ALR Hearing Lawyer San Antonio: Fighting a License Suspension

An ALR hearing lawyer San Antonio drivers call after a DWI arrest is usually racing a deadline the driver did not know existed. The officer who made the arrest handed over a sheet of paper. That paper was a notice of license suspension, and it started a 15-day clock. Texas runs the license case separately from the criminal case. It moves faster, it uses a lower standard of proof, and it can end in a suspension before a Bexar County judge ever hears the DWI charge. Requesting the hearing is therefore the only way to stop that from happening automatically.

How the Administrative License Revocation Case Starts

Texas Transportation Code Section 524.011 requires the arresting officer to serve notice of suspension when a breath or blood test shows an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more. The officer then sends the report to the Department of Public Safety within five business days. Section 524.012 directs the department to suspend the license if the driver had a concentration at or above the legal limit. A refusal follows a parallel path under Chapter 724. Either way, the driver leaves the scene with a temporary permit and a suspension already scheduled.

The 15-Day Window an ALR Hearing Lawyer San Antonio Drivers Retain Watches First

Section 524.031 gives the driver 15 days from the notice to request a hearing. If the department receives the request in time, the State Office of Administrative Hearings must hold a hearing. Otherwise, Section 524.021 makes the suspension effective on the 40th day after the notice. No judge reviews it, and no one asks whether the stop was lawful. The most common ALR mistake in San Antonio is not losing the hearing. It is never asking for one. The request itself is simple, but the deadline runs from the date on the notice, which is usually the night of the arrest.

What an ALR Hearing Lawyer San Antonio Drivers Retain Argues at the Hearing

Section 524.032 requires the hearing to be set no earlier than the 11th day after the request and before the suspension would take effect. An administrative law judge from that office presides. Section 524.035 lists the issues. The department must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the driver had an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more while operating a vehicle in a public place. It must also show that the officer had reasonable suspicion to stop the driver or probable cause to arrest. A preponderance means more likely than not. That is a far lower bar than the criminal standard, and it favors the department. The hearing still has value. A subpoena can bring the arresting officer in to testify under oath, and that testimony becomes a record the criminal case can use.

How Long the Suspension Lasts

Section 524.022 sets the periods for a failed test. A driver with no alcohol-related or drug-related enforcement contact in the prior ten years faces 90 days. With one or more prior contacts in that period, the suspension runs one year. Refusals are longer. Section 724.035 imposes 180 days for a first refusal and two years when the record shows a prior contact within ten years. These suspensions run on their own schedule and do not wait for the criminal case. One exception exists. Under Section 524.015, an acquittal on the DWI charge bars the suspension, and the department must rescind one already imposed. A dismissal or a plea to a lesser charge is not an acquittal, so most suspensions stand.

Appeals and Occupational Licenses

Section 524.041 allows a driver who loses the hearing to appeal by filing a petition within 30 days after the administrative decision becomes final. Such appeals have a limited scope, but they exist. Arizona runs a similar two-track system, described in our guide to DUI license suspension in Arizona, though the Texas deadlines differ. The more practical remedy for most San Antonio drivers is an occupational license. Under Section 521.242, a person facing a suspension under Chapter 524 or 724 may petition for one. The petition goes to a court, not to the department. Section 521.246 lets the judge restrict the license to a vehicle with an ignition interlock on a finding of good cause, and it requires that restriction when the suspension followed a DWI conviction.

The Bottom Line

The ALR case is a civil proceeding with a criminal case’s consequences. It runs on a 15-day request deadline, a 40-day effective date, and a preponderance standard that favors the department. Many drivers lose it by default, simply by never requesting the hearing. An ALR hearing lawyer San Antonio drivers work with can request the hearing, question the arresting officer, and, when the suspension holds, seek an occupational license through the court. None of that happens unless the request is filed before day 15.

Keep reading: DUI License Suspension Arizona: MVD Suspension vs the Criminal Case · Implied Consent Law Arizona: What Refusing a Breath Test Actually Costs You

---

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. ALR deadlines run from the date on the notice of suspension, and the periods described depend on the driver’s record. Nothing here predicts the outcome of any hearing.

More guides on DUI Defense

• Field Sobriety Test Lawyer San Antonio: What They Actually Prove
• DWI Lawyer San Antonio: What a Texas First Offense Actually Means
• DWI Checkpoint San Antonio: Are They Even Legal in Texas?
• Setting Aside a DUI Conviction in Arizona: What § 13-905 Actually Clears
• DWI Blood Test Refusal San Antonio: Implied Consent Consequences
• Out-of-State DUI Conviction and Its Effect on an Arizona License

All DUI Defense guides →