To file for emergency custody in Texas, you file a sworn petition in district court along with an application for a temporary restraining order (TRO). A judge can review your affidavit and sign the TRO the same day, without notifying the other parent, if your sworn facts show the child faces serious harm. The order lasts up to 14 days, and both parents then appear at a follow-up hearing where the judge decides whether to keep the restrictions in place while the case continues.
If a child is in active danger right now, call 911 or report abuse to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services at 1-800-252-5400 before worrying about court paperwork. Since September 2023, Texas no longer accepts anonymous reports involving children, so you must give your full name and phone number.1Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Texas Abuse Hotline A DFPS investigation creates records that can strengthen your TRO filing later.
When a Texas Court Will Actually Grant Emergency Custody
The bar is high. Disagreements about parenting styles, schools, or household rules will not get you a TRO. The judge needs specific sworn facts showing the child’s current situation poses a real risk of physical harm or serious emotional damage.2State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 156 – Modification Situations that typically meet the standard include:
- Family violence documented through police reports, protective orders, or medical records showing injuries to the child or someone in the household.
- Substance abuse that directly endangers the child, such as failed drug tests, a DWI arrest with the child in the car, or eyewitness accounts of impaired caregiving.
- Credible threats to take the child out of state or out of the country without permission.
- Severe neglect, including refusal of necessary medical care, leaving a young child unsupervised for long periods, or failing to provide food and shelter.
If a child has been brought to Texas from another state and is being abused or abandoned, a Texas court can exercise temporary emergency jurisdiction even if another state originally handled the custody case. The child must be physically present in Texas, and the situation must involve mistreatment, abuse, or abandonment.3State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 152.204 – Temporary Emergency Jurisdiction
New Case or Modification
Which petition you file depends on whether a court has already issued custody orders for your child.
No Prior Custody Order
If no court has ever issued custody orders, you file an original Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship (SAPCR). Either parent has standing to file.4State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 102.003 – General Standing to File Suit You attach the application for a TRO to that petition.
Existing Custody Order
If a court has already issued custody orders, file a Petition to Modify the Parent-Child Relationship in the court that made the original order. That court has continuing exclusive jurisdiction, and no other court can take the case.5TexasLawHelp.org. Petition to Modify the Parent-Child Relationship Form Your affidavit must show that the child’s present circumstances would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional development.2State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 156 – Modification
If you are trying to change who the child primarily lives with and the current order is less than a year old, the standard is stricter. Your affidavit must allege that the child’s current environment may endanger their physical health or significantly impair their emotional development. The court will not even schedule a hearing unless your affidavit meets this threshold.6State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 156.102 – Requirements for Modification Within One Year
What You File
Three documents form the core of an emergency custody filing:
- The petition, either an original SAPCR or a Petition to Modify the Parent-Child Relationship.
- An Application for Temporary Restraining Order, which formally requests the emergency relief.
- A sworn affidavit laying out the specific facts that show the child is in danger.
The affidavit decides the outcome at this stage. A judge who has never met you or your child will rely almost entirely on what you write. Texas law requires a verified pleading or affidavit before any order can exclude a parent from possession of or access to a child.7State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 105.001 – Temporary Orders Before Final Order Vague worry is not enough. Include dates, times, locations, and exactly what happened. Name witnesses and give their contact information.
Before you walk into the clerk’s office, pull together every piece of supporting evidence you can find: police reports, CPS records, medical records showing injuries, threatening text messages or emails, photographs, and videos. You will not necessarily attach all of it to the TRO application, but you will need it for the hearing that follows, and organizing it now sharpens the affidavit you draft today.
Where to File and What It Costs
File your documents with the district clerk in the county where the child lives. The base filing fee for a new district court case is $137, with additional charges for citations and copies.8Texas Judicial Branch. District Court Civil Filing Fees A private process server typically charges between $45 and $150; a sheriff or constable may charge less but can be slower.
If you cannot afford the fees, file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs with your petition. The court can waive the costs entirely.9Texas Judicial Branch. Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs The court also has discretion to waive bond requirements for temporary orders involving a child’s welfare, and it can order the other parent to contribute to reasonable attorney’s fees in the temporary orders.7State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 105.001 – Temporary Orders Before Final Order
The Same-Day Judicial Review
Once filed, the documents go directly to a judge. The other parent does not need to be notified. This “ex parte” review is what makes the emergency process fast, and a judge can sign the TRO the same day you file.10Texas Law Help. TROs, Temporary Injunctions, and Temporary Orders in Child Custody Emergencies If the judge finds your affidavit convincing, a signed TRO can temporarily change custody, bar the other parent from contact with the child, prevent anyone from moving the child outside a defined area, and restrain both parties from harassing each other.7State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 105.001 – Temporary Orders Before Final Order
Serving the Other Parent
The TRO takes effect the moment the judge signs it, but the other parent cannot be held responsible for violating it until they have been formally served. Service must be performed by a neutral third party: a sheriff’s deputy, a constable, or a private process server. You cannot deliver the paperwork yourself.
The process server delivers a citation, a copy of the petition, and a certified copy of the signed TRO. Get certified copies from the clerk’s office right after the judge signs the order. Ask for extras: one for the process server, one to keep with you in case you need to show it to local law enforcement, and one for your own records.
The 14-Day Limit and the Hearing That Decides Everything
A TRO expires on the date the judge sets in the order, which cannot exceed 14 days from signing. The court can extend it once for another 14 days if you show good cause, for example if the other parent has not yet been served. Any further extension requires the other parent’s consent.11Court Rules Network. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 680 – Temporary Restraining Order
The TRO sets a date for a follow-up hearing within that 14-day window. This is the first time both parents appear before the judge, and the dynamic changes completely. The judge hears testimony, reviews documents and photographs, and considers any witnesses each side brings.
At the end of the hearing the judge chooses. If the evidence does not support continuing restrictions, the TRO expires and the previous arrangement resumes. In genuine emergencies the judge more often issues temporary orders that remain in place while the full case works through the system, a process that can stretch over several months. Those temporary orders can cover custody, visitation, child support, and geographic restrictions on where the child can live. The best interest of the child governs every decision.12State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 153.001 – Public Policy
Come prepared. Bring every piece of evidence you gathered along with any witnesses who can testify to what they saw. The TRO will not simply roll forward on its own. The other parent will likely have an attorney, and the judge will be hearing their account for the first time.
If the Other Parent Violates the Order
Violating a TRO or any temporary order is punishable by contempt of court.7State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 105.001 – Temporary Orders Before Final Order For an immediate safety threat, call law enforcement and have your certified copy of the order ready. For violations that are not immediately dangerous, file a motion for enforcement in the same court that issued the order.13State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 157.001 – Motion for Enforcement Contempt can result in fines and jail time, and a pattern of violations weakens the other parent’s position when the judge later decides long-term custody.
Getting Help With the Filing
Emergency custody cases move fast, and a weak affidavit means a denied TRO, possibly the only chance you had to act before the other parent was tipped off. If you can afford an attorney, hire one. Family law attorneys draft these applications routinely and know what level of detail judges in your county expect.
If you cannot afford a lawyer, TexasLawHelp.org offers court-approved forms, step-by-step filing guides, and a tool that matches you with local legal aid organizations. Many counties also hold free legal clinics where a volunteer attorney can review your situation one-on-one. A single consultation is often enough to catch the most common filing mistakes before they cost you the order.