What is an Administrative License Revocation (ALR) hearing?
If your license is suspended because of a DWI arrest, the suspension can be contested in an administrative license revocation hearing, which is held before an administrative judge in the State Office of Administrative Hearings. The hearing must be requested within 15 days of the arrest. At the hearing, the Department of Public Safety must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the officer had reasonable suspicion to detain the person, as well as probable cause to arrest the person for DWI. The Department also must prove that the person, after being properly warned by the officer, either refused the test or took the test, and the test showed that the person had an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more while driving a motor vehicle. If the DPS Judge finds a failure to prove any of these issues, your license will not be suspended at the hearing. Disclaimer: The information contained on this website may provide you general legal information but is not intended to actually give legal
The ALR hearing is also known as a license suspension hearing. This is a civil proceeding regarding the suspension of your driver’s license and/or privilege as a result of a DUI or DWI offense. This is a matter completely separate from the criminal proceedings that may be pending regarding the same incident. If you chose to request a hearing, the Texas Department of Public Safety must receive the request no later than 15 days following receipt of the Notice of Suspension. This notice is usually received on the date of offense. If you do not request a hearing, your license will be suspended on the 41st day following receipt of the Notice of Suspension for a period set out in the Texas Transportation Code as follows: Over 21 and gave a breath/blood specimen with an alcohol concentration of .08 or higher — 90 days Refused to give a specimen of breath/blood for analysis when requested, regardless of age — 180 days Under 21 and not requested to give a specimen of breath/blood for analys
