Can I get two license suspensions from one DWI arrest in Texas?

The Texas Department of Public Safety says a person may receive a suspension for a DWI conviction and a suspension for a blood or breath test refusal or failure from the same arrest. The Transportation Code says a court shall credit a refusal suspension toward the conviction suspension when the refusal followed an arrest for the same offense, with exclusions for certain people with previous intoxication convictions.

DWI in Texas: two suspensions possible from one arrest

Can one DWI arrest lead to two license suspensions in Texas?

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) states that a person in Texas may receive a suspension for a DWI conviction and a suspension for a blood or breath test refusal or failure resulting from the same arrest.¹ Under the Texas Transportation Code, the court sets the suspension that follows a conviction.² The Transportation Code also says the department suspends the license of a person who refuses an officer’s request for a specimen.³ For an adult who fails a test with no alcohol-related or drug-related enforcement contact in the preceding ten years, the Transportation Code sets an administrative suspension.⁴ DPS words the point on its page about alcohol-related offenses this way:

You may receive a suspension for a DWI conviction and a suspension for a blood or breath test refusal or failure resulting from the same arrest.
Texas Department of Public Safety¹

Does a refusal suspension count toward a conviction suspension in Texas?

The Transportation Code states that the court shall credit toward the period of the conviction suspension a suspension imposed for refusal to give a specimen, if the refusal followed an arrest for the same offense. The statute excludes certain people with previous intoxication convictions from this credit.² Part of the credit rule reads:

The court shall credit toward the period of suspension a suspension imposed on the person for refusal to give a specimen under Chapter 724 if the refusal followed an arrest for the same offense
Texas Legislature (Texas Constitution and Statutes)²

How do the two kinds of suspension compare in length and fee?

Suspension	Length
Court-set suspension after a DWI conviction	90 days to 1 year²
ALR suspension for a refusal	180 days³
ALR suspension for an adult test failure, no alcohol-related or drug-related enforcement contact in the ten years before the arrest	90 days⁴

Suspension type	Reinstatement fee DPS lists
Administrative License Revocation (ALR)	$125⁵
Education program suspension, where proof that a required program was completed in time is not provided	$100⁵

What the sources do not state

The sources used here do not say which previous convictions are excluded from the credit. They also do not say how the credit is counted in days, or whether it applies to a suspension imposed for failing a test.

Next step

The DPS page on alcohol-related offenses is the agency’s own page on these suspensions. The filing lookup tool on this site lists the filing type, fee and duration for a violation.