Publications & Training
Welcome to the Office of Court Administration's (OCA) comprehensive resource page for District and County Clerks. This page serves as a centralized location, providing easy access to important information, detailed instructions, and valuable resources. Navigate the hyperlinks below to find the support and information needed for each category.
Memos & Notices - 2025
Topic |
Date Sent/Web Page Updated |
Document |
| Defining Inactive Status for OCA Reporting | January 15, 2025 | |
| DPS Offense Codes Changes to Version 19 | January 1, 2025 | |
| District & County Court Performance Measures Dashboards | February 27, 2025 | |
| Data & Research Division Newsletter - Issue 2 | May 12, 2025 | |
| Annual Directory Review - County, District and Combo Clerks | May 23, 2025 |
Note: See Archive for memos and notices from previous year(s).
Reporting Information
District & County Clerk Reporting Chart
The following document provides a list of reporting and notices requirements and should not be considered an exhaustive list. This information is intended only to assist clerks in educating themselves about certain reporting and notice requirements.
Judicial Council Monthly Court Activity Reports
Section 71.035(b) of the Texas Government Code and Chapter 171 of the Texas Administrative Code require submission of court activity reports each month to the Texas Judicial Council. These monthly aggregate reports should be submitted by the 20th of every month.
Appointments and Fees
Chapter 36 of the Texas Government Code requires the clerk of each court in the state to prepare a report every month on court appointments made and any fees approved/paid for attorney ad litem, competency evaluator, guardian, guardian ad litem, or mediator, with a few exceptions.
Performance Measures Reports (Court Level)
Section 72.083(b) of the Texas Government Code requires OCA to annually collect and publish a report including performance measures for each district court, statutory county court, statutory probate court, and county court. All district, statutory, statutory probate, and county courts will be required to submit annual court level data for the completion of this annual report.
Counties with Population Over 1 Million (Court Level)
Section 71.035(a) of the Texas Government Code requires counties with a population of at least one million to include additional information in their monthly reports for each district and county court in the county.
National Instant Background Check System (NICS)
Section 411.0521 of the Texas Government Code requires the clerk of a court to report information to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) on mental health adjudications and commitments.
JBCC Annual Private Professional Guardian Report
Section 1104.306 of the Texas Estates Code requires the clerk of the court to annually report information on private professional guardians who met the registration requirements under Section 1104.301-304 of the Estates Code in the county in the preceding year. These reports are to be submitted by January 31 every year, even if there were no private professional guardians registered in the county in the preceding year.
Vexatious Litigants
Chapter 11 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code establishes the definition and procedures for declaring a plaintiff vexatious.
Section 11.104 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code requires the clerk of a court to send OCA, within 30 days a copy of any prefiling order issued under Section 11.101, an order prohibiting a person from filing new litigation in a court in the state if the court finds, after notice and a hearing, that the person is a vexatious litigant. The list of litigants can be found here.
Charitable Bail Organizations
Article 17.071(d) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure requires that the clerk of a county issue a certificate to a charitable bail organization, authorizing the organization to pay bail bonds in the county. Forms and information can be found here.
Local Rules, Forms, and Standing Orders
Information related to Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 3a, Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 1.2, and Texas Rule of Judicial Administration 10, which require (effective January 1, 2023) that courts post their local rules, forms, and standing orders to this website to be effective can be found here.
Forms
OCA has the following publication of forms on the Forms website, which include the following categories:
| Appellate | Jurors |
| Civil | Juvenile |
| Clerks | Probate & Guardianship |
| Criminal | Self-Represented Litigants |
| Family |
Court Costs, Fines, and Fees
OCA provides updates after every legislative session for all courts. This includes Criminal court costs, fines and fees and Civil Filing fees. For more information, please visit the Filings Fees and Court Costs page. Any questions regarding filing fees or court costs, contact OCA Legal at 512-463-1625 or by email at PCA-legal@txcourts.gov.
Protective Order Registry
District clerks, county clerks, justice courts, and municipal courts have several of requirements related to the reporting of protective orders to other agencies. Reporting requirements by code can be found here. For additional information, please the Domestic Violence Training Attorney site for contact information.
Clerk Manuals and Handbooks
District and County Clerk manuals and other financial resources can be found here.
Judicial Committee on Information Technology
The Standards Committee works to review and update the JCIT Technology Standards. These standards govern branch-wide systems such as the eFileTexas.gov system. Additional information on the standards can be found here.
Court Reminder Program
The Texas Judicial Branch has launched the Texas Court Reminder Program authorized by HB 4293 of the 87th Legislative Session. OCA has contracted with eCourtDate to provide a statewide court text and email reminder system available at no cost to the courts or counties who elect to use it. Municipalities are invited to join at cost. For more information on the requirements to participate, please visit the court reminder website.