Hood County ALR Hearing Guide

Hood County splits its DPS driver license services across two offices, and picking the wrong one wastes a trip. The Granbury location, Annex 3 at 1402 W. Pearl St, is a partial-service office with no public phone line and a $5 surcharge just to use it, and it closes for lunch from noon to 1 p.m. like most county offices here. Anything more complex than a basic renewal, including the reinstatement paperwork that follows a DWI suspension, has to go through the full-service office 105 Pine Lane in Tolar instead.

The Granbury annex won't take a walk-in if only one clerk is on duty that day, which in practice means treating it as appointment-only. Appointments go through the statewide scheduling portal at public.txdpsscheduler.com or the office's lobby kiosk.

The Administrative License Revocation hearing deadline is 15 calendar days from the date the suspension notice is served, usually the arrest date itself, and it's counted in calendar days, not business days. If the deadline falls on a weekend or state holiday it generally rolls to the next business day, but that's a poor plan to rely on. Miss the window entirely and the license suspension takes effect automatically on the 40th day after arrest. Requesting through the DPS online portal generates a timestamped digital receipt on the spot, which is worth more as proof than a mailed or faxed request. Hearings themselves run in person, by phone, or by video, depending on how the State Office of Administrative Hearings schedules the case.

Local county commissioners have pushed for a permanent, eight-workstation full-service DPS office near Acton Elementary, citing how inadequate the current Granbury annex is. Until that gets built and funded, some Hood County residents end up driving into neighboring Parker or Tarrant counties just to get a timely appointment for a reinstatement.

An ignition interlock device requires calibration roughly every 30 days, and only three certified installers serve the entire county, which makes appointment slots genuinely scarce. Courts often give a narrow window, sometimes as little as 14 days from the order, to show a probation officer that the device is installed, so contacting an installer the same day as the court date matters. One shop in Granbury services multiple certified device brands. A second location handles installation, monthly calibration, and final removal. A third shop is a fixed installation site for another certified brand.

An SR-22 isn't something to pick up locally. It's filed electronically straight to Texas DPS in Austin by a high-risk insurance underwriter, with no need to visit a Hood County office at all, and it's required to reinstate a suspended license or apply for an occupational driver's license.