Tex. Est. Code § 1051.051 · Subchapter B. METHODS OF SERVING CITATION OR NOTICE; PERSONS TO BE SERVED
PERSONAL SERVICE.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (b), if personal service of citation or notice is required, the citation or notice must be served on the attorney of record for the person to be cited or notified. Notwithstanding the requirement of personal service, service may be made on that attorney by any method specified by Section 1051.055 for service on an attorney of record.
(b) If the person to be cited or notified does not have an attorney of record in the proceeding, or if an attempt to serve the person's attorney is unsuccessful:
(1) the sheriff or constable shall serve the citation or notice by delivering a copy of the citation or notice to the person to be cited or notified, in person, if the person to whom the citation or notice is directed is in this state; or
(2) a disinterested person competent to make an oath that the citation or notice was served may serve the citation or notice, if the person to be cited or notified is absent from or is not a resident of this state.
(c) The return day of the citation or notice served under Subsection (b) must be at least 10 days after the date of service, excluding the date of service.
(d) If the citation or notice attempted to be served as provided by Subsection (b) is returned with the notation that the person sought to be served, whether inside or outside this state, cannot be found, the county clerk shall issue a new citation or notice. Service of the new citation or notice must be made by publication.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 823 (H.B. 2759), Sec. 1.02, eff. January 1, 2014.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.1051.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 d20d20f504694996af431eaeb7fe2007e675c82dacfa732103999dcea0b28888
- 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
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