Tex. Const. art. XVI, § 1 · Article 16. GENERAL PROVISIONS
OFFICIAL OATH OF OFFICE.
Text — Current through the amendments approved by voters in November 2025
(a) All elected and appointed officers, before they enter upon the duties of their offices, shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:
"I, _______________________, do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I will faithfully execute the duties of the office of ___________________ of the State of Texas, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this State, so help me God."
(b) All elected or appointed officers, before taking the Oath or Affirmation of office prescribed by this section and entering upon the duties of office, shall subscribe to the following statement:
"I, _______________________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I have not directly or indirectly paid, offered, promised to pay, contributed, or promised to contribute any money or thing of value, or promised any public office or employment for the giving or withholding of a vote at the election at which I was elected or as a reward to secure my appointment or confirmation, whichever the case may be, so help me God."
(c) Members of the Legislature, the Secretary of State, and all other elected and appointed state officers shall file the signed statement required by Subsection (b) of this section with the Secretary of State before taking the Oath or Affirmation of office prescribed by Subsection (a) of this section. All other officers shall retain the signed statement required by Subsection (b) of this section with the official records of the office.
Notes and commentary — not constitutional text
History
(Feb. 15, 1876. Amended Nov. 8, 1938, and Nov. 6, 1956; Subsecs. (a)-(c) amended and (d)-(f) added Nov. 7, 1989; Subsecs. (a) and (b) amended, Subsecs. (c) and (d) deleted, and Subsecs. (e) and (f) amended and redesignated as Subsec. (c) Nov. 6, 2001.) (TEMPORARY TRANSITION PROVISION for Sec. 1: See Appendix, Note 3.)
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the amendments approved by voters in November 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CN/htm/CN.16.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 3d9fc87b6dc33563d44ec2180d5da382c944f74d967a2ec784d758e818282328
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
Cited by 4 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Tex. Const. art. XVI, § 1. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Government Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 312.011DEFINITIONS.Printed as Article XVI, Section 1, of the Texas Constitution
- Tex. Gov't Code § 406.005APPOINTMENT PROCEDURE--STATEMENT.Printed as Section 1, Article XVI, Texas Constitution
- Tex. Gov't Code § 406.010BOND; OATH.Printed as Section 1, Article XVI, Texas Constitution
- Tex. Gov't Code § 602.007FILING OF OATH MADE BY CERTAIN JUDICIAL OFFICERS AND JUDICIAL APPOINTEES.Printed as Section 1, Article XVI, Texas Constitution
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