Gregg 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 12, 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
Requesting an ALR hearing within 15 days doesn't just preserve your shot at keeping your license, it buys months of legal driving while the criminal case builds. Gregg County's hearing backlog routinely runs 90 to 120 days, and a timely request puts the automatic suspension on hold the entire time. Skip the request and the suspension takes effect on its own, on exactly the 40th day after arrest.
The 15-day window
When a driver fails a breath or blood test (0.08 BAC or higher) or refuses one, the arresting officer confiscates the physical license on the spot and issues a DIC-25, the Notice of Suspension. From that date, there are 15 calendar days, not business days, to formally request a hearing. Miss it and the right to contest the suspension is gone for good.
Where to send it, and how hearings run
Requests go to the DPS ALR online portal, or by fax or mail to DPS headquarters in Austin, not to any Gregg County office. Hearings used to happen in person at local courts; nearly all of them are now conducted by Zoom or phone through the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
The blood-draw exception that trips people up
Gregg County runs aggressive "No Refusal" enforcement, especially around holiday weekends, which means a high share of local DWI arrests come with a forced blood draw rather than a breath test. Blood results take time to come back from the lab. DPS explicitly instructs defendants in blood-failure cases not to request the ALR hearing until the notice of suspension is actually generated and mailed, once DPS has the toxicology report in hand. Filing early gets the request rejected, and a defendant who thinks they've already secured a hearing can miss the real deadline once the blood results finally clear and the actual notice goes out.
Why civil discovery matters here
An ALR hearing is a civil proceeding, and civil discovery rules give the defense early, sworn access to the arresting officer's testimony well before the criminal trial. A subpoena has to go out at least 40 days before the hearing, and the state then has 30 days to respond. Locking in the officer's account this early, under oath, gives defense counsel real leverage heading into plea negotiations months down the road.
Last updated: September 12, 2026
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