A Texas DWI Arrest Has Two Parts: The Criminal Case and Your Driver's License

Why Your Driver's License Deadline May Come Long Before Your First Court Date

One of the first things I discuss with clients who contact me after a DWI arrest in Texas is something many people do not realize:

A DWI arrest can create two separate cases.

The first is the criminal DWI case most people expect.

The second is a separate administrative proceeding involving your Texas driver's license, commonly referred to as an Administrative License Revocation, or ALR, case.

Although both proceedings arise from the same arrest, they are separate. More importantly, the deadline for protecting your right to challenge a driver's license suspension can come very quickly.

That is why the driver's license side of a DWI arrest is often one of the first things I discuss with a new client.

1. The Criminal DWI Case

The criminal case is the part most people naturally think about after an arrest.

The State may file a DWI charge, and that case proceeds through the criminal justice system. Depending on the circumstances, there may be questions

involving the reason for the traffic stop, probable cause for the arrest, field sobriety testing, breath or blood testing, video evidence, and ultimately whether the

State can prove the criminal charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

That case is obviously important.

But it is not the only proceeding that may result from the arrest.

2. The Administrative Driver's License Case

Separate from the criminal case is the ALR process administered through the Texas Department of Public Safety.

For most adult drivers with a standard Texas driver's license, these cases generally fall into one of two categories:

Refusal: You refused to provide a breath or blood specimen after being properly requested to do so. For a first ALR refusal, the driver's license suspension is generally 180 days.

Failure: You provided a breath or blood specimen and the analysis showed an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or greater. For a first ALR failure, the driver's license suspension is generally 90 days.

Those suspension periods can be longer when there are qualifying prior alcohol-related enforcement contacts.

A Note for Commercial Drivers

This article is primarily intended for people with a standard Texas driver's license. If you hold a Commercial Driver License (CDL), different rules and additional consequences may apply to your commercial driving privileges. CDL holders should have their particular circumstances evaluated separately rather than assuming the information in this article applies to them in exactly the same way.

Attorney Dave's Perspective

I like to explain the two-case distinction during the initial consultation because clients understandably tend to focus entirely on the criminal charge.

Meanwhile, there may be a completely separate deadline running on their driver's license.

In many cases, the driver's license issue is actually the more immediate deadline.

3. What Are the DIC-24 and DIC-25?

After a DWI arrest involving a requested breath or blood specimen, there are two documents you may hear an attorney discuss.

The DIC-24, commonly referred to as the Statutory Warning, explains the consequences associated with refusing or providing a requested breath or blood specimen.

The DIC-25 is the Notice of Suspension. When applicable, it advises you that DPS intends to suspend your driving privileges and provides information concerning your right to request an ALR hearing.

These documents are important, but there is something else I want people to understand:

Do not assume that you have no driver's license deadline simply because you do not remember receiving a DIC-24 or DIC-25 from the officer.

I have represented clients who told me they did not receive the paperwork, yet DPS received the information concerning the arrest and a license suspension was still being processed. Texas law also provides circumstances in which DPS may mail a suspension notice and the notice is legally considered received after a specified period.

For that reason, if you have been arrested for DWI, I would not rely solely on whether you remember receiving a particular form to determine whether an ALR deadline may be running.

The safer approach is to determine the status of your driver's license and any applicable ALR deadline as soon as possible after the arrest.

4. Why the Hearing Deadline Matters

In the ordinary ALR situation where notice is served following the arrest, the hearing request generally must be received by DPS within 15 days after the person receives, or is legally presumed to have received, the notice of suspension.

A timely hearing request stays the suspension until the administrative law judge makes a final decision. DPS must then establish the required grounds for the suspension through the administrative hearing process.

If a timely hearing is not requested, the right to challenge the suspension through the ALR hearing process can be waived, and the suspension generally takes effect on the 40th day after the applicable notice.

That is why I consider the ALR deadline one of the most time-sensitive issues following a Texas DWI arrest.

Attorney Dave's Perspective

When someone contacts me after a DWI arrest, one of the first questions I ask is: "When were you arrested?"

I also want to see whatever paperwork the officer gave them, but I do not assume there is no ALR issue simply because the client tells me they were never given a DIC-24 or DIC-25.

The criminal case may take weeks or months before anything significant happens in court. The deadline to protect the client's right to an ALR hearing may be measured in days.

That is why I believe the driver's license issue should be addressed immediately rather than waiting for the first criminal court setting.

5. What If I Gave Blood and Don't Know Whether I Failed?

This is where things can become confusing.

Suppose you agreed to provide a blood specimen after your arrest, but the laboratory results were not available when you were released.

You may not receive a failure suspension notice at the time of arrest because DPS does not yet have a laboratory result showing an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or greater.

If the subsequent laboratory result is above the applicable legal limit, DPS can mail a Notice of Suspension. DPS's current public ALR guidance states that, in this

situation, the driver has 20 days from the date the suspension notice is mailed to request a hearing.

That means a person who voluntarily provided a blood specimen may leave jail without an immediate failure suspension notice and receive one later after the blood results become available.

Do not assume that because you did not receive a suspension notice at the time of your arrest, there can never be an ALR suspension.

If you are waiting on blood results, keeping your address current with DPS and paying attention to your mail can be extremely important.

6. Why Request an ALR Hearing?

Requesting an ALR hearing does not mean that you automatically win.

It means that you preserve the opportunity to challenge the suspension and require DPS to establish the necessary grounds for the suspension through the administrative process.

I have heard of people being advised to simply accept the suspension and focus on obtaining an occupational driver's license. I generally do not believe that should be the starting point.

There may ultimately be circumstances where an occupational license becomes necessary. But that is a different question.

If a hearing can be timely requested, why give up the opportunity to challenge the suspension before simply accepting it?

There can also be another important reason to request the hearing.

Depending on the circumstances, the ALR process may give your attorney an early opportunity to obtain information about the DWI investigation that could also become important in defending the criminal case.

7. The ALR Hearing Can Be About More Than Your Driver's License

When appropriate, an attorney may subpoena the peace officer or officers involved in the stop and arrest in accordance with the rules governing ALR hearings.

If a properly subpoenaed officer appears and is subject to questioning, this can provide an opportunity to learn valuable information about the investigation, including:

• the officer's training and experience;
• the reason for the initial traffic stop;
• what the officer observed before and after the stop;
• how standardized field sobriety tests were administered;
• whether the officer followed the procedures and protocols the officer was trained to follow;
• the basis for the DWI arrest;
• the request for a breath or blood specimen; and
• other important facts surrounding the investigation.

It can also provide something that may be particularly valuable later: an opportunity to see how the officer actually testifies about the case.

Witnesses at an ALR hearing testify under oath, and the hearing is recorded. That can create a record of what the officer said about the investigation. If the officer later testifies differently about an important fact during the criminal case, the earlier testimony may become significant.

Attorney Dave's Perspective

This is one reason I generally do not like the idea of simply accepting an ALR suspension and immediately moving on to an occupational license without first considering whether the suspension can be challenged.

An occupational license may eventually be necessary, and there are certainly cases where the evidence supports the suspension. But those are different questions.

First, I want to know whether there is an opportunity to prevent the suspension from occurring at all.

And when appropriate, I also want to use the ALR process to learn as much as I can about the officer and the DWI investigation. If there is an opportunity to question the stopping or arresting officer under oath early in the case, I want to know how that officer was trained, what procedures were followed, what the officer remembers, and how the officer testifies.

The ALR hearing is about your driver's license, but information learned during that process can sometimes become valuable when defending the criminal DWI case as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

If My Criminal DWI Case Is Dismissed, Does That Automatically Make the ALR Case Go Away?

No. The criminal DWI prosecution and the ALR proceeding are separate matters. An outcome in one should not automatically be assumed to determine the outcome in the other.

If I Refused a Breath or Blood Test, How Long Is the Suspension?

For a first ALR refusal involving a standard Texas driver's license, the suspension is generally 180 days. Qualifying prior alcohol-related enforcement contacts can result in a longer suspension.

What If I Took the Test and My BAC Was .08 or Higher?

For a first ALR failure involving a standard adult driver's license, the suspension is generally 90 days, subject to longer periods in some circumstances involving qualifying prior history.

What If I Do Not Remember Receiving the DIC Forms?

Do not assume that means there is no ALR issue or deadline. DPS may have received information concerning the arrest, and Texas law permits certain suspension notices to be mailed and treated as received after a specified period. The status of your license and any applicable deadline should be determined promptly.

Why Not Just Get an Occupational License?

An occupational license may eventually be necessary if your license is suspended and you otherwise qualify for one. But an occupational license addresses your ability to drive during a suspension; it is not the same thing as challenging whether the suspension should occur in the first place.

A timely ALR hearing request preserves the opportunity to contest the suspension. Depending on the circumstances, the hearing may also provide your attorney an early opportunity to obtain testimony and information about the DWI investigation.

Does This Work the Same Way If I Have a CDL?

Not necessarily. Commercial drivers can face different rules and additional consequences affecting their commercial driving privileges. This article is intended primarily for drivers holding a standard Texas driver's license.

What I Want You to Remember

    

• A Texas DWI arrest can involve two separate proceedings: the criminal DWI case and the ALR driver's license case.
• A first ALR refusal generally carries a 180-day suspension, while a first ALR failure generally carries a 90-day suspension. Prior history can change those periods.
• The ordinary ALR hearing deadline is short and can be measured from actual or legally presumed receipt of notice.
• Do not assume that you have no ALR deadline simply because you do not remember receiving a DIC-24 or DIC-25. The status of your driver's license and any applicable hearing deadline should be determined promptly after a DWI arrest.
• If you voluntarily provided blood and DPS later mails a suspension notice after receiving a failing laboratory result, a different deadline may apply.
• Missing the applicable deadline can waive your right to an ALR hearing.
• An occupational license may eventually be necessary, but it is not a substitute for considering whether the suspension itself can be challenged.
• An ALR hearing may also provide an early opportunity to obtain information and testimony that could later become important in defending the criminal DWI case.
• Do not assume your criminal court date is also the deadline for dealing with your driver's license.
• Different rules and consequences may apply if you hold a CDL.

One Final Thought

When someone contacts my office after a DWI arrest, one of the first things I want to know is when the arrest occurred and what paperwork, if any, the officer gave them.

There is a reason for that.

The criminal case may take time to work its way through the court system. The deadline affecting your driver's license may be measured in days, and I do not want a client assuming there is no deadline simply because paperwork is missing or was never placed in their hands.

Requesting an ALR hearing may also accomplish more than simply giving you an opportunity to challenge the suspension. Depending on the circumstances, it may provide an early opportunity to learn important information about the officer, the investigation, and the evidence that could also matter in the criminal case.

Understanding that there can be two separate parts to a Texas DWI arrest—and recognizing that each has its own procedures, deadlines, and strategic considerations—is an important first step in protecting your rights.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this article is provided for general educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. It is not intended to address every circumstance or exception that may arise in a Texas DWI or Administrative License Revocation matter. Deadlines, suspension periods, hearing rights, and available remedies can depend on the specific facts of an arrest, the type and timing of notice, prior alcohol- or drug-related enforcement contacts, age, testing circumstances, license type, and other factors. This article is primarily directed toward drivers holding a standard Texas driver's license; different rules and additional consequences may apply to Commercial Driver License (CDL) holders. Laws, administrative rules, forms, and procedures can change. You should not rely on this article to calculate a deadline or determine whether a hearing request is required in a particular case. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship with H.D. Sanchez Law Firm, PLLC.