Refusing a DWI Test in Texas: What You Can Decline, and What It Costs

The most important distinction: which test are you refusing?

People use refusing the test to mean very different things, and the consequences are not the same. There are really two categories.

• The voluntary roadside tests. The standardized field sobriety tests (the eye test, walk-and-turn, and one-leg stand) and the handheld roadside portable breath test, or PBT, are offered before arrest to help the officer build probable cause. They are voluntary. There is no Texas statute requiring you to perform them, and there is no automatic license suspension for declining them.
• The official chemical test. After a lawful arrest, the officer asks for an official breath or blood specimen. This is the one governed by the implied consent law, and refusing it carries real consequences.

Confusing these two is one of the most common and costly mistakes people make. The PBT result is not even admissible to prove your BAC at trial, while the post-arrest breath or blood test is the centerpiece of the prosecution’s case.

What refusing the chemical test triggers

Under Texas Transportation Code Chapter 724, driving on Texas roads means you have already agreed to give a breath or blood specimen if you are lawfully arrested for DWI. You can still refuse, but refusal sets off a chain of consequences.

• An automatic license suspension. Through the Administrative License Revocation process, a first refusal is a suspension of at least 180 days. A second refusal, or a refusal with a prior, is two years. By comparison, a failed test on a first offense is a 90-day suspension, so refusing produces the longer suspension, not the shorter one.
• Evidence at trial. The prosecutor can tell the jury you refused, and argue it suggests consciousness of guilt.
• A blood warrant. Police can apply for a warrant to draw your blood by force, and in large counties an on-call magistrate can sign one within minutes.

The DIC-24 warning, and why it can be a defense

Before requesting a specimen, the officer must read you the DIC-24 statutory warning, which explains the consequences of refusing and of testing, and it must be given in a language you understand. This is a mandatory step, not a courtesy.

It matters because failing to properly administer the DIC-24 is a complete defense to the refusal-based suspension. If the officer did not give the warning, gave it inaccurately, or gave it in a language you could not understand, the administrative suspension for refusal cannot stand. Reviewing exactly how the warning was given is part of the analysis in every refusal case.

The 15-day clock starts at refusal

A refusal triggers the ALR process, and that comes with the strictest deadline in a DWI case. You have only 15 days from the date you receive notice of suspension to request an ALR hearing. Miss it, and the suspension begins automatically. Request it in time, and your suspension is put on hold until the hearing, you keep driving in the meantime, and your lawyer can subpoena the arresting officer and lock in sworn testimony that can be used to impeach them later at trial.

The situations where a refusal will not stop the draw

In most DWI stops a refusal means the officer has to go get a warrant. But Texas law (Transportation Code section 724.012(b)) lists situations where an officer is required to take a specimen, and these are the cases where a refusal is most likely to be overridden:

• A serious or fatal accident. Someone other than you has died, will die, or suffered serious bodily injury in a crash connected to the stop.
• A child passenger. There was a passenger younger than 15 in the vehicle.
• Certain prior convictions. You have a prior conviction or community supervision for DWI with a child passenger, intoxication assault, or intoxication manslaughter, or two or more prior DWI convictions.

Two things are worth knowing. First, even in these mandatory categories, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Missouri v. McNeely means the State generally still needs a warrant or a true emergency to draw blood over your refusal, so the draw is not automatically legal. Second, many Texas counties run No Refusal programs, often on holiday weekends, where prosecutors and on-call magistrates are standing by to issue blood warrants within minutes. A refusal in those situations still triggers the license suspension and usually still ends in a blood draw, but the warrant and the draw remain open to challenge.

So should you refuse?

There is no single right answer, and anyone who promises one is guessing. Refusing the voluntary roadside tests denies the officer those clues but will not stop an arrest on other grounds. Refusing the official chemical test avoids handing the state a number, but it triggers the longer license suspension and can be argued to the jury, and police can still get your blood by warrant. Providing a specimen gives the state a result, but that result is itself challengeable on the science and the procedure.

What is always true is that a refusal is not the end of the case. The stop still has to be lawful, the arrest still needs probable cause, the DIC-24 still has to be correct, and any warrant still has to hold up.

How Deandra Grant Law handles a refusal case

A refusal case turns on the legality of the stop and arrest, the DIC-24, and the ALR deadline, and then on any warrant and blood result that follow. Managing Partner Deandra Grant has handled DWI refusals across North and Central Texas for more than 30 years, holds the ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist designation, and makes sure the 15-day license deadline is handled before it quietly expires.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I refuse a breath or blood test in Texas?

Yes, but it depends which test. The roadside field sobriety tests and the handheld portable breath test are voluntary with no automatic penalty. The official breath or blood test after arrest is covered by implied consent, and refusing it triggers a license suspension.

What happens if I refuse the official breath or blood test?

You face a potential license suspension of at least 180 days, the refusal can be used against you at trial, and police can seek a warrant to draw your blood by force. You also have 15 days from the date of notice of suspension to request an ALR hearing to fight the suspension.

Is refusing field sobriety tests the same as refusing the breath test?

No. Field sobriety tests and the roadside portable breath test are voluntary and carry no automatic license penalty. The implied consent suspension applies only to the official breath or blood test after a lawful arrest.

How long is the suspension for refusing a test?

A first refusal is at least 180 days. A second refusal, or a refusal with a prior, is two years. A first failed test, by contrast, is a 90-day suspension.

Can police take my blood if I refuse?

Yes. After a refusal, police can get a warrant for a forced blood draw, and in large counties an on-call magistrate can sign one within minutes. A refusal does not end the case.

Should I refuse a DWI test?

There is no universal answer. It depends on the facts of the stop and what evidence already exists. What is certain is that a refusal does not end the case and that the 15-day license deadline starts immediately.

When can police take my blood without my consent in Texas?

Texas law requires an officer to take a specimen in certain cases: a crash causing death or serious injury to someone else, a passenger under 15 in the car, or certain prior intoxication convictions. Even then, police generally still need a warrant or a genuine emergency.

What is a No Refusal weekend in Texas?

It is a period, often a holiday weekend, when counties staff prosecutors and on-call magistrates to issue blood-draw warrants quickly after a refusal. You can still refuse, but a warrant for your blood can be signed within minutes, and the license suspension for refusing still applies.

Refused a Test, or Were Forced to Give One?

A refusal starts a 15-day clock to save your license and raises issues that can decide the whole case. Deandra Grant Law has handled DWI refusals across Dallas, Fort Worth, North Texas, and Waco for more than 30 years. Call (214) 225-7117 for a free, confidential consultation.