A temporary restraining order in Texas is a short-term emergency order a judge can sign, sometimes the same day it’s requested, to stop a specific harmful act while a civil lawsuit gets underway. It is governed primarily by Rule 680 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, lasts no more than 14 days, and exists to hold the situation in place until a full temporary injunction hearing can be held.1Texas Judicial Branch. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 680 Because the order can be issued before the other side has even been notified, the bar is high and every step is on a clock.
What a TRO Is For (and What It Isn’t)
A TRO is a tool used inside an active civil lawsuit to block a party from taking specific harmful actions while the case is pending. Typical uses: stopping a business partner from destroying records, blocking a former employee from leaking trade secrets, freezing the sale of a house, keeping a spouse from moving children out of state.
It is not a protective order. Protective orders are separate creatures of the Texas Family Code and Code of Criminal Procedure, aimed at family violence, sexual assault, stalking, and trafficking, and they can last up to two years.2Texas State Law Library. Types of Protective Orders If you’re in physical danger from a household member, a protective order is likely the right filing, not a TRO.
What You Have to Prove
Texas courts treat a TRO as extraordinary relief. Under Rule 680, an order granted without prior notice to the other side requires the applicant to show through specific facts that immediate and irreparable harm will result before that party can be notified and a hearing held.1Texas Judicial Branch. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 680 Texas case law adds three companion elements: a probable right to prevail on the merits, truly irreparable harm, and the absence of any adequate legal remedy.
“Irreparable” is the word that carries the weight. An injury is irreparable when money alone cannot fix it. If someone owes you $10,000 and you can collect that later through a breach of contract judgment, a TRO is generally unavailable. If, on the other hand, a business partner is about to wipe proprietary code, or a spouse has a house closing scheduled next Thursday, a later check cannot undo the loss.
Vague fears do not clear the bar. “I think he might sell the house” is weak. “He listed the house on Zillow yesterday and has a closing scheduled for next Thursday” is the kind of concrete detail that moves a judge to act.
What Papers You File
You cannot get a TRO without a lawsuit. Filing starts the case and the TRO request together. Expect to prepare:
- A verified petition or sworn motion that starts the lawsuit and requests the TRO, signed under oath, with facts detailed enough that the judge can evaluate the claim without live testimony.
- A supporting affidavit, signed before a notary, laying out dates, names, and concrete descriptions of the threatening conduct.
- A proposed TRO for the judge to review and sign, drafted with every element Rules 680 and 683 require.
Filing a new civil case in a Texas district court currently costs $350 in combined state and local fees, and additional costs can apply depending on the county and case type.3Texas Judicial Branch. District Court Civil Filing Fees
The proposed order matters more than most people realize. Rule 683 requires every restraining order to state the reasons it was issued, describe the prohibited acts in reasonable detail, and do so without merely referencing the petition. For TROs granted without notice, Rule 680 adds that the order must define the injury, explain why it is irreparable, state why no notice was given, be stamped with the exact date and hour of signing, and state when it expires.1Texas Judicial Branch. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 680 A sloppy proposed order gets sent back or denied.
Because a TRO often addresses a genuine emergency, the process usually runs ex parte: the judge reviews the papers and hears from the applicant alone. That is by design, since waiting for a response would allow the harm to happen. It also means the judge scrutinizes the materials more carefully, because only one side is on the table.
The Security Bond
Rule 684 requires anyone obtaining a TRO to post a security bond before the order takes effect. The bond protects the restrained party: if the court later decides the TRO should never have been issued, the bond covers that party’s losses and costs.4South Texas College of Law Houston. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 684 – Applicant’s Bond
The judge sets the amount based on the potential financial harm to the restrained party. A small contract dispute might see a bond of a few hundred dollars. A TRO blocking a major commercial transaction can run into tens of thousands. You file the bond with the clerk, backed by at least two sureties the clerk approves, and only then does the clerk issue the TRO. In certain family law matters, courts have discretion to set a nominal bond or, in limited circumstances under the Family Code, dispense with it between spouses.
Getting the Order to the Other Side
A TRO does not bind the other party until they are formally served. Once the judge signs the order and the bond is filed, the clerk issues a writ directing that the order be delivered. Typically a constable or private process server hand-delivers the writ along with the underlying lawsuit papers. Service fees vary by county but generally run $75 to $150.
Speed matters. The 14-day clock runs from the moment the judge signs, and any days lost to slow service are days you cannot get back.
How Long a TRO Lasts
Under Rule 680 the order expires no later than 14 days after the judge signs it, and the order itself must state the exact expiration date and time. You can ask for one extension of up to 14 additional days by showing good cause, and the court must enter the reasons for the extension into the record. After that single extension, further extensions require the restrained party’s consent.1Texas Judicial Branch. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 680
Every TRO granted without notice must set a date for the temporary injunction hearing at the earliest possible time. If the applicant fails to pursue that hearing, the court dissolves the TRO.
How TROs Work in Divorce and Custody Cases
Family law drives a large share of TRO activity in Texas, and the rules run on a slightly different track. Section 6.501 of the Texas Family Code authorizes specific restraining orders in divorce cases covering a defined set of problems: hiding or spending community assets, changing insurance beneficiaries, destroying records, removing children from the state, or disrupting a child’s school enrollment.2Texas State Law Library. Types of Protective Orders
In more than 70 Texas counties, including Dallas, Travis, and Bexar, standing orders take effect automatically the moment a divorce or custody case is filed, mirroring the Section 6.501 restrictions without a separate TRO. In counties without standing orders, such as Harris and Tarrant, you have to file a TRO request to put those protections in place.
Section 6.501 orders also have hard limits. They cannot remove a spouse from the family home, restrict reasonable living expenses, interfere with normal business operations, or determine custody and support. Those issues wait for the temporary orders hearing.
If You’ve Been Served With a TRO
Rule 680 gives the restrained party the right to file a motion to dissolve or modify the order. You need only two days’ notice to the other side before the hearing on that motion, and the court can shorten even that timeline if the situation warrants.1Texas Judicial Branch. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 680 Once filed, the motion must be heard “as expeditiously as the ends of justice require.”
Common grounds for dissolution include:
- A defective order that fails Rule 683’s specificity requirement or does not state why the injury is irreparable.
- Harm that money damages can adequately compensate.
- Changed circumstances that have ended the emergency.
- The applicant’s failure to post the required bond.
The court can also dissolve the TRO on its own if the applicant lets the temporary injunction hearing slide.
What Happens If Someone Violates the Order
Ignoring a TRO is a fast route to a jail cell. Rule 692 treats disobedience of any injunctive order, including a TRO, as contempt of court. The process starts when the other side files an affidavit identifying the violator and describing what they did, and the court then issues an arrest warrant or a show-cause order.
If the judge finds a violation, penalties under Texas Government Code Section 21.002 can include a fine of up to $500, up to six months in the county jail, or both. Civil contempt, which aims to force compliance rather than punish, can carry confinement without bail until the person complies, capped at the lesser of 18 months or the time until actual compliance.5State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 21.002 – Contempt of Court Any actual damages caused by the violation can also become part of the underlying case.
The Temporary Injunction Hearing
A TRO is a bridge to the temporary injunction hearing, where both sides present evidence and the judge decides whether restrictions should remain in place through trial. Rule 681 prohibits issuing a temporary injunction without notice to the other side, so this hearing is fully adversarial.
The evidentiary burden is heavier here. Even if the other side does not appear, you must present live testimony or other admissible evidence supporting three elements: that you are seeking permanent relief in the lawsuit, that you have a probable right to that relief, and that you face imminent irreparable harm money cannot fix. Re-filing the same affidavit you used for the TRO will not carry the day.
If the judge grants the temporary injunction, it stays in effect until final judgment, which can be months or years away. If the judge denies it, the TRO dissolves and the case continues without interim restrictions.
You Cannot Appeal a TRO
Texas law allows interlocutory appeals of temporary injunctions under Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 51.014(a)(4), but TROs are specifically excluded from that right.6State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 51.014 – Appeal From Interlocutory Order With the order expiring in 14 to 28 days, an appeal would outlast the order itself. If you believe a TRO against you was wrongly issued, the motion to dissolve is the remedy, and the sooner it’s filed the better.