How to Fill Out and File a Texas Writ of Possession Form

To get a Texas writ of possession, you file a short request form with the Justice of the Peace court that issued your eviction judgment, no earlier than the sixth day after the judge signed it.¹ The form is a fill-in-the-blank document available at the clerk’s office or on the county’s website, and most courts also accept it electronically through eFileTexas. Once the clerk processes it and you pay the fees, the writ goes to the constable or sheriff for execution, and the full timeline from filing to lockout usually runs one to three weeks.

When You Can Request the Writ

You need a signed judgment for possession from a Justice of the Peace court before the clerk will accept a writ request. The court cannot issue the writ before the sixth day after that judgment is signed. Under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure effective March 2026, the writ also cannot issue until the day after the tenant’s appeal deadline passes, whichever is later.²

One exception shortens the wait. If you filed and the court approved a possession bond before trial and the tenant did not appear, the writ can issue immediately after judgment, with no six-day pause.¹

What Goes on the Form

Layout varies by county, but every writ of possession request asks for the same core information drawn directly from your eviction judgment. Have all of it in front of you before you start:

Court and case number. The precinct and county of the Justice of the Peace court, and the case number from your eviction filing. This ties the writ to the right judgment.
Party names. Your name or your company’s name as plaintiff, and every person named as a defendant in the original suit. If a name is missing, the constable may lack authority to remove that person.³
Property address. Full street address with unit or apartment number. Some courts also want the lot-and-block legal description from the deed. A wrong unit number can stall execution.
Judgment date. The date the judge signed the eviction judgment. The clerk uses it to confirm the six-day wait has run.
Signature. Yours, or that of your authorized agent, affirming the information is accurate.

If your judgment was a default because the tenant never appeared, the court was required to mail the tenant a copy of that judgment to the rental unit by first-class mail within 48 hours of entry.¹ Before you file your writ request, confirm with the clerk that this mailing went out. A missed step there can cause problems later.

Where to File and What It Costs

File with the clerk of the same Justice of the Peace court that handled your eviction. You can bring the form in person or submit it electronically through eFileTexas at efiletexas.gov.⁴ The clerk checks the form against the court’s records, verifies the waiting period has passed, and routes it for the judge’s signature.

Expect to pay a filing fee plus a constable service fee, and expect them to vary by county. In Bexar County, for example, the writ of possession service fee is $282 plus a $5 filing fee.⁵ Statewide, total costs generally run between $160 and $400. The constable does not get the writ for execution until the fees are paid, so have payment in hand when you file. Most courts take cash, credit cards, and certified checks, but confirm what your clerk accepts.

The landlord bears the cost of issuing and executing the writ.² You may be able to recover these amounts from the tenant as part of a money judgment, but the upfront outlay is yours.

What Happens After You File

Once the clerk processes the writ, it goes to the constable or sheriff for the precinct. The officer must serve the writ within five business days of issuance. If that window is missed, you can ask the court for a replacement writ that any other trained law enforcement officer can serve, including an off-duty officer with proper identification.¹

Before removing anyone, the officer posts a written warning on the exterior of the front door. The notice must be at least 8½ by 11 inches and must state the specific date and time of execution, which cannot be sooner than 24 hours after posting.¹ That is the tenant’s last chance to leave voluntarily.

When the officer returns, the writ authorizes four actions: delivering possession of the property to the landlord, instructing occupants to leave and physically removing them if they refuse, instructing the tenant to take their belongings or directing the landlord’s workers under the officer’s supervision to move everything out, and placing the removed property outside at a nearby location that does not block a public sidewalk, passageway, or street.¹

Property cannot be placed outside while it is raining, sleeting, or snowing.¹ In practice, the constable will reschedule if bad weather is forecast, which can add days to the process. Check the forecast before you commit a locksmith and crew to a date.

Nothing in the statute directs the officer to change the locks. Once possession is delivered, change them yourself the same day. Budget $100 to $300 for an emergency locksmith.

If the Tenant Appeals

A tenant has five days after the judgment is signed to perfect an appeal, by filing an appeal bond, making a cash deposit, or filing a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs. If the tenant perfects an appeal and pays rent into the court registry as required, the court cannot issue a writ while the appeal is pending, and the case moves to county court for a new trial.²

In a nonpayment case where the tenant appeals using an inability-to-pay statement, the tenant must deposit one rental period’s worth of rent into the court registry within five days of filing and continue paying each rental period during the appeal. Missed payments do not kill the appeal, but they let you ask the court for permission to proceed with removal.⁶ If the five-day window closes with no appeal perfected, the path to the writ reopens on the sixth day after judgment.

Deadlines That End Your Window

The writ has a short shelf life. It cannot be issued more than 60 days after the judgment is signed, though a court can extend that to 90 days for good cause. Regardless of when it issues, the writ cannot be executed after the 90th day following judgment.² Miss the window and you may have to return to court. File your request as soon as the six-day waiting period ends.

If the Property Is a CARES Act Covered Dwelling

If the rental is a “covered dwelling” under the federal CARES Act (properties with federally backed mortgages or those participating in federal housing programs), the 30-day federal notice requirement for nonpayment still affects your timeline, even after SB 38’s 2026 changes to Texas Property Code Section 24.005. You can file the eviction suit without waiting for the full 30-day federal period, and the federal notice is not a basis for the court to delay the proceeding, but the writ cannot be served until the time between your original Texas notice and writ service equals or exceeds 30 days.⁷ The safest practice for a covered property is to send a full 30-day notice at the start so nothing holds up service of the writ later.

1
State of Texas. Texas Property Code Section 24.0061 – Writ of Possession
2
Texas Judicial Branch. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure – March 1, 2026
3
Texas Justice Court Training Center. Introduction to Writs of Possession
4
Texas Law Help. How to E-File
5
Bexar County, TX. Filing Fees
6
Texas Law Help. Appealing an Eviction
7
Texas Legislature Online. 89(R) SB 38 – Enrolled Version