Tarrant County Eviction Process: Notice, Hearing, and Writ

The Tarrant County eviction process runs through the county’s eight Justice of the Peace courts and moves in a fixed order: a written notice to vacate, a petition filed in the JP precinct where the property sits, a hearing scheduled 10 to 21 days later, a judgment, and — if no appeal is filed within five days — a writ of possession available on the sixth day. For an uncontested case, expect three to four weeks from notice to lockout, and budget $144 in filing costs for a single tenant.

Confirm You Have a Legal Ground to Evict

Texas Property Code Chapter 24 governs forcible entry and detainer actions, and a landlord needs a recognized reason before starting. The common grounds are nonpayment of rent, holding over after the lease term ends, a specific lease violation (unauthorized pets or occupants, prohibited activity, and so on), or termination of a month-to-month tenancy with proper notice. A vague complaint won’t survive at the hearing; the petition has to identify the ground with enough detail for the judge to evaluate it.¹

Deliver a Written Notice to Vacate

Before anything is filed, the landlord must deliver a written notice to vacate. The statutory minimum is three days for a tenant who has defaulted on rent or is holding over, unless the lease sets a different period.² Check the lease first, because it controls if it says something else.

Delivery Methods as of 2026

Effective January 1, 2026, Senate Bill 38 replaced the old subsections (f) and (f-1) of Section 24.005 with a new subsection (f-3). Any one of the following methods now satisfies the delivery requirement:

Mail — first class, registered, certified, or a commercial delivery service. A return receipt is no longer required.
Placement in a conspicuous spot inside the rental unit.
Hand delivery to any tenant at least 16 years old.
Email or another electronic method, but only if both sides have agreed to electronic delivery in writing.

The rules are broader than they used to be, but proof still wins hearings. Certified mail with return receipt or hand delivery witnessed by a third party gives you something to show the judge if the tenant later denies getting the notice.²

The three-day clock starts when the notice is delivered or received, so mail transit time counts against you. If the tenant hasn’t paid, cured, or moved by the end of the notice period, the case can move to court.

File in the Correct JP Precinct

The petition goes to the Justice of the Peace court in the precinct where the rental property is located. Tarrant County has eight precincts, and filing in the wrong one means starting over. The county publishes an interactive map that shows which precinct covers a given address.³

What the Petition Must Include

Name every adult tenant using their full legal name, list the property address, state the specific ground for eviction, and itemize any unpaid rent. If the case turns on a lease violation, describe the breach; a general grievance won’t do. Standardized forms are available from the JP clerk’s office or its website.

Filing Fees in 2026

For 2026, the total upfront cost to file an eviction against one tenant is $144: a $54 court filing fee plus a $90 constable service fee. Each additional defendant adds $90, so a petition naming two tenants runs $234.⁴ The schedule is consistent across precincts, but confirm with the specific clerk before you file.

Military Status Affidavit

If a tenant fails to appear and you seek a default judgment, federal law requires an affidavit stating the tenant’s military service status. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a court cannot enter a default judgment against an active-duty servicemember without first appointing an attorney to represent them. You can verify status through the Department of Defense’s SCRA site. Filing a false affidavit is a federal crime.

Service and the Hearing Date

After the court accepts the petition, it issues a citation formally notifying the tenant of the lawsuit and the hearing date. A Tarrant County constable serves it by personal delivery, by leaving it with someone at least 16 years old at the tenant’s residence, or by attaching it to the front door.⁵ Most hearings are set 10 to 21 days after the petition is filed, which gives the constable time to serve and the tenant time to respond.⁶

The Hearing

Eviction hearings in Justice of the Peace courts follow Rule 510 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.⁷ Both sides can present the lease, payment records, photos, the notice to vacate, and witness testimony. The judge decides whether the landlord has established the ground stated in the petition.

Either party can request a jury by filing a written request at least three days before trial and paying the jury fee. A party who cannot afford the fee can file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs to have it waived.⁷

If the tenant doesn’t show up, the landlord can obtain a default judgment.⁶ The court then has 48 hours to mail a copy of the default judgment to the rental premises by first class mail.⁸ Even on a default, the court will not sign the judgment until the military status affidavit is on file.

Judgment, Appeal Window, and Rent Into the Registry

If the landlord prevails, the court enters a judgment for possession and may also award unpaid rent and costs. Either side then has five calendar days from the date the judgment is signed to appeal. Weekends and holidays count, but if the deadline lands on a day the court is closed, the filing can be made the next business day.⁹

An appeal is perfected by posting a bond, making a cash deposit, or filing a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs. The bond or deposit is typically about one month’s rent, though the judge sets the amount. A tenant who appeals must also affirm under penalty of perjury a good-faith belief in a meritorious defense and that the appeal is not a delay tactic.⁹

A tenant who appeals can stay in the unit during the appeal only by paying rent into the court registry. The initial deposit is due within five days of filing, and rent then continues into the registry on or before each rental period.⁹ Missing a registry payment gives the landlord grounds to ask the county court for an immediate writ of possession, even while the appeal is pending.¹⁰ The appeal itself is a de novo proceeding in the county court, meaning the case is retried from scratch rather than reviewed for error.

Writ of Possession

If no appeal is filed within five days, the writ of possession becomes available on the sixth day after judgment.⁸ The landlord has to request it; it does not issue on its own.

Once issued, the constable must serve the writ within five business days. Service happens in two stages. First, the officer posts a written warning on the outside of the front door, at least 8½ by 11 inches, stating the date and time the writ will be executed. That date must be at least 24 hours out. If the tenant is still there when the officer returns, the constable delivers possession to the landlord, tells the occupants to leave, and supervises the removal of personal property to a nearby location.⁸

Defenses That Can Stop or Delay the Case

Texas law gives tenants several defenses. Ignoring them can get a case dismissed or stalled.

Retaliation

A landlord cannot file an eviction within six months of a tenant exercising a legal right, such as requesting repairs, reporting code violations, or participating in a tenant organization. Within that window the court may presume retaliation and dismiss the case. The defense does not apply where the landlord has independent grounds like nonpayment of rent.¹¹

Defective Notice

If the notice to vacate was never sent, gave too few days, or cannot be shown to have been properly delivered, the tenant can attack the case on procedural grounds. Judges take the notice requirement seriously, and landlords who cannot prove delivery often lose before the merits are reached.

Servicemember Protections

Active-duty military members and their dependents have federal protection under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. For premises where monthly rent is $10,542.60 or less in 2026, a landlord cannot evict a covered servicemember except by court order.¹²¹³ If military service has materially affected the servicemember’s ability to pay, the court must stay the case for at least 90 days, with discretion to lengthen or shorten that stay. Knowingly evicting a covered servicemember without a court order is a federal misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison.

What It Costs and How Long It Takes

The upfront filing cost is $144 for one tenant, plus $90 per additional defendant. Executing a writ of possession adds more, and landlords should budget several hundred dollars beyond the initial filing for that phase.¹⁴

An uncontested case usually runs three to four weeks: three days of notice, 10 to 21 days until the hearing, and six days from judgment to the writ. An appeal adds weeks or months. Every step has a paperwork trap that can reset the clock, so precision matters more than speed.

1
Tarrant County. Eviction Information Packet
2
State of Texas. Texas Property Code 24.005 – Notice Required Before Filing Certain Eviction Suits
3
Tarrant County, TX. Justice of the Peace and Constable Precincts Maps
4
Tarrant County. Justice of the Peace Court Precinct 5 Filing Fees
5
Tarrant County, TX. Justice of the Peace Courts – Eviction Cases
6
Texas State Law Library. The Eviction Process
7
Texas Judicial Branch. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure – Part V – Rules of Practice in Justice Courts
8
State of Texas. Texas Property Code 24.0061 – Writ of Possession
9
Supreme Court of Texas. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 510.19
10
State of Texas. Texas Property Code 24.0054 – Tenants Failure to Pay Rent During Appeal
11
State of Texas. Texas Property Code 92.331 – Retaliation by Landlord
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3951 – Evictions and Distress
13
Federal Register. Notice of Publication of Housing Price Inflation Adjustment
14
Tarrant County, TX. Justice of the Peace Courts – Eviction Cases