Register a Guardianship
Guardianship Registration Information
No; guardianship registration is free. If you are prompted to pay a fee it means you’ve completed the wrong form. You must go to your View Pending Applications page on your online profile and click the link to Withdraw it. Do not submit payment.
No. Under section 10.2 (a) of the JBCC Rules, registrations must be submitted via our online system. Those who do not have internet access to submit online can contact us to request a form be mailed to them.
When entering the address for the Ward, you should enter the ward’s physical address. The physical address is where the ward is (currently) physically located.
Your attorney will assist you with filing an application to transfer your guardianship to Texas.
Please contact the county where the guardianship is filed for guidance on transfers.
A certified guardian is an individual that provides guardianship services for a living. They may be guardian to multiple individuals, their estates, or both the individual and their estates. A non-certified guardian is generally an individual that is seeking to be appointed as guardian over a friend or family member, their estate, or both the individual and their estate.
- The court clerk must notify the JBCC when proposed guardian qualifies and is appointed as guardian.The clerk also notifies the JBCC of the closure of a registration and the reason for closure. Reasons, including but not limited to, the following:
- Termination/Removal,
- Dismissal,
- Transfer,
- Ward is Deceased,
- Non-suit, and
- Minor reaches adult status, no longer needs a guardian.
Yes. Temporary guardians must register and are subject to the criminal history background check.
Co-Guardians
Co-guardians must register separately. You must indicate there is a co-guardianship by providing their legal name in the field for the question regarding co-guardians.
Please ensure the information on the protected person is the same in both registrations.
Co-guardians must each take the guardianship training course and obtain separate certificates. They cannot take the course together, or have one take the course, and have both names on one certificate.
No. Each co-guardian must have their own profile and must submit their registration under their own profile.
If you applied under someone else's profile, please email the GR department to advise of this situation and provide them the transaction number for the incorrectly submitted registration.
Because we cannot transfer registrations from one profile to another, the registration will be withdrawn and you must resubmit it when you create your profile.
Guardianship Registration Applications
Once your registration has been approved (i.e., processed), an automated email will be sent to you. Please be sure to check your email inbox and spam folder for this correspondence.
This is not a required item. It is there so you have the option to upload any additional documentation that you would like for us to review with your registration. If you do not have anything additional to provide, you can skip this item.
You must enter it into the designated field on the registration application.
Please enter “Unknown” in this field if you do not have this information.
The application summary only contains the information provided at the time of registration. Any changes made after the registration is submitted will not be reflected on the application summary.
Guardianships must be registered under the Program’s profile. Guardianship Registrations should not be submitted under the profile of a certified guardian employed by the Program.
Guardianship Training Module
Use Google Chrome to take the training. Apple products and mobile devices may not be compatible resources to complete the guardianship training.
Temporary guardianships are exempt from the training unless the temporary is extended beyond the 60 days.
Yes, you can print off the completion certificate. You must provide a copy of your training certificate to the court.
- Go the home page of our website.
- Click on the Links to the Online System and Guardianship Training Modules link neat the top of the page.
- Click on the big, red Guardianship Training Module button, or the Capacitación De Tutela En Espaňol button.
Texas certified guardians, Texas guardians appointed prior to 06/01/18, Texas Attorneys, and corporate fiduciaries are exempt from the training requirement.
Criminal History Information
Guardians that must be fingerprinted include (professionally) certified guardians, guardians living outside of Texas, and guardians whose wards have a liquid estate value exceeding $50,000.
Note:
- The JBCC no longer has access to the FBI database for guardianship registrations.
- The county clerk where the guardianship is filed must provide you with the instructions needed to get fingerprinted.
If the liquid estate value of the ward is $50,000 or less, email the Criminal History Specialist at the JBCC and advise them of the situation so they can ensure the reports are sent to the court clerk as soon as possible. Please ensure to include Attention Criminal History Specialist in the subject line of your email.
If the liquid estate value of the ward is over $50,000 you must contact the court clerk in the county where the case if filed for assistance on this matter as the JBCC has no access to fingerprint-based background check reports.
If the liquid estate value of the ward is $50,000 or less, email the Criminal History Specialist at the JBCC and advise them of the situation so they can ensure the reports are sent to the court clerk as soon as possible. Please ensure to include Attention Criminal History Specialist in the subject line of your email.
If the liquid estate value of the ward is over $50,000 you must contact the court clerk in the county where the case if filed for assistance on this matter as the JBCC has no access to fingerprint-based background check reports.
Courts and Clerks
The Texas Department of Public Safety has recommended that guardianship applicants may arrange for an FBI Personal Review by using the following link: https://www.edo.cjis.gov.
- Proposed guardians should only complete the personal review process when directed to do so by the county clerk where the guardianship is filed.
- Proposed guardians must be re-fingerprinted when an ORI Number is assigned to the county.
All questions/inquiries regarding the issuing of an ORI Number can be directed to the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Fingerprint Services Unit at (512) 424-2474.
A current copy can be found in the Resources section on our Rules and Resources page.
Problem Solving
Staff can provide your Login name; email us at jbccguardianregistration@txcourts.gov for help. If you know your login name, but just forgot your password, to reset your password, go to our home page, click on the red "Register A Guardianship" button to access the online system. From there, just click on the Forgot Login/Password link to reset your password.
Login to your profile, and go to the View Pending Online Applications page to do the following:
- Track your application's status,
- Confirm receipt of your application, and
- Track your application's progress by clicking the View Details link next to your application. This will allow you to see which items on your application's checklist are completed and which are pending.
An automated email will be sent to the primary address on file once the registration form is approved.
Under section 155.155 of the Government Code, please be advised that the JBCC cannot confirm registration data to anyone outside of law enforcement and the county where the registration is filed.
If you are a guardianship program, a guardian, or an attorney that represents a guardian needing to confirm registration data (i.e., information about the guardian, the ward, or the case), you must do the following:
- Contact the court where the guardianship is filed, or
- Login to your online profile and go to the Additional Information page of your profile. You will find any registrations submitted to us on that page.
Registration Data includes, but is not necessarily limited to:
- The name and contact information of the guardian,
- The name and contact information of the ward, and
- Guardianship case information.
This message only appears when the system recognizes that a profile has already been created for you; therefore, it will not let you create a duplicate profile.
If you get this message, please email the GR department for further assistance from a licensing specialist.
There could be a few reasons for this issue. When this happens, please email the GR department for further assistance from a licensing specialist.
You must email the GR department for assistance from a licensing specialist, ensuring to include the application’s transaction number, as well as to obtain the form to refund the fee your submitted.
Guardianship registrations are free of charge.
The system will not allow you to correct registration data (i.e., estate values, guardian’s name, ward’s information, attorney’s information, Judge’s name, court, qualification date, etc.). This data can only be updated by JBCC staff. Please email the GR department to have the estate values, guardian’s name, ward’s information, attorney’s information, Judge’s name, court updated by a licensing specialist. You must include your transaction number as well.
Staff will update qualification dates when they’ve received the information from the county clerk where the guardianship is filed.
The system will, however, allow you to update your contact information by simply logging into your profile and clicking the Update Profile option on the menu.
Miscellaneous
To update your information, you would simply login to your online profile/account, and click on the ‘Update Profile’ link on your home page. Update your information and save it.
The Guardianship Registration data is confidential and therefore, not available to the public.
You can search for programs via our online certification, registration and licensing system. For information on our system, please refer to the home page of our website in the section titled “JBCC Online Certification, Registration and Licensing System”. Please refer to the pdf “Guide to Using the Online System” for step-by-step instructions on how to search for licensees.
Note: Guardianship programs were not required to register with the JBCC until 09/01/2018; therefore, no data will be available prior to that date.
The JBCC does not investigate complaints on guardianship registrations. The JBCC will investigate complaints against guardianship programs. For information on how to file a complaint against a Guardianship Program, please refer the Complaints page of our website.
There is not a clerk portal; however, the clerk and court can contact us for information and assistance at jbccguardianregistration@txcourts.gov.
Our team is unable to accommodate walk-in customers.
We strongly recommend referring to the Watch How to Register a Guardianship Slideshow (pdf) on our home page first though. This resource will walk you step-by-step/page-by-page through the registration process. It also includes screenshots of every page of the registration process so you can see exactly what to do on each page.
If you still need assistance after watching the slideshow, please contact the licensing specialist at jbccguardianregistration@txcourts.gov. If we are unable to resolve matters by email, the licensing specialist can determine other options available depending on what type of assistance is needed.
No. Though you must register the guardianship, family member/friend guardians are not (professionally) certified guardians.
The Qualification Date is the official date provided to you by the court that cannot occur prior to your court date. If you are unsure of your qualification date, please contact the court or refer to your official Letter of Guardianship provided by the county clerk.
The clerk notifies the JBCC of the qualification date on new guardianships. Pre-existing guardianship registrants must provide the qualification date on their registrations when submitted to the JBCC.
Liquid Estate Value is cash or any other asset that can be easily converted into cash at or near its market value. Publicly traded stocks, bonds, and mutual funds which may be sold at or near its value are liquid assets. A CD or other investment that carries a penalty for early withdrawal is not liquid because it cannot be readily converted to cash at market value. The penalty diminishes the cash obtained for it by the amount of the penalty.
Trusts are not registered with the JBCC.
SB 1096 was passed in 2017 requiring registration for all guardians as well as the creation of a registration database. Section 155.151 of the Government Code establishes that all guardianships in Texas shall be required to register with the JBCC.
Professionally Certified guardians and Guardianship Programs must submit their annual reports to the JBCC. Information regarding annual reporting can be found on the Compliance page of our website.
All other guardians, such as friends or family, etc., must submit their annual reports to the county clerk where the guardianship is filed. JBCC staff is unable to assist with these reports.