Quick answer: After TABC finds a violation, it emails an administrative notice to the primary user listed in the business’s AIMS account. The notice states a deadline by which the business must act in AIMS: accept a settlement offer, or reject it and request a hearing. If no one acts by that deadline, the case is sent to TABC’s General Counsel’s Office to be set for a hearing at the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH). Knowing the steps, and the clock attached to each, is what keeps a routine citation from becoming a default decision later on.
The notice and the AIMS clock
When TABC concludes that a license or permit holder violated the Code or its rules, it sends an administrative notice to the email address marked as the “Primary” user in the licensed entity’s AIMS account. That email is the trigger for everything that follows, so the first practical risk is simply not seeing it: if the Primary contact is stale, the clock can run while no one is watching.
Inside AIMS, the business can review the alleged violation, accept a settlement offer if one is made, reject the offer and request an administrative hearing, sign documents, and pay any civil penalty. The administrative notice states the number of days the holder has to complete these actions.
The fork: settle or contest
Two paths open from the notice. The business can accept a settlement, which typically means paying a civil penalty and, in some cases, agreeing to a temporary suspension or cancellation. Or it can reject the offer and request a hearing, which moves the dispute out of AIMS and toward SOAH. There is no neutral third option that pauses the clock: doing nothing is itself a path, and not the favorable one.
What requesting a hearing sets in motion
When the holder rejects the settlement and requests a hearing in AIMS before the deadline, the case moves to TABC’s General Counsel’s Office to be set for a hearing. TABC opens the case at SOAH by filing a Request to Docket Case, and SOAH assigns a docket number. Under SOAH’s rules, the procedural deadlines do not begin to run until SOAH acquires jurisdiction over the case (1 TAC §155.51); once they do, timely filings become essential. (Letting the deadline pass without acting also sends the case to General Counsel, but as a default-track referral rather than a contested hearing the business chose.)
Decision tree
Use the notice’s stated deadline as the anchor and work from there:
- Agree with the violation? Accept the settlement in AIMS, pay the civil penalty, and the matter resolves.
- Dispute the violation? Reject the offer and request a hearing in AIMS before the deadline. The case heads to SOAH.
- Do nothing? Missing the AIMS deadline sends the case to General Counsel to be set for a hearing. From there, not taking part in the hearing can lead to a default decision made without the business’s input.
In practice
A convenience store’s owner is traveling when TABC emails an administrative notice to the store’s general inbox, which the owner rarely checks. The notice gives a set number of days to act in AIMS. By the time the owner sees it, the window has nearly closed. Because the store had updated its Primary AIMS contact to a manager who checks email daily, the manager logs in, reviews the alleged after-hours sale, and rejects the settlement to request a hearing before the deadline, keeping the option to contest alive. Had the contact stayed stale, the same facts could have ended in a referral and, with no one taking part in the hearing, a default.
FAQ
How long do I have to respond to a TABC violation notice?
The administrative notice states the number of days you have to act in AIMS. Missing that deadline can lead to the case being referred to TABC’s General Counsel’s Office and set for a hearing.
Where does the notice come from?
TABC emails it to the address marked as the “Primary” user in the business’s AIMS account, so keeping that contact current matters.
Can I just pay the citation?
If TABC offers a settlement, you can accept it in AIMS by paying the civil penalty and agreeing to any associated suspension. That resolves the matter without a hearing.
What happens if I do nothing?
The case is sent to TABC’s General Counsel’s Office to be set for an administrative hearing at SOAH, and continued inaction, including not taking part in the hearing, can result in a default decision.
Current as of June 2026. This article is general educational information, not legal advice. Procedures and deadlines change; verify the current TABC enforcement process and the deadline stated in your own notice, and consult a qualified Texas attorney about your specific situation.