Starr 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
Most ALR hearings now happen over Zoom, which sounds like a convenience until you're one of the many Starr County residents without reliable high-speed internet or a phone that can run a video call cleanly. A dropped connection mid-hearing can be read as a failure to appear, and that alone can cement a suspension that a better internet connection might have avoided fighting successfully.
The 15-day window
When an officer takes a driver's license after a DUI arrest, they issue a DIC-25, a notice of suspension. The defendant has 15 days from the arrest to request a hearing contesting it. Overwhelmed by the arrest and the scramble to arrange bail, a lot of people set that paper aside, assuming a lawyer will handle it later. If the deadline passes, the suspension becomes automatic 40 days after arrest, no hearing required.
Getting an appointment in Rio Grande City is its own project
The local DPS office sits at 515 N. FM 3167, and like every Texas DPS office, it runs on an appointment-only basis. Slots can be booked out weeks or months. Rio Grande City is a general office, not one of the larger Mega Centers, so someone needing an Occupational Driver's License to keep a job may find nothing available locally and end up driving to McAllen or Roma instead, an especially bitter irony for someone who can't legally drive there.
The bigger picture
A suspended license in a county with limited public transportation isn't just an inconvenience. Without one, getting to a job to earn the money needed to pay off bail, court costs, and interlock fees becomes its own obstacle, which is part of why Driving While License Invalid charges show up so often here on top of the original case.
Last updated: September 12, 2026
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