When must court-referred ADR in a Texas expedited action be completed?

Establish the suit’s current expedited status and actual initial trial setting.

Read the referral order and any agreement not to engage in ADR.

Identify the required procedure, completion evidence, duration and actual applicable civil filing fees for the cost cap.

1. Establish the suit’s current expedited status and actual initial trial setting.
2. The sixty-day interval concerns completion before the initial trial setting, not referral, scheduling or a later trial reset. Rule 169(d)(4)(A) separately limits referral count, duration and total cost. Rule 169(d)(4)(C) addresses other party-agreed ADR.
3. Read the actual order and confirm every stated condition.
4. Complete the act required by the rule, not merely a date calculation.

Rule 4 excludes the triggering act or event and includes the last computed day. Periods longer than five days count intermediate weekends and holidays. Do not automatically move a backward latest date forward toward trial and shorten the required interval. Read the current rule, actual court calendar and order. This guide applies no automatic backward closed-day adjustment.

The sixty-day preset cannot select the court-referral or agreement branch, establish the initial setting or prove completed compliant ADR. It does not resolve a backward closed-day last date. This guide publishes no date.

Agreement not to engage

Rule 169(d)(4)(A) starts with the exception where the parties have agreed not to engage in ADR. Establish the actual agreement rather than assuming every expedited case has a referral.

One referral and limited duration

The covered court referral may occur once, and its procedure may not exceed half a day excluding scheduling time. The sixty-day number is not the permitted duration of the session.

Cost cap and objections

The covered procedure’s total cost may not exceed twice the applicable civil filing fees. The court must consider objections to referral unless statute prohibits them.

Other party-agreed ADR

Rule 169(d)(4)(C) permits the parties to agree to ADR other than the procedure provided under (A). Do not apply the court-referral timing and limits to a different agreement without reading it.

Final approval and effective date

The Supreme Court’s October 2, 2026 final order, Misc. Docket No. 26-9079, approved the Rules 47 and 169 amendments effective immediately. It establishes the reviewed $325,000 expedited monetary threshold. The October 1 consolidation date alone does not establish that amendment’s effective date, and historical proceedings still require their applicable law and orders. Rule 190.2’s separate qualifying-divorce estate test is not changed to $325,000 by this order.

• This guide does not establish the actual pleadings, service, calendar, legal entitlement or terms of a signed order.
• The current consolidation date does not decide historical applicability of an individual amendment.

• Establish the suit’s current expedited status and actual initial trial setting.
• Read the referral order and any agreement not to engage in ADR.
• Identify the required procedure, completion evidence, duration and actual applicable civil filing fees for the cost cap.
• Rule 169(d)(4)(A) starts with the exception where the parties have agreed not to engage in ADR. Establish the actual agreement rather than assuming every expedited case has a referral.
• The covered court referral may occur once, and its procedure may not exceed half a day excluding scheduling time. The sixty-day number is not the permitted duration of the session.
• The covered procedure’s total cost may not exceed twice the applicable civil filing fees. The court must consider objections to referral unless statute prohibits them.
• Rule 169(d)(4)(C) permits the parties to agree to ADR other than the procedure provided under (A). Do not apply the court-referral timing and limits to a different agreement without reading it.
• Complete the actual referred procedure and preserve evidence of its date, duration and total cost. Merely scheduling a session does not establish timely completion. Read the referral order for any report or filing requirement. Actual participation is not governed solely by the ordinary midnight electronic filing boundary.