Wilson 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 13, 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
A blood draw instead of a breath test can quietly sabotage a Wilson County driver's chance to fight a license suspension. When the case involves blood, DPS can't issue the DIC-25 suspension notice at the roadside, since the lab work takes weeks or months to come back. Once results exceed the legal limit, DPS mails the notice to whatever address is on file with the driver's license, and Texas law presumes it was received five days after mailing regardless of whether it actually reached anyone. A defendant who moved after the arrest and never updated that address can watch the entire 15-day window expire without ever holding the notice.
The 15-day deadline
For a breath-test case, the officer confiscates the physical license on the spot and hands over the DIC-25, which doubles as a temporary permit and formal notice. From that date, there are exactly 15 calendar days to request an ALR hearing. Miss it, and the suspension takes effect automatically on day 40 with no way back. Requests go directly to DPS by online portal, fax, or certified mail, and there's no fee to file.
Why filing on time matters beyond the hearing itself
A timely request stays the suspension, so the driver keeps full privileges while the case sits with the State Office of Administrative Hearings, a wait that can run 30 to 120 days. It also opens a genuine strategic opportunity: because the ALR hearing is civil with a lower burden of proof, defense counsel can subpoena the arresting officer and cross-examine them on the record before the criminal trial ever starts. Whatever gets exposed there, a bad stop, a shaky field sobriety test, often becomes leverage for a better plea or an outright dismissal in the County Court at Law.
The hearing itself is remote, and unforgiving about it
Nearly every SOAH hearing now happens by Zoom or phone. Scheduling orders and login credentials go out by email, so the address given at filing needs to be checked constantly. Failing to log in at the exact scheduled time results in an automatic default for DPS and immediate suspension, no second chance.
Last updated: September 13, 2026
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