Bexar County DUI Guide

Bexar County's jail will not release someone arrested for DWI the moment a bond is posted. Detention staff hold intoxicated arrestees until they're no longer a danger to themselves, a "cool down" period that typically runs six to twelve hours regardless of how fast a bondsman moves. Understanding that one detail changes how a family should plan the first night after an arrest in San Antonio.

Booking and the sobriety hold

Anyone arrested for DWI in Bexar County is taken to the Bexar County Adult Detention Center at 200 North Comal Street, which runs booking and intake around the clock, every day of the year. There's no statutory clock on the sobriety hold itself. Jail and magistrate staff are authorized to keep someone in a holding cell until their blood alcohol level has come down enough that they're not a risk to themselves or anyone else, which in practice tends to mean six to twelve hours even after a bond is paid.

To find out where someone landed, two separate tools cover two separate stages. The Central Magistrate Search lists people arrested for Class B misdemeanors or higher within roughly the last 24 hours, before they've been fully booked. Once someone has been booked, classified, and moved into general population, the automated Inmate/Bond Information Line (210-335-6201) takes over; it requires the person's full name and date of birth.

There's one narrow way to avoid the ADC altogether. Under San Antonio Police Department Procedure 507, an officer has discretion to skip the jail for a driver 21 or older who blows below 0.08 and isn't otherwise impaired or facing other charges. In that narrow case, the person may instead be taken to the Growdon Storage Facility to collect their car and be released to a responsible party. The DWI charge itself stays active either way; this only changes where the night ends.

Magistration and bond conditions

Class B misdemeanors and above go through Central Magistration at 200 N. Comal St., where fingerprints and photos are taken and identity is checked against state and national databases. A magistrate judge sees the defendant, usually well inside 48 hours, to state the charges, find probable cause, set bond, and impose initial release conditions. For DWI specifically, magistrates routinely order an ignition interlock device on any vehicle the defendant drives, especially when the alleged BAC was 0.15 or higher or the defendant has a prior conviction. A no-alcohol condition and a ban on driving without a valid license are also common.

There's no such thing as an automatic personal recognizance bond for first offenders in Bexar County, no matter what's commonly assumed. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 17.028 bars magistrates from using a standing order that sets bail without weighing the individual's circumstances. What does exist is a Pretrial Services interview process that screens non-violent, first-time defendants who live in the county, aren't on parole or another bond, and aren't charged with a disqualifying offense; the PR Bonds office can be reached at 210-335-8964.

Defendants surrendering on an active warrant for an eligible non-violent offense have another option: the Booking and Release Satellite Office in the basement of the Bexar County Courthouse, 100 Dolorosa St., Suite B10.2. It allows a warrant to be processed and bond posted without ever going through general population booking, but only if the bond amount is already set and the charge doesn't involve violence, a sex offense, or a child victim. Calling 210-335-2592 first to confirm eligibility is worth doing before showing up.

Posting bond

Most people post bail through a commercial surety bond, arranged through a licensed bail bondsman; this site's directory lists options serving the county. The standard premium is 10% of the bond amount, and it's a fee for the bondsman's service, not a deposit: it isn't refunded even if the case is later dismissed. Whoever co-signs for the bond is agreeing to cover the entire bond amount, not just the premium, if the defendant skips court, and bondsmen commonly ask for collateral to secure that risk.

The Bexar County Bail Bond Board licenses surety companies and investigates complaints under Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1704. If a bondsman won't return collateral or engages in shady practices, the Board is the place to file a complaint.

Vehicle impound

Which agency towed the car determines where it ends up. SAPD tows go to the City of San Antonio Vehicle Impound Facility on Growdon Road, run under contract by a private wrecker company; it's open 24/7 for release, though a hold lift or ownership dispute usually needs regular business hours. Bexar County Sheriff's Office tows go to a separate lot, Texas Towing at 422 Steves Ave. Call ahead, since fees and hours can differ from the city contract.

To get a vehicle back you need valid photo ID, proof of ownership (title, current registration, or a notarized TDLR right-of-possession form if you're picking it up for someone else), and full payment of the accrued fees. Texas regulation bars a storage facility from refusing to release the vehicle just because you lack proof of insurance, but you still can't legally drive it away without insurance. You'll need a private tow to get it off the lot. Storage fees run in the neighborhood of $20 a day on top of the initial tow charge, and a vehicle left unclaimed 30 days after notice is sent becomes eligible for public auction, with the towing company able to pursue you for any shortfall between what it sold for and what you owed.

If the tow itself looks illegal, whether for lack of probable cause or signage that doesn't meet code on private property, the Texas Towing and Booting Act (Occupations Code § 2308.456) gives you the right to a hearing. The window is tight: a request must reach the Justice of the Peace court for the precinct where the tow happened before the 14th day after impound (weekends and holidays don't count toward that window). The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation sets the release rules storage facilities have to follow. Anyone who can't cover the filing fee can ask the court to waive it with a sworn statement of inability to pay.

Which court hears the case

Bexar County splits DWI cases by severity. A first or second DWI is a misdemeanor and goes to one of the county's Statutory County Courts at Law, based out of the Cadena-Reeves Justice Center at 300 Dolorosa St. A third DWI, a DWI with a child passenger, or intoxication assault or manslaughter is a felony and moves to a Criminal District Court instead, with the possibility of state prison time rather than county jail.

Repeat offenders with a diagnosed alcohol use disorder may be eligible for the county's DWI Court, formally the Treatment Recovery Accountability Court (TRAC-D), presided over by Judge Helen Petry Stowe. It trades incarceration for a structured, closely supervised recovery track, with biweekly court check-ins, frequent testing, and mandatory counseling. Completing it can mean reduced fines or avoided jail time; falling short brings swift sanctions instead. It's reserved for defendants classified as high risk and high need who don't have a violent history and aren't already in another specialty court.

Separately, some first-time defendants with no prior record may qualify for pretrial diversion, which can end in dismissal and eventual expunction rather than a conviction. The Bexar County District Attorney's office has tightened who qualifies in recent years, and applicants are generally required to admit guilt in writing as a condition of entry, an admission that can be used against them if they're later removed from the program for a violation.

The license suspension clock

Separately from the criminal case, Texas runs a civil license suspension process under Transportation Code Chapter 724's implied-consent rules. After a DWI arrest, the officer reads a statutory warning (the DIC-24) and, if the driver refuses testing or fails it, confiscates the physical license and issues a DIC-25 temporary permit good for 40 days. If nothing is filed, the suspension takes effect on its own around 40 days after the arrest. A first-offense failure typically means 90 days suspended, a first-offense refusal 180 days, and both roughly double for a second offense or later.

The only way to stop that clock is to request an Administrative License Revocation hearing within 15 calendar days of the arrest, whether online, by fax, or by certified mail to DPS headquarters in Austin. There's no local drop box for this; a request left at a San Antonio DPS office or the local hearing office doesn't count. A timely request keeps the temporary permit valid until the hearing is decided, and those hearings, run by the State Office of Administrative Hearings rather than DPS, are usually conducted over Zoom and can take months to get scheduled given the backlog.

If the suspension goes through anyway, Bexar County courts can grant an Occupational Driver's License for essential travel to work, school, or household needs. Local courts tend to favor a logbook restriction, recording the date, time, destination, and purpose of every trip, over a fixed driving schedule, which gives more flexibility to people with irregular hours. Between the county filing fee, an SR-22 filing, and the DPS reinstatement fee, getting an ODL in place typically costs several hundred dollars. Once a suspension is actually lifted, the San Antonio driver license mega center handles reissuing the physical license, and it's appointment-only.

Ignition interlock devices

When a magistrate or a court orders an interlock as a bond condition or as part of sentencing, the device has to come from a provider on the Texas Department of Public Safety's approved list. Not just any installer will satisfy the order. The unit blocks the engine from starting if it detects alcohol on the driver's breath, and it also demands random rolling retests while the car is in motion; a missed retest, a failed test, or any sign of tampering gets reported and can extend the requirement or trigger a bond revocation. Once the ordered period is up, the provider removes the device and issues documentation that has to go to DPS before the restriction comes off the license.