Civil Court Cases and Records
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Civil Fees as of January 1, 2023
Overview
The County Clerk's office maintains records on civil suits filed for $500 or less in Montgomery County Courts at Law. We also maintain records on cases that are appealed from the Justice of the Peace Courts. The District Clerk handles civil filings in amounts greater than $500, family matters including divorce, condemnations and all Juvenile cases.
Fee payment
Please provide separate checks for filing fees and for the service fees. The check for filing fees may be made to L. Brandon Steinmann, County Clerk.
Jurisdiction
The County Courts at Law have concurrent jurisdiction with the District Courts on civil cases valued between $500 and $200,000, and on family law cases. However, the District Clerk serves as the clerk for the county courts at law in family law cases and all civil cases worth more than $500. The District Clerk establishes separate dockets for the county courts at law. The County Clerk serves as the clerk of the county courts at law for all other cases. Texas Government Code § 25.1722(e).
E-File
All attorneys are required to electronically file their cases. http://efiletexas.gov/
Pro se litigants are encouraged to electronically file their cases. https://selfhelp.efiletexas.gov/SRL
Petition for Non-Disclosure
An order for nondisclosure is a court order prohibiting public entities, including courts, clerks of the court, law enforcement, and prosecutorial offices from disclosing certain criminal records.
The Texas Office of Court Administration has provided an overview for non-disclosures on its website. https://www.txcourts.gov/rules-forms/orders-of-nondisclosure/
Expunctions
Expunctions are petitions to remove records of certain defendants related to their arrest for criminal offense. These cases, even those involving misdemeanors, are all filed and handled through the District Clerk’s Office. Once an expunction is granted, the records contained in our office subject to the order of expunction are expunged if the County Clerk is included on the order as an entity to receive notification
FORMS
Civil Process Request Form
*Please complete a separate form for each citation or abstract/subpoena/writ you are requesting.
Use this form to have the clerk prepare and return to you:
1. Citation
2. Citation by Certified Mail
3. Subpoena
4. Writ
5. TRO
6. Abstract
7. Other type of service
You can receive your documents by:
1. Pickup by the person you designate.
2. Mail to the address listed on the form.
3. E-service through e-file.
Citation by Publication
Citation by Publication for a newspaper will be returned to you for you to perfect service. Some citations will be exempt from publication in a newspaper. See Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 116 for more information. The County Clerk will not determine whether you are exempt from publication in a newspaper.
Once we issue your citation by publication, we will post it to the OCA Website in accordance with Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 116. You must designate how many days you want the citation posted on the OCA Website.
For more information, please see the OCA website:
https://www.txcourts.gov/judicial-data/citation-by-publication/
Motion and Order to Withdraw Funds from the Registry of the Court
A party must obtain an order from the Court approving the withdrawal of funds previously deposited in the Court’s Registry in their case. You may use the order form linked below, an order you prepare, or an order prepared by your attorney. The form is a fillable form: you can fill in the fields using the computer, print it out, and sign it. Unless you are signing it in the presence of the clerk (at the County Clerk’s Office), you must have it notarized (for example, in the event you are mailing in the Order).
Registry Deposit and Withdrawal Instructions
Use this form when making a deposit into or withdrawal from a Court’s Registry Account. This is used in civil, probate and guardianship cases in which a Court Registry Account was ordered to be opened.
Click here for information on statement of inability to pay costs.
