To appeal an eviction in Texas, you have five days from the day the Justice of the Peace signs the judgment to file your appeal and perfect it with a bond, a cash deposit, or a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs. The case then moves to a County Court at Law, which retries it from scratch before a different judge. The filing window is short and unforgiving, so the paperwork and payments have to be right the first time.
The Five-Day Deadline and How to Count It
Start counting the day after the Justice of the Peace signs the eviction judgment. Every day counts, including weekends and holidays. If day five falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, or the court closes before 5:00 p.m., the deadline rolls to the next business day automatically under Rule 500.4(a).1Texas Judicial Branch. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure – March 1, 2026 You do not have to ask for the extension.
Miss the five days and the landlord can request a writ of possession from the Justice Court starting on day six.2State of Texas. Texas Property Code 24.0061 – Writ of Possession An officer posts a 24-hour warning on your door, and after that you can be physically removed. There is no late appeal and no way to reopen the deadline once it passes.
Three Ways to Perfect the Appeal
Filing a notice of appeal alone does nothing. You have to perfect the appeal within the same five-day window using one of three methods.3South Texas College of Law Houston. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 510.9 – Appeal
The first is an appeal bond, a surety bond payable to the landlord that guarantees you will pursue the appeal and pay any judgment and costs if you lose. The Justice Court judge sets the amount using the factors in Rule 510.11, which usually reflect rent owed and potential damages.
The second is a cash deposit for the full bond amount, paid directly to the court clerk and held in the court registry until the case ends.
The third is a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs. If you cannot afford the bond or deposit, this sworn form lets the appeal proceed without one. It also opens the door to a landlord challenge and, if the eviction was for unpaid rent, triggers a rent-deposit obligation.
Filing a Statement of Inability
The Statement uses a Texas Supreme Court–approved form available from the Justice Court clerk or on the Texas Judicial Branch website.3South Texas College of Law Houston. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 510.9 – Appeal It asks for your total monthly income from all sources, any government benefits, your regular expenses, and any assets not protected by Texas exemption law. Fill it out accurately. The landlord can contest it, and a judge will look closely at the numbers if they do.
The Statement waives the bond, not everything else. If the eviction was for nonpayment of rent, you must deposit one rental period’s worth of rent into the Justice Court registry within five days of filing the Statement.4State of Texas. Texas Property Code 24.0053 – Payment of Rent During Appeal The court gives you written notice at filing spelling out the exact amount, acceptable payment method, and deadline. Skipping that first deposit is one of the fastest ways to lose the right to stay in the home during the appeal.
When the Landlord Contests Your Statement
The landlord has five days after receiving notice of your Statement to challenge it. If they do, the Justice Court holds a hearing within five days of the contest.5State of Texas. Texas Property Code 24.0052 – Tenant Appeal on Statement of Inability to Afford You carry the burden at that hearing, so bring pay stubs, bank statements, benefit letters, and anything else that shows your finances.
If the judge sustains the contest, you can push back by filing a notice with the Justice Court within five days. The case then goes to the County Court, which holds its own hearing within five days and decides the issue fresh.3South Texas College of Law Houston. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 510.9 – Appeal If the County Court also rules against you, you have one more business day to post a bond or cash deposit to keep the appeal alive.
Giving Notice to the Landlord
Who serves notice depends on how you perfected the appeal. If you filed a Statement of Inability, the court sends the notice, no later than the next business day after filing.3South Texas College of Law Houston. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 510.9 – Appeal If you posted a bond or cash deposit, you have to serve written notice on every other party yourself within five days of filing. Miss this step and the appeal can be dismissed no matter how clean the rest of your paperwork was.
Paying Rent Into the Court Registry
Most tenant appeals fall apart here. To stay in the home while the appeal is pending, you have to keep depositing rent into the court registry on time. The first payment goes to the Justice Court registry within five days of filing the appeal. Once the case transfers to the County Court, every following payment goes into the County Court registry on or before the start of each rental pay period.4State of Texas. Texas Property Code 24.0053 – Payment of Rent During Appeal
Miss a payment, and if the Justice Court gave you the required written notice of your deposit obligation, the landlord can ask whichever court holds the case to issue a writ of possession immediately, without a hearing.6State of Texas. Texas Property Code 24.0054 – Tenants Failure to Pay Rent During Appeal No warning. The appeal itself keeps going in County Court to sort out unpaid rent and attorney fees, but you lose the home in the meantime.
What Happens in County Court
Once the Justice Court sends the transcript and records to the County Court at Law, the case starts over. This is a trial de novo: the County Court hears the whole dispute as if the earlier trial never happened, and nothing from the Justice Court binds either side.7Harris County Justice of the Peace Courts. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure Part V You can bring new evidence, call different witnesses, and make arguments you did not raise before. So can the landlord.
One deadline sneaks up on people. If you never filed a written answer in the Justice Court, you have to file one in the County Court within eight days after the case is docketed. Miss it and the court can treat every allegation in the landlord’s complaint as admitted and enter a default judgment.8South Texas College of Law Houston. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 510.12 – Judgment By Default On Appeal
County Court applies the formal Texas Rules of Evidence, so the standards for testimony and documents are stricter than in Justice Court. Eviction appeals get priority on the docket, so cases move faster than typical civil suits, though timelines depend on how busy the court is.
If You Lose in County Court
A County Court loss is not automatically the end. You can appeal to the Texas Court of Appeals, but the rules at that level are far more involved. To stay in the home during that second appeal, you must post a supersedeas bond set by the County Court within ten days of the judgment. Handling an appellate-level appeal without a lawyer is risky, and consulting an attorney immediately after the County Court ruling is the safer path.