Smith 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
The 15-day clock to fight a Smith County license suspension doesn't always start on arrest day, and getting that wrong can void the request entirely. If a breath test was refused or failed, the 15 days run from the arrest itself. But if a blood sample was drawn under warrant, as is increasingly common, the suspension can't even be triggered until the state crime lab confirms a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher, which can take weeks or months. In that situation, the clock starts only when DPS mails a formal notice of suspension after the lab results are final, and filing a request before that notice arrives gets the request rejected outright.
What happens if you make the deadline
A timely request pauses the suspension while DPS mails a hearing notice, and it's a genuinely long pause. Administrative backlogs routinely push scheduling out to 120 days, and the temporary permit issued at arrest, the DIC-25, stays fully valid to drive on the entire time. Miss the 15-day window instead, and the suspension takes effect automatically on the 40th day after arrest, with no administrative appeal left.
Filing it correctly
The request needs to go to DPS in Austin with a full, specific set of details: name, date of birth, driver's license number, mailing address, the date and county of arrest, the arresting agency and officer, and whether the test was failed or refused. It can go in online, by mail, or by fax.
Why the hearing matters beyond the license itself
ALR hearings are run by Administrative Law Judges through the State Office of Administrative Hearings, increasingly by Zoom rather than in person. For the defense, the real value isn't necessarily winning; it's the chance to subpoena the arresting officer and cross-examine them under oath months before the criminal trial, locking in their account of the stop and probing how the field sobriety testing was actually administered. If the subpoenaed officer doesn't show, the defense wins automatically and the suspension doesn't happen.
If the suspension goes through
An ALJ typically issues a decision within two weeks of the hearing. If the license is suspended, reinstatement requires clearing DPS's compliance requirements and filing SR-22 high-risk insurance documentation through the DPS online portal before driving privileges come back.
Last updated: September 12, 2026
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