Midland County ALR Hearing Guide

A blood-test DWI in Midland County creates a strange gap where nothing happens, and that gap can quietly cost you your license. Under Texas Transportation Code Chapter 524, the 15-day clock to request an ALR hearing doesn't even start until DPS mails a formal Notice of Suspension, and that notice can't go out until the state crime lab returns the actual BAC results. Given how backlogged those labs are, especially after one of Midland's frequent "No Refusal" enforcement weekends, the notice can arrive weeks or months after the arrest. The 20-day response window then starts on the day DPS mails it, not the day it shows up in your mailbox, so an outdated address on file with DPS can mean a default suspension before the letter is ever opened.

The 15-day deadline, when it does apply

For a breath test failure or an outright refusal, the clock starts immediately: 15 calendar days from the date the DIC-25 Notice of Suspension is served, which for those two situations is the date of arrest itself. Miss it, and the license is automatically suspended on the 40th day after arrest, no exceptions. Requests can go by mail to DPS in Austin, by fax (512-424-2650 for DPS, or 512-522-5263 directly to the State Office of Administrative Hearings), or through the DPS online portal. There's no fee to request the hearing, though a $125 reinstatement fee applies later if the suspension is upheld.

Why the hearing is worth requesting even if you expect to lose

DPS only has to prove its case by a preponderance of the evidence, more likely than not, rather than the criminal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt. That makes an outright win statistically unlikely. The real value is discovery: subpoenaing the arresting Midland PD officer or sheriff's deputy locks them into sworn, recorded testimony about the stop and the field sobriety tests, months before the criminal trial, testimony that can be used to challenge them later if their account shifts. All ALR filings and subpoena requests go through eFile Texas.

Where the hearing happens

Hearings run through the State Office of Administrative Hearings, typically in a municipal or justice court in the county of residence, and are usually conducted virtually or by teleconference since 2020. Once a hearing is properly requested, the temporary driving permit stays valid until the administrative law judge rules, and SOAH's docket backlog can push that delay out as far as 120 days, meaning legal driving privileges often continue well past the original 40-day window while the case plays out.