Caldwell County ALR Hearing Guide
How to request your Administrative License Revocation (ALR) Hearing and protect your driving privileges after a DWI arrest.
Last verified: September 13, 2026
15-Day Deadline
You have exactly 15 days from your arrest to request a hearing. Miss this deadline and your license is automatically suspended. No exceptions.
Enter your arrest date to see your deadline:
If You Request in Time
- • Temporary permit until hearing
- • Chance to keep your license
- • Gather evidence for defense
If You Miss the Deadline
- • Automatic 90-180 day suspension
- • No hearing, no appeal
- • Starts after waiting period
How to Request Your Hearing
Online Request
Fee: Typically $50-$125
Available: 24/7
Instant confirmation
Phone Request
Fee: Same as online
Hours: Business hours only
Expect hold times
Information You'll Need
From Your Notice:
- • Driver License Number
- • Date of Arrest
- • Arresting Agency
- • Arresting Officer Name
Personal Information:
- • Full Legal Name
- • Current Address
- • Date of Birth
- • Phone Number & Email
After You Request
Temporary Permit
ImmediateDrive legally until your hearing
Hearing Notice
20-40 daysDate, time, and format mailed to you
Prepare Defense
Before hearingGather evidence, hire attorney
Attend Hearing
Scheduled dateUsually phone or video
Decision
Same dayWin: keep license. Lose: suspension starts
Temporary Permit
Immediate
Drive until hearing
Hearing Notice
20-40 days
Date mailed to you
Prepare
Before hearing
Gather evidence
Attend Hearing
Scheduled
Phone or video
Decision
Same day
Win or suspension
What to Expect at the Hearing
Most hearings are by phone or video
You usually don't need to travel. When you receive your hearing notice, it will specify whether it's phone, video, or in-person.
Duration
30-60 minutes typically
Who's There
You, your attorney (optional), state attorney, hearing officer
What They Review
Probable cause for stop, proper arrest procedure, test validity
Evidence That Can Help
- Dashcam or bodycam footage showing procedural errors
- Breathalyzer calibration records (if not current)
- Witness statements about your sobriety
- Medical conditions affecting field sobriety tests
Should You Hire an Attorney?
With an Attorney
- Can subpoena arresting officer
- Knows how to challenge evidence
- Uses hearing to strengthen criminal defense
- Higher success rate at hearings
Without an Attorney
- State has experienced attorney present
- May not know proper objections
- Can't effectively cross-examine officers
- Lower win rate statistically
If You Lose Your Hearing
Losing the hearing isn't the end. You still have options to maintain limited driving privileges:
Ignition Interlock
Drive with device installed
Occupational License
Limited driving for work/essentials
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Guides
A lot of Caldwell County's DWI arrests come off State Highway 130 and US-183, which means they come from Texas Highway Patrol troopers rather than local police. That matters more than it sounds like it should at an ALR hearing: DPS troopers train extensively in Standardized Field Sobriety Testing, Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement, and Drug Recognition Expert protocols, and their reports go through a level of internal review a municipal officer's paperwork usually doesn't get. Finding the procedural gap that wins a hearing against a trooper's arrest report is measurably harder than against a city officer's.
The 15-day deadline doesn't bend
Refuse a breath or blood test, or fail one at 0.08 or higher, and the officer takes your physical license on the spot and hands you a DIC-25 — a temporary permit and a suspension notice in one document. From that date, you have exactly 15 calendar days to request a hearing. It's calculated in calendar days, and while procedural rules technically push a weekend deadline to the next business day, treating that as a safety margin is a bad bet. Miss the window and the suspension starts automatically on day 40, no appeal available. File through the DPS online portal rather than fax — it produces an immediate, time-stamped confirmation that a fax transmission report doesn't match for reliability.
Winning the case doesn't fix your license, and vice versa
The ALR hearing and the criminal case are entirely separate tracks. Beating the ALR and keeping your license does nothing to the criminal charge. A dismissed or reduced criminal case doesn't undo a suspension that's already taken effect — the only thing that reverses an ALR suspension after the fact is a full acquittal at trial. Because the ALR hearing only requires DPS to clear a preponderance-of-the-evidence bar, far lower than the criminal standard, outright wins are uncommon. Its real value is that it's essentially a free deposition: defense attorneys use it to put the arresting officer under oath months before the criminal trial, locking in their account of the stop and the field sobriety tests while the DA still has to prove everything beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
Reinstatement
If the suspension is upheld, reinstatement costs $125. There's no cost to request the hearing itself.
Last updated: September 13, 2026
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