An eviction appeal in Texas usually takes four to eight weeks from the Justice of the Peace judgment to the county court’s final ruling, and busy urban dockets can push that longer. If you ask how long an eviction appeal takes in Texas start to finish, the honest answer is that the filing window is tight, the trial wait is the biggest variable, and a six-day buffer plus writ execution adds roughly another week and a half at the end.
Five Days to File the Appeal
The clock starts the moment the Justice of the Peace signs the judgment. You have five days to file the appeal with the same JP court that issued the ruling.1Texas State Law Library. Appealing an Eviction If day five lands on a day the courthouse is closed, Texas time-computation rules push the deadline to the next business day. Beyond that, there are no extensions.
To perfect the appeal you file one of three things under Rule 510.9 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure: an appeal bond signed by two sureties, a cash deposit in the amount of the bond, or a statement of inability to afford payment of court costs (sometimes called a pauper’s affidavit).1Texas State Law Library. Appealing an Eviction You also have to serve the other side with notice of the appeal, by personal delivery, mail, fax, email, or another method the court directs. Miss either the filing or the notice inside the five-day window and the right to appeal is gone.
How Long Until the County Court Trial
Once the appeal is perfected, the JP court transfers the case file to the county court, which handles the appeal as a brand-new trial. Nothing from the JP hearing carries over. Both sides present evidence and witnesses from scratch, and either side can bring in new arguments or documents.2Hill County, Texas. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 510 – Eviction Cases
Under Rule 510.10, the county court must give the parties at least eight days’ notice before the trial date.2Hill County, Texas. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 510 – Eviction Cases That eight-day rule is a floor, not a ceiling. How long you actually wait depends on the court’s calendar:
- Smaller and rural counties often set trials within two to three weeks of receiving the file.
- Large urban counties with heavy caseloads commonly run four to six weeks, and some stretch longer.
If you did not file a written answer in the JP court, you need to file one in the county court before trial. Without it, Rule 510.10 lets the county court treat the landlord’s claims as admitted and enter a default judgment on the trial date.2Hill County, Texas. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 510 – Eviction Cases That is one of the more common ways an otherwise viable appeal collapses before it is heard.
The trial itself is usually resolved in a single hearing.
Rent Deposits That Can Collapse the Timeline
If the eviction was for nonpayment of rent and you appealed with a pauper’s affidavit, the four-to-eight-week timeline only holds if you keep up with rent deposits during the appeal. The JP court gives you a written notice when you file the affidavit, stating the exact amount due and setting a deadline within five days of filing.3Harris County Justice of the Peace Courts. Filing Eviction Cases After that initial deposit, you have to pay rent into the county court registry within five days of each rental due date in your lease for as long as the appeal is pending.
Miss a payment and the landlord can file a sworn motion. The county court will issue a writ of possession immediately unless you pay everything owed, plus the landlord’s attorney fees, on or before the hearing date. Miss a second payment and the writ issues with no chance to catch up.4State of Texas. Texas Property Code PROP 24.0054 A missed deposit can shrink the appeal from weeks to days.
Six Days After Judgment, Then the Writ
If the landlord wins at the county court trial, you do not have to leave that same day. A writ of possession cannot be issued until at least the sixth day after the judge signs the judgment for possession.5State of Texas. Texas Property Code 24.0061 – Writ of Possession The court also has to mail a copy of the judgment to the rental address within 48 hours of entry.
Once the writ issues, it goes to the local constable or sheriff, who must serve it within five business days.5State of Texas. Texas Property Code 24.0061 – Writ of Possession Service does not mean immediate removal. The officer posts a written warning on the front door stating the date and time of execution, and that date must be at least 24 hours after the warning is posted. Only then can the officer return to physically remove the tenant and place belongings outside, and not during rain, sleet, or snow.
Add it up and the back end of the case runs roughly a week to a week and a half from judgment to physical removal.
A Further Appeal Adds Months
The county court judgment is not necessarily the end. Either side can appeal to a higher appellate court. To stop the tenant from being removed while that appeal runs, the appellant has to file a supersedeas bond within ten days of the county court judgment. The judge sets the amount based on projected rent during the appeal, potential damages from the delay, and any other costs the court considers appropriate.6State of Texas. Texas Property Code PROP 24.007 – Appeal Without the bond, the eviction moves forward even with the appeal pending.
This second appeal is not a new trial. The appellate court reviews the record from the county court for legal errors rather than re-hearing the facts. These appeals commonly take several months to resolve.
The Full Timeline at a Glance
- Filing the appeal: 1 to 5 days after the JP court judgment.
- Transfer and trial scheduling: 2 to 6 weeks, with at least 8 days’ notice before trial.
- County court trial: usually a single hearing.
- Waiting period after judgment: at least 6 days before a writ can issue.
- Writ execution: served within 5 business days, followed by a 24-hour posted notice before physical removal.
A straightforward appeal in a county with a manageable docket wraps up in roughly four to six weeks. In a busy urban court, six to ten weeks is more realistic. A further appeal to an appellate court adds several more months on top of that.