Wood 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
Fifteen calendar days from the arrest date is the entire window to request a hearing before Texas automatically suspends a Wood County driver's license — and there's a "hidden" fax line that beats the online DPS portal during busy stretches, since a fax generates a paper confirmation receipt without depending on a website holding up under load. Miss the 15 days and the suspension starts on the 40th day after arrest, with no exceptions.
Where to send the request
Requests can go by fax, mail, or the DPS online portal, but fax with a confirmation receipt in hand is the recommended route precisely because it produces its own proof. A mailed request offers no such certainty, and by the time a problem surfaces, the deadline may already be gone.
The hearing itself
These hearings run by phone or Zoom, presided over by an administrative law judge from the State Office of Administrative Hearings — nobody is driving to a courthouse for this part.
The occupational license lifeline
Wood County is deeply rural, and a suspended license here often means no way to get to work or school at all. An Occupational Driver's License lets a defendant keep driving for essential purposes, but it requires a petition filed in the court where the case is pending, an SR-22 insurance certificate, and — because judges here almost always order it — an ignition interlock device as a condition of the ODL itself.
Don't confuse the two county offices
The Wood County Tax Office handles vehicle registration. It does not handle driver's license issues, reinstatements, or ALR hearings — that's the Mineola DPS office. Sending paperwork to the wrong office is a common, entirely avoidable way to blow a deadline.
If you need an in-person appointment
Wait times at the Mineola DPS office for renewals or reinstatements can run several weeks. New appointment slots tend to release online at midnight, so checking then beats refreshing during the day. The substations in Hawkins and Winnsboro sometimes have shorter walk-in waits on their limited service days, worth checking if Mineola is booked solid.
Last updated: September 13, 2026
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