Kaufman 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
Hiring a good criminal defense attorney for the Kaufman County courthouse does nothing to protect a driver's license. That's handled entirely separately, out of Austin, by the State Office of Administrative Hearings, and it requires its own affirmative action within 15 calendar days of the arrest. Defendants who assume their criminal lawyer has it covered are often the ones who lose their license by default.
The 15-day deadline
The clock starts the night of the arrest, when the officer confiscates the physical license and hands over a paper temporary permit. Requests can go through the DPS Secure Mail portal, which timestamps the filing digitally, or by certified mail or fax to DPS headquarters in Austin. There's no fee to request the hearing, though a $125 reinstatement fee applies later if the suspension is upheld. Miss the 15 days and the suspension takes effect automatically on the 40th day after arrest, no exceptions.
Why request it even beyond saving the license
The hearing lets defense counsel subpoena the arresting officer and cross-examine them under oath about the stop and the field sobriety tests, locking in their account months before the criminal trial. Filing through the DPS online portal is the fastest way to secure that advantage, and most hearings now run by Zoom or phone through a SOAH administrative law judge.
The blood-test waiting game
Kaufman County leans heavily on multi-jurisdictional task forces and "No Refusal" blood draws when a breath test is refused. For a blood case, DPS advises against filing the ALR request until the formal written notice of suspension actually arrives in the mail, and Texas's toxicology lab backlog means that notice can take 3 to 6 months to show up after the arrest. If the mailing address on file with DPS is out of date by then, the 15-day window can open and close without the defendant ever knowing, ending in an automatic suspension. Keeping that address current the moment an arrest happens is the only real defense against it.
Last updated: September 12, 2026
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