0.08 or higher, DPS will move to suspend your license for 90 days on a first offense. If you refused to provide a specimen under § 724.035, the suspension period is 180 days for a first refusal. Either way, the clock on your 15-day deadline starts the moment you are arrested.
The 15-Day Deadline
Under Texas Transportation Code § 724.041, you have 15 days from the date of your DWI arrest to request an ALR hearing. Not 15 business days. 15 calendar days. If that deadline passes without a request, your license suspension becomes automatic when your 40-day temporary driving permit expires.
Requesting the hearing accomplishes two things immediately. It stops the automatic suspension from taking effect while the hearing is pending — in practice, that can extend your full driving privileges by several months depending on SOAH’s docket. And it puts DPS in the position of having to appear and prove its case before an administrative law judge rather than suspending your license by default.
The request is filed with SOAH. An experienced Austin DWI attorney will handle this on your behalf as soon as you retain counsel, which is why contacting a lawyer quickly after a DWI arrest matters beyond just the criminal case.
What DPS Has to Prove
The ALR hearing is not a full trial. The administrative law judge is deciding a limited set of questions. In a breath or blood test case, DPS must establish that a peace officer had reasonable suspicion to stop you or probable cause to arrest you, that you were placed under arrest, and that a specimen analysis showed a BAC of 0.08 or higher. In a refusal case, DPS must establish the stop, the arrest, that you were informed of the consequences of refusal under Texas Transportation Code § 724.015, and that you refused to provide a specimen.
DPS bears the burden of proof on each element. If DPS cannot meet that burden — or if your attorney can successfully challenge any element — the suspension does not go into effect.
How the Hearing Actually Works
ALR hearings in Travis County are typically conducted by phone or videoconference, though in-person hearings can be requested. The hearing is presided over by a SOAH administrative law judge. DPS is represented by its own attorneys. Your attorney appears on your behalf.
The primary witness DPS relies on is the arresting officer. Your attorney has the right to subpoena that officer to testify under oath. This is one of the most strategically valuable aspects of the ALR process. The officer’s sworn testimony about the stop, the observations leading to arrest, the administration of field sobriety tests, and the request for a breath or blood specimen becomes part of the record — and that record exists before the criminal case in Travis County county court or district court has advanced to a point where the prosecution would normally share that information.
In other words, the ALR hearing is an early deposition of the arresting officer. What the officer says under oath at the ALR hearing, and whether it is consistent with the police report, can directly inform how the criminal defense is built.
Your attorney can also challenge the admissibility of the breath or blood test results. The Texas Department of Public Safety maintains breath testing instruments and certifies operators. If the instrument was not properly calibrated, if the operator was not properly certified, or if the testing protocol was not followed, those issues can be raised at the ALR hearing. In blood test cases, chain of custody and laboratory procedures are subject to scrutiny.
What Happens After the Hearing
If you win the ALR hearing, DPS cannot suspend your license administratively based on that arrest. The suspension does not happen. That does not end the criminal case — the two proceedings are independent — but it removes one significant consequence from the table.
If DPS prevails, the administrative law judge issues a suspension order. The length depends on whether the case involved a failed test or a refusal, and whether you have prior DWI history. For a first-offense failed test, the suspension is 90 days. For a first refusal, 180 days.
Even with a suspension in place, you may be eligible to petition for an occupational driver’s license in Travis County court, which allows limited driving for work, school, and medical appointments. The ALR outcome also does not bind the criminal court — a judge or jury in the criminal case makes its own findings based on the evidence at trial.
How the ALR Hearing Connects to the Criminal Case
The connection between the ALR hearing and the criminal case is real and strategic. The sworn testimony obtained from the arresting officer at the ALR hearing can be used in the criminal case for impeachment if the officer’s account at trial differs from what was said under oath at the administrative hearing. DPS records obtained through the ALR process — calibration logs, certification records, blood sample documentation — can be used in the criminal defense as well.
Attorneys who handle DWI cases regularly in Travis County understand this. The ALR hearing is not just about the license. It is the first opportunity to test the government’s case, see the officer under oath, and identify weaknesses before the criminal proceedings reach a critical stage.
Gary Barton is Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization — a credential held by fewer than two percent of Texas attorneys in the state. Before founding Barton & Associates, he prosecuted felony cases in Bexar County, serving as the youngest Major Crimes Unit chief in Texas history and trying more than 100 jury trials. That experience on both sides of the courtroom is what informs how we approach ALR hearings and the criminal cases that run alongside them.
If you were arrested for DWI in Austin, the 15-day ALR deadline may already be running. Call our Austin office at 512-THE-FIRM (843-3476) or use the Schedule a Free Consultation form on our website. Do not wait.
