Justice Court
The precinct-level Texas trial court presided over by an elected justice of the peace. Hears civil claims of $20,000 or less, debt claims, residential repair and remedy suits, and eviction suits, under simplified rules of its own. Appeals go to county court, where the case is tried again from the beginning.
A Texas justice court hears civil cases with $20,000 or less in controversy, plus eviction suits, under Tex. Gov't Code § 27.031 and Tex. R. Civ. P. 500-510. A losing party can appeal for a new trial in county court within 21 days after judgment, or within 5 days in an eviction case.
A justice court is the civil and criminal court of a justice of the peace. The Texas Constitution has each county divided into justice precincts, from one to eight depending on population, with an elected justice of the peace in each precinct, two in a precinct of a county under 150,000 that contains a city of 18,000 or more, and possibly more than one court per precinct in a county of 150,000 or more (Tex. Const. art. V, § 18). On the civil side it hears claims of up to $20,000 and the eviction suits that Chapter 24 of the Property Code sends to the justice court in the precinct where the property sits (Tex. Prop. Code § 24.004).
People still call it small claims court. Texas has no separate court by that name. A small claims case is one of four kinds of civil case a justice court hears, and the others are debt claim cases, repair and remedy cases, and eviction cases (Tex. R. Civ. P. 500.1).
- Civil limit
- $20,000, excluding statutory interest and court costs but including attorney's fees (Tex. R. Civ. P. 500.1)
- Cannot hear
- Title to land, liens on land, defamation, divorce (Gov't Code § 27.031(b))
- Representation
- An entity may appear through a nonlawyer owner, officer or employee (Tex. R. Civ. P. 500.3(b))
- Answer due
- End of the 14th day after service, outside eviction cases (Tex. R. Civ. P. 501.1(c))
- Appeal
- 21 days (5 in evictions), tried de novo in county court (Tex. R. Civ. P. 506.1, 506.3, 510.19, 510.20)
What a justice court can and cannot hear
Section 27.031 of the Government Code gives the court original jurisdiction over civil matters up to $20,000 (where the district or county court does not have exclusive jurisdiction), forcible entry and detainer cases, and the foreclosure of liens on personal property within that dollar limit. A justice of the peace can also issue writs of attachment, garnishment and sequestration in the same manner as district and county judges (§ 27.032).
Five kinds of suit are excluded outright: a suit by the state for a penalty, forfeiture or escheat, divorce, slander or defamation, trial of title to land, and enforcement of a lien on land. The cap counts attorney's fees. A contract claim for $17,000 with $4,000 in fees sought under a fee clause is over the limit and belongs in county or district court.
Four case types, four sets of rules
Rules 500 to 507 govern small claims cases. Debt claim cases (suits by an assignee, a debt collector or collection agency, a financial institution, or a business primarily engaged in lending money at interest) follow those rules plus Rule 508, which controls if the two conflict. Repair and remedy cases are residential tenants' suits under Subchapter B of Property Code Chapter 92, governed by Rule 509; the court must hear the request between the sixth and tenth day after service of citation (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0563(d)).
Evictions stand apart. Since the 2026 rewrite, Rule 510 is the only rule that governs an eviction case, and Rules 500 to 507 do not apply to it. Different deadlines follow: the citation sets a trial 10 to 21 days after filing, a written answer is optional, and the appeal window is 5 days.
How the procedure differs from district court
The rest of the Rules of Civil Procedure and the Rules of Evidence do not apply unless the judge decides a particular rule is needed for fairness or the law requires it (Tex. R. Civ. P. 500.1(e)). Pretrial discovery is limited to what the judge considers reasonable and necessary, and requests go to the court first (Rule 500.8). By statute the judge develops the facts, and may question a witness or party to do it (Gov't Code § 27.060(b)(6)).
A jury is available on written demand filed at least 14 days before trial, with a $22 fee (Rule 504.1). Motions to set aside a default or for new trial are due within 14 days after judgment and are denied automatically at 5:00 p.m. on the 21st day if the judge has not ruled (Rule 505.3).
Appeal and enforcement
Outside eviction cases, a party appeals by filing a bond, cash deposit or Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs within 21 days after the judgment is signed or a post-judgment motion is denied. A plaintiff's bond is $500; a defendant's is twice the judgment (Rule 506.1). The county court tries the case de novo, as if no earlier trial had occurred (Rule 506.3). A judgment that is not appealed is enforced the same ways as a county or district court judgment (Rule 505.2).
An eviction case decides the right to actual possession, along with any joined claim for unpaid rent, and not title. The Supreme Court of Texas held in 2024 that a justice court judgment awarding possession has no preclusive effect on a district court suit for damages between the same landlord and tenant (Westwood Motorcars, LLC v. Virtuolotry, LLC, No. 22-0846 (Tex. May 17, 2024)).
How many justice courts are there in Texas?
The count changes as counties grow and commissioners courts redraw precincts, so the Constitution sets a structure rather than a number. Article V, section 18 requires a county of 50,000 or more to have four to eight justice precincts, a county of 18,000 to 50,000 two to eight, and a smaller county one to four. Each precinct elects a justice of the peace, and a precinct in a county under 150,000 that contains a city of 18,000 or more elects two. In a county of 150,000 or more, a precinct may contain more than one justice court.
Is justice court the same as small claims court?
In Texas, small claims is a type of case, heard in justice court. The Government Code directs the Supreme Court to write rules for small claims cases that keep hearings informal, limit discovery to what the judge permits and never require a lawyer (§ 27.060). Those rules (Rules 500 to 507) apply to small claims cases. Debt claims, repair and remedy suits and evictions are heard by the same judge under added or separate rules.
Where does justice court sit among the Texas courts?
It is a trial court at the base of the system, alongside municipal courts. Appeals from justice court usually go to the constitutional county court or, in counties that have one, a county court at law, according to the Office of Court Administration. In an eviction case, the county court's judgment on possession can be appealed further only when the premises are used for residential purposes only (Tex. Prop. Code § 24.007). A commercial landlord or tenant stops at county court on that issue.
For a business, the court is mostly a collection venue and an eviction venue. A company collecting its own receivables files a small claims case. One that buys receivables, collects for others or lends at interest files a debt claim case, and Rule 508 then requires account or loan details in the petition and specific evidence before a default judgment can be rendered. Claimed attorney's fees count toward the $20,000, which matters when a contract carries a fee clause. Outside an eviction case, a business sued there may file a counterclaim within the court's jurisdiction whether or not it relates to the plaintiff's claim (Rule 502.6(a)).
- In a small claims or debt claim case the written answer is due by the end of the 14th day after service (Rule 501.1(c)). In an eviction case the citation sets a trial date, and the defendant must appear for trial on the date in the citation (Rule 510.15(a)).
- A default judgment outside the eviction context can be challenged by a motion to set aside filed within 14 days after the judgment is signed (Rule 505.3(b)). No motion for new trial is allowed after an eviction judgment (Rule 510.18(i)).
- The appeal deadline is 21 days after judgment in most cases and 5 days in an eviction, and a residential tenant who appeals an eviction must pay rent into the court registry to stay in possession during the appeal (Rules 506.1, 510.19(d)).
- Claims against the landlord cannot be raised as counterclaims in an eviction case. They go in a separate suit in a court with jurisdiction (Rule 510.6(f)).
- A Texas lawyer who handles justice court litigation can review the citation, the deadlines and whether the case belongs in that court.