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Part 1 of the Local Rules of Court of Tarrant County — standing orders of every district court and statutory county court in the county (Rule 1.01), adopted by the trial judges in Council under Gov't Code § 74.093 and approved by the Supreme Court of Texas (Misc. Docket No. 99-9164, Sept. 13, 1999). It binds pro se parties to the same requirements as counsel and deems mail to a pro se litigant's address of record constructively received (Rule 1.02); assigns cases by random selection with fixed rules for juvenile, delinquent-tax, bill-of-review, garnishment and transfer matters (Rule 1.03); sets jury and non-jury weeks (1.04); requires counsel to telephone the coordinator and give written notice within three days of a bankruptcy filing (1.05); requires pleadings to be filed with the Clerk, briefs and proposed orders to go to the Court Coordinator, and every motion for affirmative relief to carry a proposed order (1.06); prescribes which discovery responses are filed and which are only served with a Certificate of Written Discovery (1.07); ranks conflicting settings (1.10); and governs attorney vacations (1.11) and judicial absences (1.12).
Texas > Tarrant County > all District Courts and Statutory County Courts (Rule 1.01) — civil, family and criminal proceedings; pro se litigants bound equally (Rule 1.02). Part 4 (family) and Part 5 (criminal) are registered as later, separate instruments and composed on their own.
Rule 1.01(a): "These rules are the Local Rules of Court of Tarrant County, Texas. They shall govern proceedings in the District Courts and Statutory County Courts of Tarrant County, Texas, for the purpose of securing uniformity and fairness in those proceedings and in order to promote justice." (c): "These rules are standing orders of all District and Statutory County Courts of this county, now existing or as may be created hereafter. Knowing or intentional violation of these rules may be punished by contempt or other sanction authorized by law or by rules of procedure as the trial judge may deem appropriate." Rule 1.02 Parties Proceeding Pro Se: "(b) All requirements of these rules applicable to attorneys or counsel apply with equal force to pro se litigants. Pro se litigants are required to provide address and telephone listings at which they can be reached by Court personnel and opposing counsel. Failure to accept delivery or to pick up mail addressed to the address provided by a pro se litigant will be considered constructive receipt of the mailed or delivered document … Wherever “counsel” is used it includes a party not represented by an attorney." Rule 1.03 Assignment of Causes and Transfers: "(a) Except as provided elsewhere in this Rule, cases will be filed by random selection in courts designated for the subject matter of the litigation. (b) All juvenile matters shall be assigned to the court or courts designated to hear juvenile matters under Sec. 51.04, Family Code. (c) All delinquent tax suits shall be assigned to the court designated by the Local Administrative Judge. (d) Every suit or proceeding in the nature of a bill of review or otherwise, seeking to attack, avoid or set aside any judgment, order or decree shall be filed in and assigned to the Court in which such judgment, order or decree was rendered. (e) Every ancillary garnishment shall be assigned to the Court in which the suit is pending to which the garnishment is ancillary. Garnishments after judgment shall be assigned to the court which rendered the judgment on which the garnishment is based. (f) Cases may be transferred between District Courts and Statutory County Courts, subject to the jurisdictional limitations of the court to which they are transferred. Motions to transfer and to consolidate shall be filed in the earliest filed case. In suits under the Family Code where a Court is the court of continuing jurisdiction or court with mandatory or exclusive jurisdiction, such motions will be filed in that Court." Rule 1.05 Bankruptcy: "(1) Whenever any party of litigation in these courts files for protection under the bankruptcy laws of the United States, it shall be the responsibility of that party’s counsel in these courts: (i) to promptly notify the affected court(s) by immediately telephoning the Court Coordinator; and (ii) within three (3) days of any bankruptcy filing, to provide written notice to the affected court(s) and all counsel that a bankruptcy has occurred giving the name and location of the bankruptcy court, the bankruptcy cause number and style, the date of filing and the name and address of counsel for the bankrupt." (b) "Once a bankruptcy has been concluded … counsel shall promptly notify the Court Coordinator so that the affected cases may be restored to the active docket or be dismissed as may be appropriate." Rule 1.06 Filing Papers: "(a) All pleadings, motions, notices, and any other paper, document or thing made a part of the record in any civil, family law or criminal case shall be filed with the Clerk. (b) All briefs, proposed orders and judgments shall be presented to the Court Coordinator. … (d) All filed motions seeking affirmative relief from the court will either be accompanied by an Order in such form as to grant or deny the motion, or said Order will be brought to the hearing on the motion." Rule 1.07 Filing Responses to Discovery: responses under TRCP 194 (non-documentary), 196 (responses and objections), 197 and 198 "SHALL be served upon all other lead counsel or parties and filed with the Clerk" (deposition notices, subpoenas and Rule 200 notices optional); "(b) The following discovery documents and related materials SHALL be served … but SHALL NOT BE FILED with the clerk except on Special Order" — Rule 194 documentary responses, Rule 196 documents produced, Rule 199 depositions and subpoena duces tecum documents, Rule 200 documents, Rule 902(10) business-records affidavit attachments, § 18.001 affidavit attachments; (c) the responding party shall retain the originals "while the case and any related appellate proceedings are pending and for one year thereafter" and "sign and file a Certificate entitled “Certificate of Written Discovery” with the Clerk whenever discovery materials listed in Rule 1.07 (b) are retained and/or sent to another party" identifying the document, the recipients and the service date; (d) portions related to a discovery dispute, summary-judgment or other pretrial motion, or appeal may be filed without a Special Order; (e) "Documents listed in (b) of this Rule may not be filed by agreement and shall be filed only after obtaining a Special Order, following a hearing on Motion for Special Order showing good cause therefore." (The Supreme Court's approval order notes Rule 1.07 "is subject to repeal or revision pending study" of TRCP 191.4.) Rule 1.10 Resolution of Conflicting Settings: "(1) Trials on the merits in any court take precedence over hearings, motions and other temporary matters in any other court; (2) All proceedings in any court take precedence over depositions and other out of court discovery activities; and (3) All other conflicts in trial settings shall be resolved as provided in the Rules of the Eighth Administrative Judicial Region, Rule 10." Federal district and bankruptcy courts and sister-state trial courts count as Tarrant County district courts for this rule. Rule 1.11 Vacations of Attorneys: "If a case is set for trial by the court on a date for which an attorney has planned a vacation, the attorney will notify the Court as soon as the notice of trial setting is received and the case may be reset for a different time at the discretion of the court. If plans for a vacation are made by an attorney after a trial setting notice has been received, the attorney will immediately notify the Court and other parties with a request that the case be reset for a different time." Rule 1.99: "(a) All prior Local Rules are repealed as of the effective date of these rules. (b) These rules are effective January 1, 1999, or at such later date as they may be approved by the Supreme Court." Approved by the Supreme Court of Texas, Misc. Docket No. 99-9164 (Sept. 13, 1999), "temporary pending further orders of this Court."
Rule 1.01(a): "These rules are the Local Rules of Court of Tarrant County, Texas. They shall govern proceedings in the District Courts and Statutory County Courts of Tarrant County, Texas, for the purpose of securing uniformity and fairness in those proceedings and in order to promote justice." (c): "These rules are standing orders of all District and Statutory County Courts of this county, now ex
Reviewer note: Image-only registrations read through the vision lane 2026-09-05: 349 (8 pp = cover + Part 1 through the Part 3 heading; registered for the criminal district courts), 148 (17 pp, Parts 1 and 3, registered for the district courts) and 1318 (17 pp, Parts 1 and 3, registered for the county courts at law) are page-for-page identical prints of the 1999 book (pages 1, 2, 8, 9, 12, 14, 15 and 17 cross-read; byte-level scans differ). Composed once with three receipts. The 1999 signature block (Davis 17th, McCoy 48th, Barton 67th, Walker 96th, Enlow 141st, Curry 153rd, Lowe 236th, McGrath 342nd, Womack 348th, Sudderth 352nd; Keis CCL1, Wallace CCL2, Sprinkle CCL3) is the adopting bench, not the current one. Composed benchpath-ajr8-tarrant. County-site receipt(s) in custody 2026-09-06: https://www.tarrantcountytx.gov/content/dam/main/civil-courts/CountyCourts/Local_Rules_Of_Court-Tarrant_Couty.pdf (same edition); https://www.tarrantcountytx.gov/content/dam/main/civil-courts/CountyCourts/CCL1/Local_Rules.pdf (same edition); https://www.tarrantcountytx.gov/content/dam/main/civil-courts/DistrictCourts/96thCDC/genrules.pdf (same edition); https://www.tarrantcountytx.gov/content/dam/main/civil-courts/DistrictCourts/96thCDC/civrules.pdf (same edition).