Texas does not use the term “5150.” That number comes from California’s Welfare and Institutions Code and has no legal effect in Texas. The equivalent process in Texas is called emergency detention, and it is governed by Chapter 573 of the Texas Health and Safety Code. A peace officer can take a person into custody without a warrant, or a magistrate can issue one on a private citizen’s application. Either way, the person can be held at a mental health facility for up to 48 hours while a physician decides whether continued treatment is needed.
When Emergency Detention Is Allowed
Texas sets a high bar for taking someone into custody against their will. Under Section 573.001, a peace officer can detain a person without a warrant only when three things are true at the same time. The officer must believe the person has a mental illness. Because of that mental illness, the person must show a substantial risk of serious harm to themselves or others, severe and worsening emotional distress, or an inability to recognize their symptoms or weigh the risks and benefits of treatment. And the officer must believe there isn’t time to get a warrant first.1State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 573.001 – Apprehension by Peace Officer Without Warrant
Texas defines “mental illness” as an illness, disease, or condition that substantially impairs thought, perception of reality, emotional process, or judgment, or that grossly impairs behavior as shown by recent disturbed behavior. The definition specifically excludes epilepsy, dementia, substance abuse, and intellectual disability.2State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 571.003 – Definitions
A diagnosis alone is not enough. The risk of harm has to be imminent, meaning the person would likely hurt themselves or someone else if not immediately restrained. That risk can be shown through observable behavior or through emotional deterioration so severe that the person clearly cannot remain safely at liberty.1State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 573.001 – Apprehension by Peace Officer Without Warrant
The Two Ways a Hold Can Start
An emergency detention in Texas begins one of two ways. Which path applies depends on how urgent things are.
A Peace Officer Acts Without a Warrant
When a peace officer personally observes behavior that meets the criteria above, or receives a credible report of it, the officer can take the person into custody immediately. No judge is involved at that moment.1State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 573.001 – Apprehension by Peace Officer Without Warrant After transporting the person to a mental health facility, the officer files a Notification of Detention. That form has to document the specific dangerous behavior the officer saw or was told about, the officer’s basis for believing the person has a mental illness, and why the risk of harm is imminent.3State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 573.002 – Peace Officers Notification of Detention
A Magistrate Issues a Warrant
When there is enough time for judicial review, any adult can file a written application for emergency detention with a judge or magistrate. The applicant has to appear in person and describe what they saw. The magistrate will deny the application unless there is reasonable cause to believe the person has a mental illness, there is a substantial risk of serious harm, the risk is imminent without restraint, and emergency detention is the least restrictive way to address it. If those findings are made, the magistrate issues a warrant directing a peace officer to pick the person up and transport them to the nearest appropriate facility.4State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 573.012 – Issuance of Warrant
The 12-Hour Exam and 48-Hour Clock
Two clocks start the moment the person arrives at the facility. A physician has to examine the person as soon as possible, and no later than 12 hours after the person was first taken into custody by the peace officer.5State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 573.021 – Preliminary Examination That exam decides whether the detention is clinically justified. If the physician concludes the person does not meet the criteria for emergency admission, the facility has to release them.
If the physician does find grounds to continue, the person can be held for up to 48 hours from the time they were presented to the facility. Waiting for initial medical care counts toward that window. If the 48-hour mark falls on a weekend, a legal holiday, or before 4:00 p.m. on the next business day, the hold can extend until 4:00 p.m. on that next business day. If it falls at any other time, the detention ends at 4:00 p.m. on the same day it expires. A judge can extend the deadline in 24-hour increments during extreme weather emergencies or disasters, but a new written order is required each day.5State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 573.021 – Preliminary Examination
To authorize formal admission rather than just observation, the physician must write a statement confirming that the person has a mental illness creating a substantial risk of serious harm, that the risk is imminent without restraint, and that emergency detention is the least restrictive option available.6State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 573.022 – Emergency Admission and Detention
What Happens After 48 Hours
If the treatment team wants to keep the person past 48 hours, the facility cannot simply do so. It has to go back to court and obtain an Order of Protective Custody, supported by new physician certificates.5State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 573.021 – Preliminary Examination Without that order, the person is released when the 48-hour limit expires.
Once an Order of Protective Custody is entered, the person is entitled to a probable cause hearing within 72 hours. The person and their attorney can appear and challenge the claim that they pose a substantial risk of serious harm. The magistrate can consider a wider range of evidence at this stage than at a full commitment hearing, including letters and affidavits.7State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 574.025 – Hearing on Protective Custody
If the case proceeds and the court orders temporary inpatient mental health services, the treatment period cannot exceed 45 days. A judge can extend it to 90 days if the longer period is found necessary.8State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 574.034 – Order for Temporary Mental Health Services This is where the process crosses from emergency stabilization into formal involuntary treatment, with fuller legal protections.
Rights During the Hold
Being held involuntarily does not strip a person of basic rights, and facility staff are required to inform patients of them.
You have the right to communicate by telephone and mail with people outside the facility, including unrestricted communication with your attorney, the courts, and the state attorney general. You have the right to receive visitors.9Office of the Texas Governor. Mental Health Resources and Protections Access to a lawyer matters quickly, because the facility may seek protective custody or court-ordered treatment within days.
Medication is one of the most common questions. A facility generally cannot force psychiatric medication on an adult patient who refuses it. The exceptions are narrow: a medication-related emergency, a court order entered after a hearing, a parent or guardian’s consent for a minor, or consent from an authorized legal representative. When a facility wants to medicate an unwilling adult outside of an emergency, it has to petition the court, and the patient has the right to attend the hearing and to be represented by an attorney at no cost.9Office of the Texas Governor. Mental Health Resources and Protections
A detained person can also petition for a writ of habeas corpus. A judge who finds the detention unlawful must order immediate discharge.
Firearm Consequences
A short-term emergency detention under Chapter 573, standing alone, does not trigger a federal firearm prohibition. The federal Gun Control Act bars firearm possession by any person who “has been committed to a mental institution,” and federal law generally reads that as a formal judicial commitment rather than a brief emergency hold.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
The picture changes if the case escalates to court-ordered mental health services under Chapter 574. A judge’s order for involuntary inpatient treatment after a hearing triggers a federal firearm ban that lasts indefinitely. Texas provides a path to restore firearm rights: after discharge, the person can petition the same court that issued the commitment order for relief. The court hears evidence about the circumstances of the commitment, mental health and criminal history, and reputation, and grants relief only if it finds the person is no longer likely to act dangerously and that removing the restriction serves the public interest.11State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 574.088 – Relief From Disabilities in Mental Health Cases
Getting Help in a Crisis
If someone is in immediate danger of harming themselves or another person, call 911. A peace officer can start emergency detention on the spot when the situation calls for it. When the situation is serious but not immediately life-threatening, several Texas resources can help before things escalate.
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 for immediate crisis support. A TTY option is available by dialing 711, then 988.
- 211 Texas: call or text 211 to connect with local mental health services and community resources.
- Local Mental Health Authority: every region of Texas has one, with 24/7 crisis services that include in-person crisis assessments. Contact information is available through the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.12Texas Health and Human Services. Mental Health Crisis Services
Early contact with a crisis service often opens the door to voluntary treatment and, in many cases, avoids the need for involuntary action altogether.