Civil Courts Division

George L. Allen, Sr. Courts Building
600 Commerce Street
Suite 101
Dallas, Texas 75202

The County Clerk Civil Division is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. However, electronic filing of most court documents is available to everyone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through eFileTexas. The office is closed for Dallas County Commissioners Court approved holidays.

The Texas Supreme Court has determined services provided by the County Clerk are essential to the public. The Clerk’s Office is committed to providing these services when we can safely do so. (214) 653-7121 if you have questions concerning a possible office closure. This is especially important if you are responsible for meeting a court-ordered or statute-mandated deadline. Please use your best personal safety judgment based on your specific situation when deciding to visit our office.

The entrances for the parking garages that serve George L. Allen, Sr. Courts Building (Kennedy Parking Garage and Records Parking Garage) are located at Commerce and Houston Streets and Elm and Record Streets. There is no free parking. For more information, please visit Parking General Information.

DART provides both train and bus services within walking distance from the courts building.

The requirements for visitors entering the courthouse may evolve with the pandemic; face coverings, that cover both the mouth and nose, are required in all Dallas County buildings. However, each individual court has authority to require additional safety measures when you are visiting for in person proceedings. It is recommended you contact the court where your case is assigned concerning the expectations the Court has for their courtroom and surrounding areas.

Education and participation in our government systems is important to understanding, sustaining and/or changing the things that impact us and our communities. All divisions, including the Civil Division, in the County Clerk’s Office offer services that are essential and a protection to us as citizens and community leaders. If you’d like to learn more about county clerk services and the court system, please consider visiting Dallas County Clerk home page; Dallas County Commissioners Court, About Texas Courts provided by the Texas Judicial Branch, the National Center for State Court Civic Education page and current and past bills filed with the Texas legislature.

As a neutral party, the county clerk (and its deputized clerks) is the protector and integrity keeper of current and historical records of the Civil County Courts at Law. The clerk, in a sense, offers a checks and balance for the judicial branch between the case parties and the Court. The clerk does this by being the record custodian for Dallas County and the county courts. Though the clerks work with legal documents, in most cases, they are not legally trained. Their role is to ensure the documents you file are safely on the official record. They are unable to offer legal advice concerning the filing of the documents.

New cases and all citations:   (214) 653-7121

Existing cases (cases that already have a case number assigned):

County Court at Law #1 (Case # ends in A)	(214) 653-7556
County Court at Law #2 (Case # ends in B)	(214) 653-7366
County Court at Law #3 (Case # ends in C)	(214) 653-7595
County Court at Law #4 (Case # ends in D)	(214) 653-7466
County Court at Law #5 (Case # ends in E)	(214) 653-6441

Please use the phone numbers below to schedule hearings for cases assigned to the applicable courts:

County Court at Law #1 (Case # ends in A)	(214) 653-7556
County Court at Law #2 (Case # ends in B)	(214) 653-7366
County Court at Law #3 (Case # ends in C)	(214) 653-7595
County Court at Law #4 (Case # ends in D)	(214) 653-7466
County Court at Law #5 (Case # ends in E)	(214) 653-6441

Contact the court coordinator for the court your case is assigned to schedule or if you have questions about a trial. Contact information for the court can be found here.

It is recommended, when possible, for you to have the benefit of someone who is trained in the law to advocate on your behalf. However, you can choose to represent yourself. Someone who represents themselves may be referred to as self-represented litigant, SRL or pro se. Those who represent themselves are required to follow all statutes, codes, rules and court procedures as attorneys, regardless of how much they may not know of the law.

The clerks can answer most questions concerning the processes we must follow to add a filing to the official record. However, for your protection, the clerks are prohibited from answering any question that may be perceived as giving legal advice. For more information, please see the Legal Information vs. Legal Advice brochure proved for clerks by the Texas Office of Court Administration.

There are many different codes, statutes, rules, laws and procedures that may be necessary for you to know when you represent yourself. The ones used are unique to the specifics of your case. Some of the most common ones used in civil cases are below. This list may not include all of them. It is your responsibility to identify all of them that are relevant to your case.

• Texas Rules of Civil Procedures
• Local Rules of Civil Procedures for Dallas County
• Judicial Committee on Information Technology (JCIT) Technology Standards
• Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure

Please see the Dallas County Law Library and the Texas Judicial Branch self-help sites for more information and legal resources.

The Dallas County Law Library may have forms online or onsite to assist you.

In most cases you will not be able to communicate directly with the judge assigned to your case without being in the presence of the other party. If you need assistance specifically from the court, please contact the court coordinator for the court your case is assigned.

Please contact the court coordinator for the court assigned to your case for assistance with translation and interpreter services.

Please contact the court reporter for the court assigned to your cases for transcript services.

A county court at law in Dallas County has concurrent jurisdiction with the district court in civil cases in which the amount in controversy is greater than $500. There is no maximum amount that exceeds a county court at law’s jurisdiction. As long as the county courts at law in Dallas County has the legal authority to hear the type of case filed, it is up to the petitioner to decide where to file, in a district court or in a county court at law.

You may choose to file documents (and any required fees) for new and existing cases in the ways listed below.

• In person (if you are not an attorney)
• Electronically:   efileTexas.gov. Attorneys are required to file electronically.
• Mail:
  Dallas County Clerk’s Office
  Civil Division
  600 Commerce Street
  Suite 101
  Dallas, TX 75202

Most civil cases can be found on the Dallas County Online Record Search. In addition, attorneys and judges may have access to a statewide record search with more advanced search capabilities through re:SearchTX.

There are certain internet browsers that are less compatible with the Online Record Search. If it appears it is not working, first attempt to access it using a different internet browser.

Some case types and documents contain information of a sensitive nature. For the protection of the case parties, access to the documents and cases are restricted. In many cases, these documents are still accessible to the public. If permitted by law, the clerk can provide hard copies of these public documents upon request (fees may apply).

Also, depending on the age of the case, documents may only be found in a paper format. These documents can also be made available to you upon request.

Most current documents are available for free using the Dallas County Online Record Search portal.

Plain, Certified or Exemplified Copies

• Open/Active cases:  Please make your request to the Civil Division clerks. Request can be made via phone, mail or electronic filing. Please see the Civil Fee Schedule for current applicable copy fees.
• Closed cases:  Please contact the County Clerk Central Records Division.

Please see the Judicial Committee on Information Technology (JCIT) Technology Standards to review the reasons filings may be returned for correction.

The clerks have limited ability to alter filing dates and times. However, if within 48 hours of the original filing being returned to the filer for correction, the filer resubmits the corrected filing using the “Copy Envelope” feature in the envelope they originally submitted the filing, the clerk usually can honor the original file date and time.

Please visit the Dallas County Constables site to locate the constable for the address of the person or business that will be served.

Please see our Civil Fee Schedule for a list of the fees Texas statutes require the county clerk to collect.

The clerks are able to accept cash, money order, cashier’s check and business checks. The clerks cannot accept personal checks. Credit or debit card (Visa, MasterCard and Discover) payments may be accepted onsite or when electronically filing.

You may qualify to ask the Court to waive court fees by completing the Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Cost or an Appeal Bond. Consider reviewing the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and other relevant codes concerning the waiving of court costs.

Clerks must follow all court orders and laws concerning payment deadlines and steps that may occur if the deadline is not met. They have no authority to waive or extend deadlines. Please contact the Court assigned to your case if you are not able to meet the ordered deadline.

In most cases, mailed payments are considered timely if it is postmarked on or before the date of the deadline. In general, the clerk allows a few days for payments to arrive by mail before taking the next required steps. Please contact (214) 653-7121 if you have concerns regarding your mailed payment.

No money is accepted by the clerk when a document is returned for correction. However, often times banks or credit card companies have holds on money that the cardholder tried to spend. Please contact your bank or credit card company if you believe you were charged for a filing that was returned.

There are very few instances where a clerk may refund fees paid for services provided. Filers have sole responsibility for their filing decisions. Some questions a filer may want to ask themselves before filing a case or document or requesting services that require fees are:

• Do I really want to file?
• Am I filing in the correct jurisdiction?
• Is my request and information in my document correct?

Money placed in the court registry can only be withdrawn by an order from the Court. Once an order for disbursement has been signed, the process happens automatically. However, you may provide the lead cashier (Suite 101) with a copy of the order. Once the order is confirmed, a check is requested and it is mailed or made available to you according to the instructions in the order. Please ensure the mailing address in the order is correct or the Clerk’s Office is updated, in writing, if it changes. Please have your picture identification available if you plan to pick up your check from our office.

• Checks cannot be processed for same day pick up.
• Checks are requested on Wednesdays. The checks are usually available for pick-up and mailing on Fridays.

Please contact the County Clerk’s Accounting & Trust Division.

The Justice of the Peace will automatically send a case and any bond filed in their court when a case is appealed to the Civil County Courts at Law. If a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Cost or an Appeal Bond is on file, the clerk will send notification that the case has been filed, the case number and the contact information for the court that has been assigned your case. If no Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Cost or an Appeal Bond on file, the clerk will send confirmation of receipt of your case with a request to pay filing fees within 20 days. After payment is received, a notice will be sent that the case has been filed including the case number and the contact information for the court that has been assigned your case.

In compliance with Texas Rules of Civil Procedure (TRCP) Rule 143a, the appeal is deemed not perfected and the case is sent back to the justice of the peace.