Montgomery 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 does more than protect a Montgomery County driver's license. Because the State Office of Administrative Hearings docket is backed up 60 to 120 days in most cases, a timely request pauses the automatic suspension and lets a defendant keep driving on the temporary DIC-25 permit for months past the original 40-day window. It also hands the defense a chance to subpoena the arresting officer and cross-examine them under oath before the criminal trial even starts, locking in testimony and sometimes exposing problems with the stop or the blood warrant well ahead of schedule.
The 15-day deadline
When an officer takes a driver's physical license after a refused or failed test (0.08 or higher), they issue a DIC-25, which functions as a temporary permit. The request to contest the suspension has to reach DPS within 15 calendar days of that notice, weekends and holidays included. There is no fee to file the request itself. Miss the deadline and the suspension takes effect automatically on the 40th day after arrest, no exceptions.
File it in a way that proves you filed it
Requests go centrally to DPS in Austin, not to any Montgomery County office. The DPS online portal is the most reliable method because it generates an immediate, time-stamped confirmation. Fax to (512) 424-2650 or email to alrfax2650@dps.texas.gov both work, but neither hands you the instant proof the portal does, and a missed fax transmission or a bounced email leaves no record until it's too late to fix.
The hearing itself
ALR hearings are run by the State Office of Administrative Hearings, and most now happen by Zoom or phone rather than in person. If the license is ultimately suspended, reinstatement costs $125.
Getting an occupational license is its own project
A suspended driver who needs to keep working typically petitions the local Justice of the Peace or County Court for an occupational license. Actually processing that license, paying the reinstatement fee, or getting a replacement ID means dealing in person with the DPS office at 400 N. San Jacinto St. in Conroe, and that office runs strictly by appointment through txdpsscheduler.com. Walk-ins are turned away and pointed to a self-service kiosk to book a future date, and those dates are frequently filled for weeks or months out. Anyone anticipating a suspension should book that appointment as early as possible rather than waiting for the suspension to actually take effect.
Last updated: September 12, 2026
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