W.D. Tex. Local Rule CV-3 — Commencement of Action

High confidence· verified September 26, 2026Local Rules

Summary

W.D. Tex. Local Rule CV-3 — Commencement of Action: the court's own rule, verbatim from LOCAL COURT RULES OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS (Effective: April 26, 2023), official PDF, sha-custodied. Court-level requirement: applies in every case before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas alongside the federal rules and any judge-specific procedures.

Requirement

(a) Civil Cover Sheet. The clerk is authorized and instructed to require a complete and executed AO Form JS 44, Civil Cover Sheet, which shall accompany each civil case to be filed. If the filing of a civil case is not accompanied by a complete and executed Civil Cover Sheet, the clerk must accept the case for filing, but must promptly inform the filing party that the filing party must complete and execute the Civil Cover Sheet. If the filing party fails to do so not later than 7 days after being informed, the clerk must so advise the court. An unrepresented person who files a civil case or a person who, when filing a civil case, is in the custody of a civil, state, or federal institution, need not complete and execute the Civil Cover Sheet. All parties are required to advise the court of any related cases, through means of the Civil Cover Sheet or otherwise. (b) Habeas Corpus Petitions Under 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241 and 2254 and Post-Conviction Motions Under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. (1) Petitions for writs of habeas corpus filed under 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241 and 2254 and post-conviction motions filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 shall be in writing, signed, and verified under penalty of perjury. See 28 U.S.C. § 2242. (2) Such petitions and motions shall be made on forms supplied by the court or set forth in detail all the information requested in the court’s forms. (3) A § 2241 petition must be filed in the division that includes the county in which the petitioner is in custody. A § 2254 petition must be filed in the division that includes the county in which the petitioner was convicted and sentenced or is in custody. A § 2255 motion must be filed in the division in which the movant was tried and sentenced. A list of divisions and the counties they cover appears in the Introduction to these Local Court Rules.

Source of truth

(a) Civil Cover Sheet. The clerk is authorized and instructed to require a complete and executed AO Form JS 44, Civil Cover Sheet, which shall accompany each civil case to be filed. If the filing of a civil case is not accompanied by a complete and executed Civil Cover Sheet, the

Official source: W.D. Tex. — Local Court Rules (U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas)
Source health: Healthy · checked October 4, 2026
Effective date: —
Last verified: September 26, 2026benchpath-appfed-rules-2026-09-25

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