Understanding Civil Court Records in Texas

Civil court records in Texas are documents produced by court authorities to record information from civil cases, as outlined in Rule 76a of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. A civil court case is a non-criminal litigation brought by one party (the plaintiff) to compel another party (the defendant) to pay money or perform a duty. Typically, civil cases address disagreements between parties. Civil court records in Texas are maintained by the judiciary and include docket sheets, filings, case files, and certificates produced during the civil proceeding.

Court records are classified as public records under the Rules of Judicial Administration, Rule 12. The rule provides that court records are public documents by default, unless they are exempt from public disclosure by Court rules, statutes, or common law. Additionally, every individual has the legal right to request access to court records from any government custodian. State statutes, however, limit certain kinds of civil judicial data from public accessibility.

Civil Court Record Statistics Reported by Texas Courts

According to the Texas judiciary's annual data reports, 1,840,797 new civil cases were filed in Texas's district, justice, and municipal courts in 2023. In 2023, more civil cases were filed in Texas than in any other state in the United States. The highest number of filings was related to municipal and administrative violations (654,698), which was 35% of Texas's civil case total. Debt claims (429,587) accounted for 23% of Texas's total civil caseload, making them the second most frequent type of civil case in the state.

Furthermore, 349,746 cases involving landlord-tenant disputes accounted for 19% of all case filings. Property disputes (18,400) and small claims (73,670) accounted for 1% and 4% of the total civil cases, respectively.

How Civil Records Differ from Criminal Records in Texas

The reasons behind the production of criminal and civil documents, as well as the understanding of the court division that creates them, are key to comprehending the differences between criminal and civil court records. Civil documents are produced as part of civil lawsuits, whereas criminal court records are created during criminal court proceedings.

Civil cases are legal disputes between people or organizations in which one party alleges that the other's acts or negligence caused injury to them. Civil cases, as opposed to criminal cases, focus on resolving private disputes rather than addressing allegations of criminal conduct. In a civil legal action, the primary objective is typically to obtain damages or another remedy for the injury that has been caused.

Naturally, there is a difference in the content of criminal and civil court documents. Criminal records contain a unique section that displays the subject's criminal history, gang affiliations, pre-trial proceedings, arrest information, and incarceration, which is not typically found in civil case records. Additionally, Criminal records also play a more critical role in law enforcement activities than civil court records.

The table below highlights the key differences between civil and criminal:

Category	Civil Record	Criminal Record
Legal Focus	Resolving private disputes between individuals/organizations and compensating victims	Punishing crimes against the state or society
Case Titles	Plaintiff v. Defendant	State of Texas v. Defendant
Potential Outcome	Monetary compensation, community service, and financial restitution.	Fines, house arrest, jail/prison, probation, community service
Public Access	Generally public	Generally, it has more restrictions, especially for serious crimes.

Structure of the Civil Court System in Texas

The civil court system in Texas comprises departments within the various trial courts in the state. Each civil court has its own regional and legal jurisdiction, which determines the types of civil cases it may handle. The Texas trial court system that handles civil cases consists of District Courts, Constitutional County Courts, County Courts at Law, Statutory Probate Courts, Justice Courts, and Municipal Courts.

Texas trial courts have complex jurisdictional arrangements, which means that different courts may have varying jurisdictions over the same civil cases. However, all civil proceedings fall under the general jurisdiction of district courts. Specific civil case categories fall under the limited authority of Constitutional County Courts, County Courts at Law, Justice Courts, and Municipal Courts.

The table below provides detailed information on the types of civil cases handled by different Civil courts in Texas:

Court	Type of Civil Cases
Justice courts	Civil actions where not more than $20,000 is involved (Rule 500:Texas Rules of Practice in Civil Courts)
Municipal courts	Has limited jurisdiction over all civil and criminal cases. Some examples of cases heard at the municipal court include parking and stopping of vehicles (Transportation Code, Ch. 682), harmful dogs, and substandard buildings. As well as any matter concerning the enforcement of health and safety and nuisance abatement rules, and situations involving abandoned motor vehicles.
Constitutional County Courts	Original jurisdiction in civil actions between $200 and $20,000
Statutory County Courts	Every civil action that the law specifies for the constitutional county courts. Additionally, certain statutory courts may have a higher maximum jurisdiction amount, ranging from $200 to $250,000, for civil disputes.
Statutory Probate Courts	Limited primarily to civil probate, mental health, and guardianship matters.
District courts	According to government code chapter 24, district courts have original jurisdiction over civil cases exceeding $200, divorce, land titles, contested elections, and other civil matters.
Business courts	A specialized trial court that handles matters relating to business disputes, breach of business agreements, and contract disputes.

Public Access to Civil Court Documents in Texas

Civil court records in Texas are public records that may be accessed by citizens, as outlined in Rule 12.4 of the Texas Rules of Judicial Administration. The rule states that judicial records are public documents that may be inspected and copied by anyone interested in them. However, part of the judicial administration rules also exempt particular types of civil court documents from public disclosure. For example, court dockets, case files, and registers of actions are public records, but documents that contain personal information of minors or sensitive data from civil cases are classified as confidential records. Civil court records may also be sealed and made confidential by other state or federal constitutional provisions. An example is trade secrets from civil cases.

Trial courts in Texas provide several channels that interested persons may use to locate and request civil records. Some of these channels include:

• Online search portals: Texas civil court records are accessible online through case management systems on the official websites of most of the state's trial courts. Tarrant County, for instance, uses its case management system to make its civil court records available online. The Texas Judicial Branch also provides access to civil case records from all 254 Texas counties through a central database. The names of case parties (usually the defendant), case numbers, or citation numbers are typically used as keywords to initiate searches on these online portals.

• Clerk of Court offices: if online searches are not feasible, individuals may visit the office of the county court clerk to make requests for civil court records. Few clerks allow individuals to request records verbally; however, most clerks' offices have a policy where requests for records must be made in writing. Like internet searches, the courthouse requires a case participant's name, case number, citation number, or the date the case was filed to locate the necessary data.
• On-site public terminals: citizens may also search for civil court records using public access computers at any Texas county courthouse. Most of these terminals contain very current information due to the proximity to the courthouse's data center. Accessing records from courthouse terminals is also consistently faster due to the efficient on-site network setup by the court.

Types of Civil Cases Filed in Texas Courts

Civil courts in Texas handle a variety of cases that may be described as either family disputes, conflicts arising from breach of an agreement, mistreatment, or violations of the Texas Civil Code. The following is a breakdown of some cases filed in Texas civil courts:

• Family law: Civil family cases in Texas include matters such as marriage dissolution, divorce, adoption, child protection, and child support. Family law is handled by the civil divisions of district courts in Texas, with guidelines provided by the Texas Family Code.
• Contract disputes: Contract disputes are civil disagreements that arise whenever a party that entered a contract fails to perform their promised obligations. Contract disputes are under the jurisdiction of the business and the district courts in Texas.

• Torts: Any action or inaction that causes harm to another person is considered a tort. Examples include Bodily injury, defamation, or carelessness. A petitioner may file a tort claim against another person or organization under the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code to obtain compensation for their pain and suffering as well as to cover their monetary losses. Tort claims fall under the jurisdiction of municipal, justice, and district courts in Texas.
• Property disputes: Property disputes in Texas are matters arising from land ownership claims and property boundary disagreements. These cases fall under the jurisdiction of district and municipal courts in the state of Texas.
• Landlord-tenant matters: Landlord-tenant disputes are civil cases that involve disagreements on evictions, lease agreements, and violations of tenant rights. Landlord-tenant matters in Texas are handled by municipal, district, and justice courts based on provisions in Title 8 of the Texas property code.
• Probate and estates: Probate cases involve guardianship of minors and people with disabilities, contesting a will, managing the assets of a deceased individual, and cases involving mental illness. According to the Texas Constitution, the district court or the constitutional county court has authority over probate cases. The Texas Estate Code directs probate processes in Texas.
• Small Claims: In Texas, small claims are civil lawsuits where the amount being disputed is less than $20,000.Small claims in Texas are filed in justice courts under guidelines provided by the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 502.4(b).

Information Captured in Texas Civil Court Files

The information captured in Texas civil court files depends on the type of Civil case from which the document was obtained. For example, probate documents usually contain unique information that may only be found within them. However, these are some of the common data that may be found on every Texas civil court file:

• Case number
• Case Title
• Name and location of the court in charge of the civil case
• Party information(defendant, plaintiff, lead attorneys or prosecutor)
• E-file of original petition
• Case type
• Date of case filing
• Case status(closed or open)
• Depositions
• Motions, orders, and citations
• Fines and financial payments

In certain situations, if a requested record contains information that is subject to disclosure while the rest is not, the records custodian typically redact the non-disclosure portion. Examples of information that typically be redacted include financial account information, Social Security numbers, and any record that contains a person's home address or home phone number.

Retention and Archiving of Civil Court Records in Texas

Civil records typically found in district, justice, and/or municipal courts in Texas are subject to mandatory minimum retention periods set by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission under Government Code, Section 441.158. The Texas courts' retention schedules provide guidelines for the duration of time that court records must be maintained as digital and microfilmed documents in accordance with Chapter 204 or Chapter 205 of the Local Government Code. Limited jurisdiction courts in Texas also have the right to determine how long they may retain court records based on the policies and procedures of their records management program.

The following is a list of general time frames for retention of civil court records in Texas :

• Small claims and limited civil cases: ~ 12 years after the case has been closed
• Civil Administrative court records ~ Permanent
• Civil witness records ~ 5years
• Family law: permanent or long-term
• Juvenile court records ~ till the subject of the record turns 19 or 21, depending on the civil case type.
• Probate court records: permanent
   

Texas Courts have the authority to keep any civil court records permanently if they believe the document has historical significance, regardless of the retention periods outlined in this schedule.

References and Official Resources

• Texas Administrative Office of the Courts: The Texas Office of Court Administration (TOCA) is a specialized state organization that provides data and tools to support the effective management of Texas's judicial branch.
• Texas Supreme Court or Judicial Council: The Judicial Council of Texas (TJC) is the policy-making body of the state judiciary. The Council researches ways to improve the administration of justice, streamline court operations, and optimize judicial processes.
• County Clerk of Court directory: The Texas Judicial Branch and Texas Secretary of State provide an online directory for County court clerks in Texas.
• Online case search system: Every court clerk's office in Texas has its own custom online search system. These systems may be used to search civil case records from their jurisdiction
• Public access or self-help law library: Citizens may visit the Texas State Law Library both online and in person to conduct legal research.