United States · Texas eviction cases

When is a response to Texas eviction summary disposition due?

For the Rule 510.10(a) forcible-entry-and-detainer procedure, the defendant must file any response within four days after service of the petition. Set out supporting facts showing why the defendant may not be evicted and supply supporting documents. The court may consider a late response only under the stated disputed-facts and no-judgment conditions. Forcible detainer alone follows a different branch.

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Period: Four calendar days after petition service for paragraph (a), with its specific late-response provision
Trigger: Actual valid service of the petition on the defendant
Rule: Texas Rule 510.10(a), (b), 510.8(b)(14)

Texas Rules of Civil Procedure

Official consolidated rules dated October 1, 2026, with individual amendment and transition provisions

Source guide · No automated date

Check the actual eviction procedure

The existing short-period preset does not implement Rule 510.4 counting and remains unavailable for a computed result.

Texas Rule 510.10(a), (b), 510.8(b)(14)

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Which event starts this eviction procedure?

Actual valid service of the petition on the defendant

Identify whether the suit alleges forcible entry and detainer or detainer alone.

Obtain the sworn petition, attached motion and supporting documents.

Preserve actual service and prepare a facts-supported response filed and served.

Texas Rule 510.10(a), (b), 510.8(b)(14)

How are days counted in an eviction case?

Four calendar days after petition service for paragraph (a), with its specific late-response provision
Forward from actual petition service, not motion filing or trial
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.

Texas Rule 510.4–.5

How do the conditions change the procedure?

Fictitious facts. A defendant receives a detainer-only motion after filing. Applying the four-day forcible-entry branch without identifying the suit type gives the wrong procedure.

The existing short-period preset does not implement Rule 510.4 counting and remains unavailable for a computed result.

What conditions must be checked?

Specific procedure: Paragraph (a)(1) permits the plaintiff’s sworn motion at filing of the sworn forcible-entry-and-detainer petition, with all supporting facts and relied-on documents attached. Paragraph (b) instead sends detainer-only motion, response, hearing and order to Rule 503.2.
Limited late consideration: Paragraph (a)(2) permits late consideration if genuinely disputed facts exist and judgment has not been entered. It does not automatically extend the ordinary response period. Paragraph (a)(3) requires proper service and consideration before judgment without trial.
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.

Texas Rule 510.10(a), (b), 510.8(b)(14)

This four-day event is petition service in a specific suit type. It is not general summary judgment, an ordinary optional answer or a hearing-date response.
The existing short-period preset does not implement Rule 510.4 counting and remains unavailable for a computed result.

What must be filed, served and preserved?

Identify whether the suit alleges forcible entry and detainer or detainer alone.
Obtain the sworn petition, attached motion and supporting documents.
Preserve actual service and prepare a facts-supported response filed and served.
Paragraph (a)(1) permits the plaintiff’s sworn motion at filing of the sworn forcible-entry-and-detainer petition, with all supporting facts and relied-on documents attached. Paragraph (b) instead sends detainer-only motion, response, hearing and order to Rule 503.2.
Paragraph (a)(2) permits late consideration if genuinely disputed facts exist and judgment has not been entered. It does not automatically extend the ordinary response period. Paragraph (a)(3) requires proper service and consideration before judgment without trial.
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.

Common questions about this eviction procedure