Hays County DWI Defense
Hays County DWI Attorney
Charged with DWI in Hays County? Your license deadline starts fast.
I defend DWI cases in Hays County, and DWI is the only kind of case I take. I have worked on more than 6,000 since 1998.
DWI allegations arising in Hays County from San Marcos, Kyle, Buda, Dripping Springs or Wimberley answer in San Marcos. So do far south Austin allegations inside the Hays County line, which is not obvious from a street sign.
15-Day License Deadline
Your license after a Hays County DWI arrest
The clock starts on the date of the notice of suspension you were handed at arrest, not on your first court date. Nobody at the jail files the request, the court does not file it, and it does not happen automatically. It is a written demand to the Department of Public Safety.
Miss it and the suspension takes effect with nobody reviewing whether the stop was lawful.
Free Consultation
Call 512-469-6056
Hays County DWI Defense Attorney
Ken Gibson
I handle every case in this office myself, from the license hearing through trial.
6,000+
DWI Cases Handled
Since 1998
Practicing DWI Defense
DWI Only
Defense Focus
How The Process Works
How Ken handles a DWI case in Hays County, Texas
The order matters, because the license deadline arrives long before the criminal case does anything.
Step 1
Free Consultation
You describe what happened. Ken tells you what you are charged with, what the exposure is, and what the immediate deadlines are.
Step 2
The ALR Filing
The hearing request goes to the Department of Public Safety inside the 15 day window, which protects your license and opens an early route to the officer's testimony.
Step 3
Evidence Review
Dash camera, body camera and booking video, the offense report, breath test records or the blood lab packet, and the warrant affidavit if one was used.
Step 4
The License Hearing
The officer can be questioned under oath. Whatever comes out of that is on the record before the criminal case reaches the same issues.
Step 5
Motions and Negotiation
Contested issues get raised in writing. What the case can resolve to depends on what the evidence review actually turned up.
Step 6
Resolution or Trial
Most cases resolve before trial. The ones that do not are tried on the same record that was built from the first week.
Where a Hays County DWI case is heard
Hays County keeps everything in San Marcos. The Government Center at 712 South Stagecoach Trail houses the courts, and the jail is in the same city rather than a separate facility a half hour away. Compared with Travis County, where booking happens downtown and longer holds move out to Del Valle, that makes the first few days simpler to navigate.
Misdemeanor DWI goes to one of three county courts at law, each with jurisdiction over Class A and Class B offenses. Hays County District Courts have original jurisdiction over felony criminal cases. The court handling a particular case depends on the charge and current assignment.
The Hays County Criminal District Attorney's Office represents the State in both misdemeanor and felony offenses committed in Hays County.
Interstate 35 runs the length of the county and through the middle of San Marcos, which is where a large share of stops begin.
After booking, magistration is a separate stage from the later court assignment. The magistrate addresses probable cause, bail, and immediate release conditions, and the resulting warnings and orders may be kept with booking records rather than in the later trial-court file. Those documents establish which conditions applied at release.
The agency that made the stop remains important after the case reaches San Marcos. San Marcos Police, another city police department, the Hays County Sheriff's Office, DPS or a university police department may hold the offense report, dispatch history and available video. Jail and court records are separate. A complete request list therefore starts with the agency on the arrest paperwork rather than with the county case file alone.
Hays County at a glance
Courthouse
Hays County Government Center
712 South Stagecoach Trail, San Marcos 78666
Misdemeanor DWI
Three county courts at law
Felony DWI
District courts have original felony jurisdiction; assignment varies
Programs
Confirm current program availability and eligibility with the court handling the case.
Texas State students and under 21 DWI in San Marcos
Texas State University puts roughly forty thousand students in San Marcos, and that changes the shape of DWI enforcement here in a way it does not in Georgetown or Del Valle. A meaningful share of Hays County cases involve drivers under 21, and the law treats them differently in ways that are easy to get wrong.
For a driver under 21, Texas does not use the 0.08 standard at all. Alcohol Beverage Code section 106.041 makes it an offense to operate with any detectable amount of alcohol. That is a Class C offense, and it is expressly not a lesser included offense of DWI, which means a driver under 21 who is actually intoxicated can still be charged with a full DWI under Penal Code section 49.04.
The license consequences run on their own tiers as well. For a minor failing on any detectable amount, administrative suspension is 60 days for a first, then 120, then 180. Those tiers are keyed to prior convictions, and juvenile adjudications and deferred adjudications both count. The adult ten year lookback does not apply to them.
What that means in practice is that a student case can carry academic, financial aid and licensing consequences well beyond the courtroom, and the 15 day license deadline lands during a semester when nobody is watching the mail. More on that on my underage DWI page.
15 days
to request your ALR hearing
The 15 day ALR deadline on a Texas DWI
The license case is not the criminal case. It is civil, the Department of Public Safety runs it, and the deadline to contest it is 15 days from the notice you were handed at arrest. If your case involved a blood draw there is often no notice at arrest, because DPS mails it when the results come back, and the deadline becomes 20 days from the date of mailing.
For a student living at one address during the semester and another over the summer, mailed notice is a genuine hazard. The suspension takes effect whether or not the letter found you. I file the request first, in every case.
Depending on the suspension and reinstatement path, DPS may require an insurer to file a Financial Responsibility Insurance Certificate (SR-22). An insurance card, policy, or receipt is not the certificate, and filing it does not by itself restore driving privileges; DPS eligibility controls. The license reinstatement guide explains that handoff.
Hays County DWI Defense
Call Ken today for Hays County, TX DWI advice.
Tell Ken what happened and he will tell you what you are actually facing, where your case is likely headed, and what needs to happen before the 15-day license deadline passes.
Call 512-469-6056
Free Consultation
Texas DWI charge levels and which court hears them
Where your case sits in this table decides whether it is heard by a county court at law or a district court, and how much exposure comes with it.
Texas recognizes two independent ways to allege intoxication under Penal Code section 49.01(2): not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties because of alcohol, drugs, a combination of substances, or another substance; or having an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more. A DWI allegation can therefore be filed below 0.08 under the loss-of-faculties theory.
| Charge | Classification | Jail exposure | Criminal fine |
|---|---|---|---|
| First DWI, Penal Code 49.04 | Class B misdemeanor | 72 hours minimum, up to 180 days | Up to $2,000 |
| First DWI with an open container | Class B misdemeanor | 6 days minimum, up to 180 days | Up to $2,000 |
| Alcohol concentration 0.15 or higher, 49.04(d) | Class A misdemeanor | Up to 1 year | Up to $4,000 |
| Second DWI, 49.09(a) | Class A misdemeanor | 30 days minimum, up to 1 year | Up to $4,000 |
| Third DWI, 49.09(b)(2) | Third degree felony | 2 to 10 years | Up to $10,000 |
| Passenger younger than 15, 49.045 | State jail felony | 180 days to 2 years | Up to $10,000 |
| DWI in an active school crossing zone, 49.04(e) | State jail felony | 180 days to 2 years | Up to $10,000 |
| Intoxication assault causing serious bodily injury, 49.07 | Ordinarily third degree felony | 2 to 10 years | Up to $10,000 |
| Intoxication manslaughter causing death, 49.08 | Ordinarily second degree felony | 2 to 20 years | Up to $10,000 |
A driver under 21 sits outside this table until intoxication is alleged. Any detectable amount is a Class C offense under Alcohol Beverage Code section 106.041, carrying a fine, community service and an alcohol awareness requirement rather than the jail exposure above. Where the State alleges actual intoxication, a driver under 21 comes back into this table at first offense level.
For the school-zone row, section 49.04(e) applies only when the alleged operation occurred in a school crossing zone during the time the reduced speed limit applied. That provision took effect September 1, 2025.
Texas does not use a general ten-year washout that makes a qualifying prior intoxication conviction disappear for enhancement under Penal Code section 49.09. Administrative license rules can use their own lookback periods, so the criminal and license histories must be examined separately.
The criminal fine shown in the table is only one part of the financial consequences. On a final DWI conviction, Transportation Code section 709.001 imposes a separate, single state fine: $3,000 for a first conviction within the applicable 36-month period, $4,500 for a second or later conviction within that period, or $6,000 when a specimen analysis showed an alcohol concentration of 0.15 or more at the time the analysis was performed. Court costs and DPS/license requirements are separate. If the court makes the statute's indigency finding, it must waive the state fine in full.
What happens to the record
A DWI conviction does not automatically disappear after seven or ten years, and a dismissal does not automatically erase every criminal, DPS, or private record. Whether expunction or nondisclosure may apply depends on the actual disposition. An ALR record is separate from the criminal disposition.
For the longer statewide explanation of why the row applies only in a designated school crossing zone while the reduced speed limit is in effect, see DWI in a Texas school crossing zone.
Which cities route to San Marcos
DWI allegations arising in the Hays County portions of San Marcos, Kyle, Buda, Dripping Springs and Wimberley proceed at the Government Center in San Marcos. So do far south Austin allegations inside Hays County, and that boundary catches people who have lived in Austin for years.
The I-35 corridor between Buda and San Marcos generates a large share of these cases. It is the route between Austin and San Antonio, it carries commuter traffic in both directions, and stops there often follow a longer stretch of observed driving than a downtown stop does. That difference matters, because the reason for the stop is a separate legal question from whether you were intoxicated.
Dripping Springs and Wimberley sit west of the interstate on two lane roads with long distances between towns, which produces a different kind of case again: fewer witnesses, longer response times, and more weight on what a single officer recorded.
Cities I serve in Hays County
San Marcos DWI attorney · Kyle DWI attorney · Buda DWI attorney · Dripping Springs DWI attorney
Also Wimberley, and far south Austin addresses inside the county line. Only allegations arising in Hays County route to San Marcos.
Routes elsewhere
Most Austin allegations proceed in Travis County. Georgetown allegations and those arising in the Williamson County portions of Round Rock and Cedar Park proceed in Williamson County; their Travis County portions proceed in Austin.
Choosing a DWI attorney for a Hays County case
DWI is the entire practice here. More than 6,000 cases since 1998, and nothing else on the docket. That matters most in a county where a large share of cases involve drivers under 21, because the under 21 rules are a genuinely separate body of law and not simply a lighter version of the adult ones.
You deal with me directly. I file the license request, review the video, argue the motions and appear in San Marcos. You are not passed to an associate after the first meeting.
The early work decides the case. Dash camera, body camera and booking video are the only record made at the time, and on an interstate stop the video usually shows the driving the officer says justified pulling you over. That is either there or it is not.
Related pages
Hays County DWI questions
Where will my Hays County DWI case be heard?
At the Hays County Government Center, 712 South Stagecoach Trail in San Marcos. Hays County's three Courts at Law handle Class A and B misdemeanor criminal cases. District courts have original jurisdiction over felony criminal cases, and the court handling a particular case depends on the charge and current assignment. The jail is in San Marcos as well.
I live in south Austin. Could my case still be in Hays County?
Yes. Far south Austin addresses inside the Hays County line answer in San Marcos, not downtown Austin. The county line decides it, not the mailing address.
I am a Texas State student and under 21. What am I facing?
For a driver under 21 Texas does not use the 0.08 standard. Operating with any detectable amount of alcohol is a Class C offense under Alcohol Beverage Code section 106.041, with a fine, community service and an alcohol awareness requirement. It is not a lesser included offense of DWI, so where the State alleges actual intoxication a full DWI charge under section 49.04 is still possible.
How long is a license suspension for an under 21 driver?
For a failure on any detectable amount the tiers are 60 days for a first, then 120, then 180. They are keyed to prior convictions, and juvenile adjudications and deferred adjudications both count. The adult ten year lookback does not apply to those tiers.
How long do I have to protect my license?
15 days from the notice of suspension handed to you at arrest, or 20 days from mailing in a blood test case where DPS sends the notice after results return. If you move between semesters, make sure DPS has an address that reaches you.
Does Hays County have a DWI court?
Do not assume a DWI case qualifies for a specialty-court program. Program availability and eligibility can change and should be confirmed with the court handling the case.