When a person is arrested for a Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) charge the person has a bond set and the case is assigned to a court for a disposition of the charge.

Additionally, the person is provided  information related to the suspension, denial of their license, permit or privilege to operate a motor vehicle by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) as authorized by the Tex. Transportation Code Ch. 524 for providing a breath or blood specimen with an alcohol concentration of .08 or greater following an arrest for DWI; OR refusing to provide a specimen of breath or blood, as authorized by the Tex. Transportation Code Ch. 724 following an arrest for DWI.  The statutory procedure is referred to as the Administrative License Revocation (ALR) proceeding.

The periods of suspension for an adult arrested for DWI can be from 90 days to 1 year under Ch. 524 (for a failure)  and 180 days to 2 years under Ch. 724 (for a refusal).  The length of any suspension depends on the whether the arrest is a first offense or the person has previous arrest(s) for DWI.  The ALR proceeding is separate and independent of the DWI charge filed in a court.

A request for a hearing on the ALR proceeding must be received no later than 15 days after the person arrested receives or is presumed to receive a Notice of Suspension of their license, which generally is the date the person was arrested.  If a person consents to a blood test then Notice of Suspension is presumed to be effective after the blood test results are received by DPS.   If the person fails to request a hearing within the 15 day time period then the suspension or denial of the license automatically becomes effective 40 days after the date the person received (or is presumed to have received) the Notice of the Suspension.

A person arrested for DWI should consult with an attorney, as early as possible, within the 15 day time period, after Notice of Suspension is received or presumed received, to discuss the timelines, procedures, and consequences of the ALR proceeding, as well as the DWI charge.