How to Fill Out and File the Texas ALR Subpoena Form

The Texas ALR subpoena form (SOAH HRG Form 7505) is the document you use to compel a peace officer or other witness to testify at your Administrative License Revocation hearing. You download the fillable PDF from the State Office of Administrative Hearings website, complete it with the witness’s information and your SOAH docket number, and then either have your attorney sign and serve it or ask the assigned administrative law judge to sign it.¹ Which path applies to you depends on whether you have counsel and who you are subpoenaing.

Who Can Issue the Subpoena

SOAH’s rules create two tracks, and the branch determines everything that follows.

Attorney-Issued

A licensed Texas attorney representing the driver can issue up to two subpoenas without a judge’s approval. One goes to the officer primarily responsible for the traffic stop or initial detention, and the other to the officer primarily responsible for finding probable cause to arrest. If the same officer handled both roles, the attorney can issue only one. The attorney fills out the form, signs it, and arranges service directly, with no filing at SOAH and no wait for a signature.²

Judge-Issued

Everyone else files a subpoena request with SOAH at least ten days before the hearing and shows good cause for the witness’s testimony. You need the judge’s signature when:

You are self-represented. Every subpoena has to go through the judge.
You need a third or additional peace officer. Even attorneys need approval past the first two.
The witness is a civilian, such as a passenger.
You want the breath test operator or technical supervisor. Compelling either of them also requires an affidavit based on personal knowledge showing a genuine issue about the breath test’s validity.²

The judge can deny the request if the testimony would be immaterial, irrelevant, or repetitive, or if you have not shown good cause. If your request is not granted before the hearing, you can renew it at the hearing; if granted then, the hearing is rescheduled so the witness can appear.²

Filling Out the Form

The rule requires every ALR subpoena to be issued on HRG Form 7505.³ The PDF runs three pages: the first identifies the witness, the second commands appearance and specifies documents, and the third handles proof of service.

On page one, start with the caption. Enter your name in the field after “Texas Department of Public Safety V.” and type the SOAH docket number from your hearing notice. Below that, enter the witness’s full name and address. For a peace officer, use the name as it appears on the DIC-23 or arrest paperwork and use the law enforcement agency’s address as the service address.¹

On page two, fill in the hearing date, time, and format. If the hearing is in person, include the physical address and room number. If it is by Zoom, include the videoconference instructions from your hearing notice. Enter your name, address, and phone number in the “Subpoena issued on the request of” section at the bottom.

Commanding Documents With the Subpoena

Page two also lets the form work as a subpoena duces tecum. Check every box that applies to the records you want the witness to bring:

DIC-23, the statutory warning read before a breath or blood request.
DIC-24, the officer’s sworn report submitted to DPS to initiate the suspension.
The offense report describing the stop, field sobriety tests, and arrest. Include the report number if you have it.
The probable cause affidavit.
Video or digital recordings, including dashcam, bodycam, and booking footage.
Any other report the officer prepared.¹

Having the DIC-24 and the offense report at the hearing lets you compare what the officer wrote with what the officer says on the stand. If you are not asking for any documents, select “None” so the form is clearly limited to testimony.

Filing and Getting the Judge’s Signature

If you are on the judge-issued track, the completed form goes to SOAH for the administrative law judge’s review and signature. SOAH uses the eFileTexas portal and charges no filing fee. Attorneys and government entities must file electronically; self-represented parties can also file by fax.⁴⁵

Self-represented drivers file the subpoena along with a separate “Request for Judge Issued Subpoena by Self-Represented Litigant” form. That request form is where you explain why the witness’s testimony is relevant, because the subpoena form itself has no materiality section. Tie your explanation to specific hearing issues, such as whether the officer had reasonable suspicion for the stop or probable cause to believe you were intoxicated.⁶

The subpoena becomes binding only after the judge signs it and returns it to you. At that point you arrange service. On the attorney track, this step is not needed; the attorney’s signature gives the subpoena legal force and service can be arranged immediately.

Serving the Subpoena

A signed subpoena does nothing until it is physically delivered to the witness. Texas law allows service by a sheriff, a constable, or any person who is not a party to the case and is at least 18 years old.⁷ Most drivers hire a private process server, which typically costs between $45 and $195 depending on the location and difficulty of reaching the witness.

At the time of service, whoever delivers the subpoena must also hand the witness a $10 fee by check or money order.⁸ That $10 covers attendance for the day, including travel; there is no separate mileage reimbursement.⁹ The witness can waive it, but bring the check.

After delivery, the person who served the subpoena completes the proof of service section on page three. Either the witness signs the acceptance section on the form, or the server files a written statement listing the date, time, manner of service, and the name of the person served.⁷ Keep the proof. Without it, you cannot show the ALJ that the witness was properly served, and you lose the leverage to ask for a continuance if the officer fails to appear.

Deadlines to Watch

For judge-issued subpoenas, the request must be filed with SOAH no later than ten days before the hearing date.² Attorney-issued subpoenas carry no specific rule-based deadline, but you still need enough lead time to get the subpoena served and give the officer a reasonable window to arrange attendance.

One boundary worth flagging: the subpoena process only matters once you have a hearing on the calendar. If you have not already requested an ALR hearing in writing from DPS within 15 days of receiving the officer’s notice of suspension (or 20 days from the mailing date for blood test cases), there is no docket number to put on the subpoena.¹⁰¹¹

If the Witness Fails to Appear

The subpoena form warns the witness that failure to appear without adequate excuse “may be deemed a contempt of court and may subject you to administrative sanctions or judicial enforcement by the district court in the county in which the subpoena is served, and may be punishable by fine or confinement or both.”¹

If the officer does not show, ask the ALJ for a continuance and produce your proof of service. Without that documentation, the ALJ has no basis to reschedule. If the hearing goes forward without the officer, DPS is left arguing from paperwork.

The rules cut the other way too. If you request or issue a subpoena and then fail to appear at your own hearing, any subpoenaed witnesses are automatically released and the subpoena has no continuing effect.²

1
State Office of Administrative Hearings. Driver’s License (ALR) Subpoena
2
State Office of Administrative Hearings. 1 Texas Administrative Code 159.101 – Subpoenas Generally
3
Legal Information Institute. 1 Texas Administrative Code 159.101 – Subpoenas Generally
4
State Office of Administrative Hearings. e-Filing at SOAH
5
Legal Information Institute. 1 Texas Administrative Code 155.101 – Filing Documents
6
State Office of Administrative Hearings. Request for Judge Issued Subpoena by Self-Represented Litigant (ALR)
7
South Texas College of Law Houston. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 176 – Subpoenas
8
Legal Information Institute. 1 Texas Administrative Code 159.104 – Witness Fees
9
State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code CIV PRAC and REM 22.001 – Witness Fees
10
State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code TRANSP 724.041
11
Department of Public Safety. Administrative License Revocation (ALR) Program