(a) Filing and Service Required. Every pleading, plea, motion, or application to the court for an order, whether in the form of a motion, plea, or other form of request, unless presented during a hearing or trial, must be filed with the clerk of the court in writing, must state the grounds therefor, must set forth the relief or order sought, and at the same time a true copy must be served on all other parties, and must be noted on the docket.
(b) Service of Notice of Court Proceeding. An application to the court for an order and notice of any court proceeding, as defined in Rule 21d(a), not presented during a court proceeding, must be served upon all other parties not less than three days before the time specified for the court proceeding, unless otherwise provided by these rules or shortened by the court. Notice of any court proceeding must contain the information needed for participants, as defined in Rule 21d(a), to participate in the proceeding, including the location of the proceeding or instructions for joining the proceeding electronically, the court’s designated contact information, and instructions for submitting evidence. A court must publish the information needed for participants to participate in its proceedings.
(c) Multiple Parties. If there is more than one other party represented by different attorneys, one copy of each pleading must be served on each attorney in charge.
(d) Certificate of Service. The party or attorney of record, must certify to the court compliance with this rule in writing over signature on the filed pleading, plea, motion, or application.
(e) Additional Copies. After one copy is served on a party, that party may obtain another copy of the same pleading upon tendering reasonable payment for copying and delivering.
(f) Electronic Filing.
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(1) Requirement. Except in juvenile cases under Title 3 of the Family Code and truancy cases under Title 3A of the Family Code, attorneys must electronically file documents in courts where electronic filing has been mandated. Attorneys practicing in courts where electronic filing is available but not mandated and unrepresented parties may electronically file documents, but it is not required.
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(2) Email Address. The email address of an attorney or unrepresented party who electronically files a document must be included on the document.
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(3) Mechanism. Electronic filing must be done through the electronic filing manager established by the Office of Court Administration and an electronic filing service provider certified by the Office of Court Administration.
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(4) Exceptions.
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(A) Wills are not required to be filed electronically.
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(B) The following documents must not be filed electronically:
- (i) documents filed under seal or presented to the court in camera; and
- (ii) documents to which access is otherwise restricted by law or court order.
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(C) For good cause, a court may permit a party to file other documents in paper form in a particular case.
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(5) Timely Filing. Unless a document must be filed by a certain time of day, a document is considered timely filed if it is electronically filed at any time before midnight (in the court’s time zone) on the filing deadline. An electronically filed document is deemed filed when transmitted to the filing party’s electronic filing service provider, except:
- (A) if a document is transmitted on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, it is deemed filed on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday; and
- (B) if a document requires a motion and an order allowing its filing, the document is deemed filed on the date that the motion is granted.
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(6) Technical Failure. If a document is untimely due to a technical failure or a system outage, the filing party may seek appropriate relief from the court. If the missed deadline is one imposed by these rules, the filing party must be given a reasonable extension of time to complete the filing.
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(7) Electronic Signatures. A document that is electronically served, filed, or issued by a court or clerk is considered signed if the document includes:
- (A) a “/s/” and name typed in the space where the signature would otherwise appear, unless the document is notarized or sworn; or
- (B) an electronic image or scanned image of the signature.
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(8) Format. An electronically filed document must: (A) be in text-searchable portable document format (PDF); (B) be directly converted to PDF rather than scanned, if possible; (C) not be locked; and (D) otherwise comply with the Technology Standards set by the Judicial Committee on Information Technology and approved by the Supreme Court.
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(9) Paper Copies. Unless required by local rule, a party need not file a paper copy of an electronically filed document.
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(10) Electronic Orders, Notices, and Other Documents From the Court.
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(A) Except as provided in (B), the clerk must send orders, notices, and other documents to the parties electronically through an electronic filing system approved by the Supreme Court. A court seal may be electronic.
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(B) The clerk need not send orders, notices, or other documents electronically:
- (i) when sealed or when access is otherwise restricted by law or court order; or
- (ii) when an unrepresented party has not provided an e-mail address.
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(11) Non-Conforming Documents. The clerk may not refuse to file a document that fails to conform with this rule. But the clerk may identify the error to be corrected and state a deadline for the party to resubmit the document in a conforming format.
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(12) Original Wills. When a party electronically files an application to probate a document as an original will, the original will must be filed with the clerk within three business days after the application is filed.
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(13) Official Record. The clerk may designate an electronically filed document or a scanned paper document as the official court record. The clerk is not required to keep both paper and electronic versions of the same document unless otherwise required by local rule. But the clerk must retain an original will filed for probate in a numbered file folder.
Official Notes and Commentary
Comment to 2013 Change: Rule 21 is revised to incorporate rules for electronic filing, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s order - Misc. Docket No. 12-9206, amended by Misc. Docket Nos. 13-9092 and 13-9164 - mandating electronic filing in civil cases beginning on January 1, 2014. The mandate will be implemented according to the schedule in the order and will be completed by July 1, 2016. The revisions reflect the fact that the mandate will only apply to a subset of Texas courts until that date.
Comment to 1990 change: To require filing and service of all pleadings and motions on all parties and to consolidate notice and service Rules 21, 72 and 73.
Comment to 2023 changes: Rule 21(b) is amended to clarify requirements for notices. Rule 21(f)(10) is amended to implement section 80.002(b) of the Government Code. Clerks are encouraged to coordinate and work with other court staff to effectuate this rule. Nothing in Rule 21(f)(10) prohibits the court from sending orders, notices, and documents to parties by additional methods and the clerk is strongly encouraged to use additional methods when a party is unrepresented. If a party has not provided an e-mail address and consequently compliance with Rule 21(f)(10) is impossible, then the clerk should use an alternative method to send orders, notices, and documents to that party.