To file for arbitration in Texas, review your contract’s arbitration clause to confirm it covers the dispute, choose the provider named in the agreement, and submit a written demand for arbitration along with the required filing fee. Texas enforces these agreements under the Texas Arbitration Act (Chapter 171 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code) and, for disputes touching interstate commerce, the Federal Arbitration Act. The steps below track a case from the first read of the clause through a court order enforcing the final award.
Step 1: Check the Arbitration Clause Before You File Anything
A written agreement to arbitrate is valid under Section 171.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code as long as it covers a controversy that exists when the agreement is signed or one that arises later.1State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 171 The statute requires a writing, not signatures from both sides, though most commercial contracts have them.
Your specific claim also has to fall within the scope of the clause. Texas courts read scope broadly and resolve doubts in favor of arbitration, as the Texas Supreme Court held in In re FirstMerit Bank, N.A.2FindLaw. In re FirstMerit Bank
Many clauses require preliminary steps: written notice of the dispute, a waiting period, or an attempt at mediation. Skip them and the other side, or the provider, can bounce your demand. Some clauses also impose a contractual filing deadline. In In re Poly-America, L.P., the Texas Supreme Court enforced an arbitration obligation that required claims to be filed within one year of the triggering event, even after severing other unconscionable provisions from the same agreement.3FindLaw. In re Poly-America, L.P. Miss that internal deadline and the claim can die before it starts.
If the other side has an agreement with you but refuses to arbitrate, Section 171.021 lets you ask a Texas court to compel it. The court must order arbitration once you show a valid agreement and a refusal.4State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 171.021 – Proceeding to Compel Arbitration
Claims That Cannot Be Forced Into Arbitration
One boundary worth knowing before you file anywhere. The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, in effect since March 2022, lets a person alleging sexual assault or sexual harassment choose court over arbitration regardless of what a predispute agreement or class-action waiver says. A court, not the arbitrator, decides whether the law applies.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 9 USC 402 – No Validity or Enforceability This applies to Texas employment and consumer disputes alike.
Step 2: Identify the Provider and What It Will Cost
If your contract names a provider, you use that one unless both sides agree otherwise. The common providers are the American Arbitration Association (AAA), Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS), and the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR). Each publishes its own procedural rules, fee schedules, and arbitrator panels.
Fees vary. JAMS charges a $2,000 filing fee for two-party matters, $3,500 when three or more parties are involved, and $250 for consumer disputes.6JAMS. Arbitration Schedule of Fees and Costs AAA’s commercial fees scale with the claim size, from a few hundred dollars for small disputes to tens of thousands for large ones. Arbitrators also bill hourly or daily on top of the filing fee, and multi-day hearings add up.
Most agreements split fees between the parties, though some load the initial cost onto the filer. Texas courts generally enforce cost-sharing terms, but a prohibitive cost structure can, in the right circumstances, render an arbitration agreement unconscionable. A Texas appeals court examined $33,150 in arbitration expenses on that theory in Olshan Foundation Repair Co. v. Ayala.7Justia. Olshan Foundation Repair Company v. Remigio E. Ayala and Martha Ayala Read the fee provisions before you file so you know exactly what you owe on day one.
Step 3: Draft the Demand for Arbitration
Texas law does not prescribe a format for the demand, but incomplete filings get sent back. At a minimum, include:
- Names and contact information for every party.
- A clear description of the dispute.
- The relief you want, whether money damages, specific performance, or both.
- A reference to the arbitration clause, with a copy of the agreement attached.
- A citation to the governing rules, such as the AAA Commercial Arbitration Rules or JAMS Comprehensive Arbitration Rules, if the contract specifies them.
Attach supporting documents: the underlying contract, prior correspondence about the dispute, and evidence that you completed any prerequisites like written notice or mediation.
Step 4: File With the Provider and Pay the Fee
Submit the demand to the provider along with the filing fee. AAA uses an online case management system, JAMS accepts filings by email, and both take physical mail if you prefer the slower route. If the required fee is not paid, the provider will not process the case. Where the agreement obligates the other side to share costs and they refuse, Chapter 171 gives Texas courts authority to enforce the agreement and its terms.
Step 5: Serve the Other Party
After filing, serve a copy of the demand on the opposing party. Providers require proof of service before the case moves forward. Certified mail, personal delivery, and email (when the agreement allows electronic notice) are typical methods. Check the contract for any specific notification requirement, because using the wrong method gives the other side an opening to challenge the arbitration later.
What Happens After You File
Selecting the Arbitrator
Most providers keep panels of arbitrators sorted by practice area, including construction, employment, intellectual property, and commercial contracts. Some agreements call for a single arbitrator; complex or high-value disputes may require a panel of three. Selection is usually done by mutual agreement, by ranked lists where each side strikes names, or by direct appointment by the provider.
If the agreement is silent on selection, Section 171.041 authorizes a Texas court to appoint one or more qualified arbitrators when there is no method, when the agreed method fails, or when a previously appointed arbitrator cannot serve.8State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 171.041 – Appointment of Arbitrators
Responding to a Demand or Filing a Counterclaim
If a demand lands on you, you have a limited window to file a response, often called a statement of defense or answering statement. The window varies by provider and commonly runs 14 to 21 days from receipt. Address the claims, raise defenses, and flag any procedural objections. If you have claims of your own from the same facts, file them as a counterclaim with your response; counterclaims filed later require good cause and sit at the arbitrator’s discretion. JAMS charges a separate $2,000 filing fee for counterclaims.6JAMS. Arbitration Schedule of Fees and Costs
Discovery Is Limited by Design
Arbitration gives you less discovery than a lawsuit. Arbitrators have broad discretion to decide what discovery is appropriate under most provider rules, and parties usually exchange relevant, non-privileged documents voluntarily. JAMS offers optional expedited procedures that specifically cap depositions, document requests, and electronic discovery in exchange for a faster schedule. The Texas Rules of Evidence are not binding on the arbitrator but can serve as a guideline.
Getting information from someone who is not a party to the arbitration is harder. Section 7 of the Federal Arbitration Act lets an arbitrator summon a non-party witness to appear at the hearing with documents, but courts have read the provision narrowly: the arbitrator generally cannot compel document production without live appearance, and pre-hearing depositions of non-parties are not available through arbitrator subpoenas.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 9 USC 7 – Witnesses Before Arbitrators Enforcing a subpoena against a resistant non-party means going to federal district court where the arbitrators sit.
Scheduling the Hearing
The Texas Arbitration Act sets no mandatory timeline. Scheduling turns on complexity, arbitrator availability, and any deadline written into the contract. Arbitrators must disclose conflicts before a hearing is confirmed, and a late-surfacing conflict can push the date back by weeks. Hearings can be in person, by video, or a mix; Texas law does not require any particular format. If the agreement is silent on location, the arbitrator picks one.
After the Award: Confirming and Challenging
The arbitrator issues a written award at the end of the hearing. If the losing party pays, the case is over. If they do not, you need a court to convert the award into an enforceable judgment.
Confirming the Award in Court
Under Section 171.087, a Texas court must confirm an arbitration award unless the opposing party raises a valid ground to vacate or modify it.10State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 171.087 – Confirmation of Award You file an application to confirm in a Texas court with jurisdiction. Once confirmed, the award becomes a judgment, which opens up wage garnishment, bank levies, and property liens. Filing fees for the confirmation petition vary by county but usually run a few hundred dollars.
Post-judgment interest starts accruing on a confirmed award. The Texas post-judgment interest rate is set monthly by the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner under Texas Finance Code Section 304.003, so check the current figure when you file.11Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner. Historical Table of Postjudgment Interest Rates
The Narrow Grounds to Vacate
Section 171.088 lists the only bases a Texas court will consider for vacating an award:
- The award was obtained by corruption, fraud, or other undue means.
- The neutral arbitrator showed evident partiality, or any arbitrator engaged in corruption or willful misbehavior.
- The arbitrators exceeded their powers, refused to postpone a hearing without sufficient cause, refused to hear material evidence, or conducted the hearing in a way that substantially prejudiced a party’s rights.
- There was no valid agreement to arbitrate, the issue had not been resolved in a prior court proceeding, and the objecting party did not participate in the hearing without objection.
A motion to vacate must be filed within 90 days after receiving the award. For fraud-based challenges, the 90 days runs from when the grounds were discovered or should have been discovered.12State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 171.088 – Vacating Award Miss the window and the court will confirm.
You cannot ask a court to review whether the arbitrator got the law or the facts wrong. In Hoskins v. Hoskins, the Texas Supreme Court held that the grounds in Section 171.088 are exclusive and that “manifest disregard of the law” is not a recognized basis for vacating an award under Texas law.13Justia. Hoskins v. Hoskins Arbitration awards in Texas are, for practical purposes, final. Go in expecting that.