Bandera County ALR Hearing Guide

Fifteen days. That's the entire window a Bandera County driver has to request a hearing contesting an automatic license suspension after a DWI arrest, and the clock starts on the arrest date itself, not the date of conviction or even the date charges get filed. Miss it, and the suspension takes effect automatically on the 41st day, with no hearing available afterward.

The request can't go to the Bandera courthouse. Texas routes every Administrative License Revocation filing through DPS headquarters in Austin, whether by fax to 512-424-2650, the DPS online portal, or certified mail for proof of delivery. Someone who assumes the local court clerk can process this loses real time tracking down the right office instead.

The hearing itself runs through the State Office of Administrative Hearings, and the venue has shifted in Bandera's favor. These used to sit in person at the San Antonio SOAH field office; most now run by phone or Zoom instead, so a Bandera defendant no longer has to make the drive to contest a suspension. DPS carries the burden of proof at a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard, meaning it has to show both reasonable suspicion for the stop and probable cause for the arrest. Subpoenaing the arresting officer is a real defense tactic here — if a DPS trooper with a packed patrol schedule or a deputy coming off night shift doesn't show, the suspension can get dismissed by default.

If the suspension holds, driving again legally means petitioning for an occupational license in whichever court originally had jurisdiction over the case, either Bandera County Court or the 198th District Court. That takes an SR-22 insurance certificate, a certified abstract of the driving record, and a filing fee, and the judge still has to sign the order in person, which in Bandera means coordinating with that judge's coordinator to get a docket slot or an in-chambers signature, since neither court sits full-time on this kind of civil paperwork.