When must an appellant pay the Texas county-court eviction appeal filing fee?

Actual personal notification by the county clerk to pay the filing fee

Obtain the county clerk’s actual notification to pay and verified personal delivery.

Distinguish notification from justice judgment signing, appeal filing and county record receipt.

Establish whether the fee is actually owed and preserve completed payment and receipt.

1. Seven calendar days after the actual clerk payment notification for an owed fee
2. Forward from actual personal notification, excluding that event day
3. Identify actual court closure and the required act before applying a period.

Rule 510.4 excludes the event day and counts every intermediate day, including weekends and state or federal holidays. A final weekend or state or federal holiday moves to the next eligible day. If the last filing day falls when the court is closed for all or part of that day, filing moves to the court’s next business day. Check actual closure separately. Express business-day periods and backward minimum notice require their own assessment. The general Rule 4 short-period exclusion does not apply.

Rule 510.5(c) separately requires service of noncitation papers on all other parties and a signed written certificate stating manner and date. Email uses an address expressly provided by the receiving party; after 5:00 p.m. recipient local time it is deemed served the following day. This text does not state the ordinary Rule 501.4 written-consent requirement. Mail-only service adds three days to a document-response period, not automatically to every signing or filing period. Party-requested court proceedings ordinarily require all-party notice at least three days before the proceeding. Citation and petition service instead follows Rule 510.8.

Fictitious example

Fictitious ordinary facts. The county clerk personally notified an appellant with an owed fee on August 25, 2027. No effective waiver, mail-only response addition, controlling order or full or partial final-day court closure applies.

This calculator covers only the stated personally notified, owed-fee branch. Actual waiver, notification, court closure and completed payment require separate verification.

Statement waiver

Paragraphs (c)(1) and (h) waive the county fee and additional county Statement for an appellant perfecting with an inability Statement. Paragraph 510.20(b) directs clerk notice to pay a fee or file a Statement when the appellant did not perfect with one. Check the actual effective Statement or cost order separately.

Actual fee payment

Paragraph (h) requires payment, not merely preparing a check, filing appeal notice or depositing registry rent. If payment is not timely, the clerk returns all papers and justice court proceeds as though no appeal was attempted. Required registry rent is a separate payment.

Actual lawsuit edition

The amended order, Misc. Docket No. 25-9105, paragraphs 4 and 6, makes the amendments effective January 1, 2026 and applies rewritten Rule 510 only to eviction lawsuits filed on or after that date. Earlier lawsuits use the earlier rules even when a hearing, judgment or appeal occurs later. The order is titled preliminary approval but expressly establishes effectiveness. Check later amendments and the actual lawsuit filing date. The October 1 consolidation date is not this transition date.

Eviction has a standalone procedure

Rule 510 governs the eviction lawsuit under Property Code Chapter 24. It does not govern pre-lawsuit notices to pay rent or vacate or notices to vacate. Rule 510.1(b) excludes other Civil and Evidence Rules unless specifically provided by law or these rules and prohibits a justice court from modifying or suspending Rule 510. The ordinary Rules 500–507 fairness and extension provisions are not an independent eviction extension power.

• County-clerk fee notification is a distinct event from judgment signing, appeal perfection, record arrival and rent notice. Actual inability status can remove the fee obligation.
• This calculator covers only the stated personally notified, owed-fee branch. Actual waiver, notification, court closure and completed payment require separate verification.

• Obtain the county clerk’s actual notification to pay and verified personal delivery.
• Distinguish notification from justice judgment signing, appeal filing and county record receipt.
• Establish whether the fee is actually owed and preserve completed payment and receipt.
• Paragraphs (c)(1) and (h) waive the county fee and additional county Statement for an appellant perfecting with an inability Statement. Paragraph 510.20(b) directs clerk notice to pay a fee or file a Statement when the appellant did not perfect with one. Check the actual effective Statement or cost order separately.
• Paragraph (h) requires payment, not merely preparing a check, filing appeal notice or depositing registry rent. If payment is not timely, the clerk returns all papers and justice court proceeds as though no appeal was attempted. Required registry rent is a separate payment.
• Rule 510.5 generally requires a written, signed document actually filed with the court, except oral motions when all parties are present. Personal delivery, commercial delivery, mail and electronic filing if allowed are specified methods. Electronic filing follows Rule 21 and its ordinary court-time-zone before-midnight boundary. Check actual permitted methods and hours. Rule 510.4(b) warns that the court may act if a mailed filing is not received by its due date. Do not import the ordinary justice-court ten-day mailbox procedure.
• Rule 510.5(c) separately requires service of noncitation papers on all other parties and a signed written certificate stating manner and date. Email uses an address expressly provided by the receiving party; after 5:00 p.m. recipient local time it is deemed served the following day. This text does not state the ordinary Rule 501.4 written-consent requirement. Mail-only service adds three days to a document-response period, not automatically to every signing or filing period. Party-requested court proceedings ordinarily require all-party notice at least three days before the proceeding. Citation and petition service instead follows Rule 510.8.
• The amended order, Misc. Docket No. 25-9105, paragraphs 4 and 6, makes the amendments effective January 1, 2026 and applies rewritten Rule 510 only to eviction lawsuits filed on or after that date. Earlier lawsuits use the earlier rules even when a hearing, judgment or appeal occurs later. The order is titled preliminary approval but expressly establishes effectiveness. Check later amendments and the actual lawsuit filing date. The October 1 consolidation date is not this transition date.