Dallas County Civil District Courts Document Format Requirements

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026CRITICAL

Civil cases

Format

PDF

Exhibits must be scanned and emailed to the court reporter in PDF format.

Any party needing to admit exhibits must scan them and email them directly to the court reporter in PDF format at a minimum of two (2) days in advance of the trial.

Checked against the court's document on Sep 20, 2026CRITICAL

Format

PDF

Exhibits and other evidence must be electronically delivered to the Court Reporter in PDF format in advance of the hearing, pre-marked with exhibit stickers and chronologically and sequentially numbered.

Any party needing to admit either exhibits or other evidence referred to above must electronically deliver same to the Court Reporter in PDF format in advance of the hearing already pre-marked with exhibit stickers and chronologically numbered for ease of reference (and directing a witness's attention) during remote proceedings. The pages of each Exhibit, deposition, declaration of other proffered evidence must be sequentially numbered for ease of reference.

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026WARNING

Civil cases

Exhibits referenced in a motion or response must be tabbed and the referenced portions highlighted.

Whatever is referenced in the motion or response as an exhibit should be tabbed as such and the portion referenced should be highlighted.

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026WARNING

Civil cases

Exhibits must be pre-marked with exhibit stickers and chronologically numbered for remote proceedings.

All exhibits must be pre-marked with exhibit stickers and chronologically numbered for ease of reference during remote proceedings.

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026WARNING

Exhibits must be marked numerically or with letters before going on the record.

Please have all exhibits marked numerically or letters prior to going on the record.

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026WARNING

Format

PDF

Paper exhibits must be submitted on thumb-drive or SD card in .pdf format only.

Please submit paper exhibits, such as color photos, emails, letters, reports, etc., that are expected to be presented to the Court Reporter, on a thumb-drive, or on an SD card, in .pdf format ONLY.

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026WARNING

Media exhibits must be submitted on thumb drive or SD card in .wav or .mp3 format only.

Please submit all media exhibits, such as audio recordings, videos, etc., on a thumb drive, or on an SD card, in .wav or .mp3 format ONLY.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil cases

Format

PDF

Any party needing to admit either exhibits or other evidence referred to above must electronically deliver same to the Court Reporter in PDF format in advance of the hearing already pre-marked with exhibit stickers and chronologically numbered for ease of reference (and directing a witness’s attention) during remote proceedings. The pages of each Exhibit, deposition, declaration of other proffered evidence must be sequentially numbered for ease of reference.

Summary: Exhibits and evidence must be delivered electronically to the Court Reporter in PDF format, pre-marked and numbered, before remote hearings.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil cases

The use of any font less than 12 point, or margins less than 1” on each side of a page is hereby prohibited.

Summary: Fonts smaller than 12 point are prohibited.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil cases

Additionally, the use of reduced, multiple pages (i.e.: Min-u-script) is hereby prohibited.

Summary: Reduced, multiple pages (Min-u-script) are prohibited.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

The court uses enterprise-level videoconferencing: Microsoft Teams. The court does not support consumer-level videoconferencing.

Summary: Videoconferencing must use Microsoft Teams; consumer-level platforms are not supported.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Format

PDF

Paper exhibits: All proposed/admitted/offered exhibits should be pre-marked and emailed to the Court Reporter. Paper exhibits should be in PDF format and can be emailed to the Reporter at tina.thompson@dallascounty.org.

Summary: Paper exhibits must be pre-marked, in PDF format, and emailed to the Court Reporter.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Parties and witnesses MUST have their video connection on at all times and their microphones should only be muted if instructed to by the Court and Court Reporter, so that they can be heard and seen by the court during all Bench Trial proceedings.

Summary: Parties and witnesses must keep video on at all times and mute only when instructed by the Court.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Court noticeProposed or draft document; may not be in force

Required

Always ?

Format

PDF

be in text‐searchable portable document format (PDF);

Summary: Electronically filed documents must be in text-searchable PDF format.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Court noticeProposed or draft document; may not be in force

Required

Always ?

not be locked;

Summary: E-filed documents must not be locked.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Court noticeProposed or draft document; may not be in force

Required

Always ?

Format

PDF

An e‐filed document must be in text‐searchable PDF, using fonts specified in the PDF specification, on 8.5 x 11 page size, with the content appropriately rotated.

Summary: E-filed documents must be text-searchable PDF, use PDF-spec fonts, 8.5x11 inch page size, with content appropriately rotated.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Court noticeProposed or draft document; may not be in force

Required

Always ?

An e‐filed document may not contain any security or feature restrictions including password protection or encryption and may not contain embedded multi‐media video, audio, or programming.

Summary: E-filed documents may not contain security restrictions, password protection, encryption, or embedded multi-media.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Court noticeProposed or draft document; may not be in force

Required

Always ?

Documents may not contain package PDFs. PDFs should not be embedded inside of another PDF. Each document must be a single PDF.

Summary: Documents may not contain package PDFs; PDFs should not be embedded inside another PDF, and each document must be a single PDF.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Court noticeProposed or draft document; may not be in force

Prior to being filed electronically, a scanned document must have a resolution of 300 DPI. Preferably, scanned documents should be made searchable using OCR technology.

Summary: Scanned documents must have 300 DPI resolution (600 DPI for color) and should be made searchable using OCR.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil casesCourt notice

Format

PDF

Please submit paper exhibits, such as color photos, emails, letters, reports, etc., that are expected to be presented to the Court Reporter, on a thumb-drive, or on an SD card, in .pdf format ONLY.

Summary: Paper exhibits for the court reporter must be submitted on a thumb-drive or SD card in PDF format only.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil casesCourt notice

Please submit all media exhibits, such as audio recordings, videos, etc., should be submitted on a thumb-drive, or on an SD card, in .wav, .mp3 or .mpeg formats ONLY.

Summary: Media exhibits for the court reporter must be submitted on a thumb-drive or SD card in .wav, .mp3, or .mpeg formats only.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil cases

Format

PDF

Document exhibits shall be in PDF format and must be identical to the actual exhibit admitted. Audio exhibits (recordings, voicemails or similar ) shall be in MPEG format and shall be identical to the audio played during the trial. Video file exhibits must also be in MPEG format and shall be identical to the video file played during trial.

Summary: Document exhibits must be in PDF format and audio/video exhibits in MPEG format, each identical to the exhibit admitted or played at trial.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil cases

The parties shall be jointly responsible for ensuring that any audio or video files can be played or viewed on the laptop that will be provided to the jury.

Summary: Parties must jointly ensure audio and video files are playable and viewable on the laptop provided to the jury.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Margins

top 1 in, bottom 1 in, left 1 in, right 1 in ?

The use of any font less than 12 point, or margins less than 1” on each side of a page is hereby prohibited.

Summary: Fonts smaller than 12 point and margins smaller than 1 inch are prohibited.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Additionally, the use of reduced, multiple pages (i.e.: Min-u-script) is hereby prohibited.

Summary: Reduced multiple-pages-per-sheet (Min-u-script) filing is prohibited.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil cases

Margins

top 1 in, bottom 1 in, left 1 in, right 1 in ?

The use of any font less than 12 point, or margins less than 1” on each side of a page is hereby prohibited.

Summary: Fonts smaller than 12 point and margins smaller than 1 inch on each side are prohibited.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil cases

Additionally, the use of reduced, multiple pages (i.e.: Min-u-script) is hereby prohibited.

Summary: The use of reduced, multiple pages (Min-u-script) is prohibited.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil cases

Format

PDF

Any party needing to admit either exhibits or other evidence referred to above must electronically deliver same to the Court Reporter in PDF format in advance of the hearing already pre-marked with exhibit stickers and chronologically numbered for ease of reference (and directing a witness's attention) during remote proceedings. The pages of each Exhibit, deposition, declaration of other proffered evidence must be sequentially numbered for ease of reference.

Summary: Exhibits must be delivered to the Court Reporter in PDF format before the hearing, pre-marked with exhibit stickers, chronologically numbered, and with sequentially numbered pages.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil cases

Format

DOCX ?

Jury charges and findings of facts and conclusions need to be submitted to the court in hard copy and via email in Microsoft Word.

Summary: Jury charges and findings of facts and conclusions must be submitted in hard copy and via email in Microsoft Word.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Format

PDF

Any party needing to admit either exhibits or other evidence referred to above must electronically deliver same to the Court Reporter in PDF format in advance of the hearing already pre-marked with exhibit stickers and chronologically numbered for ease of reference (and directing a witness's attention) during remote proceedings.

Summary: Exhibits and other evidence must be delivered to the Court Reporter in PDF format in advance of remote hearings.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil casesCourt notice

Format

PDF

All trial exhibits consisting of 50 pages or more must be submitted in .pdf format to the court reporter on a thumb drive.

Summary: Trial exhibits of 50 pages or more must be submitted in PDF format on a thumb drive.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil casesCourt notice

Media exhibits, such as audio recordings, videos, etc., should be submitted on a thumb- drive, or on an SD card, in .wav, .mp3 or .mpeg formats ONLY.

Summary: Media exhibits must be submitted on a thumb drive or SD card in .wav, .mp3, or .mpeg formats only.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil casesCourt notice

If video deposition testimony will be offered in lieu of live testimony, please provide the reporter with the video cuts in (1) MP4 format and (2) the excerpt deposition transcript that reflects the video cuts.

Summary: Video deposition testimony must be provided in MP4 format along with the excerpt deposition transcript.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

Required

Always ?

The use of any font less than 12 point, or margins less than 1” on each side of a page is hereby prohibited.

Summary: Fonts smaller than 12 point are prohibited.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

Required

Always ?

Additionally, the use of reduced, multiple pages (i.e.: Min-u-script) is hereby prohibited.

Summary: Use of reduced, multiple pages (Min-u-script) is prohibited.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Required

Always ?

All pleadings, motions, briefs, orders and other papers, including exhibits attached thereto, when offered for filing or entry, shall be descriptively titled. Each page of each instrument shall, in the lower margin thereof, be consecutively numbered and titled; e.g., "Plaintiffs Original Petition- Page 2." Page numbers should continue in sequential order through the last page of any attachments or exhibits (i.e. should not re-start with each succeeding document). Any reference to an attachment shall include the sequential page number where the reference can be found. Orders and Judgments shall be separate documents completely separated from all other papers. If documents not conforming to this Local Rule are offered, the Clerk before receiving them shall require the consent of a

Summary: All filings must be descriptively titled, with consecutively numbered and titled pages in the lower margin continuing through attachments; orders and judgments must be filed as separate documents.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Audio/Visual exhibits: Audio/Visual file names should include the exhibit number and whether it's a video or audio recording. Audio/Visual exhibits can be send to the Reporter via Dropbox - tina.thompson@dallascounty.org.

Summary: Audio/visual exhibit file names must include exhibit number and recording type; send via Dropbox.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Please check in advance of Bench Trials that your audio and video connections are working.

Summary: Parties must verify audio and video connections before bench trials.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Court noticeProposed or draft document; may not be in force

Required

Always ?

be directly converted to PDF rather than scanned, if possible;

Summary: E-filed documents must be directly converted to PDF rather than scanned when possible.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Court noticeProposed or draft document; may not be in force

Required

Always ?

When possible, the document should be generated directly from the originating software using a PDF distiller.

Summary: Documents should be generated directly from originating software using a PDF distiller when possible.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Court noticeProposed or draft document; may not be in force

Required

Always ?

Document should contain page numbering for the entire filing. When including one or more appendices to a filing, each should be numbered individually and then the entire document should be numbered as a whole.

Summary: E-filed documents must contain page numbering for the entire filing; appendices should be numbered individually and the entire document numbered as a whole.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Court noticeProposed or draft document; may not be in force

Required

Always ?

Any e‐filed document filename should contain only alphanumeric characters that are part of the Latin1_General character set. No special characters are allowed and the length of the filename should be restricted to 50 characters.

Summary: E-filed document filenames must contain only alphanumeric characters from the Latin1_General character set, with no special characters and a maximum length of 50 characters.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Court noticeProposed or draft document; may not be in force

Required

Always ?

All information entered into the eFileTexas.gov portal must be completed in all caps! Please do not use lower or mixed case letters.

Summary: All information entered into the eFileTexas.gov portal must be in all caps; lower or mixed case letters are not permitted.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Required

Always ?

All pleadings, motions, briefs, orders and other papers, including exhibits attached thereto, when offered for filing or entry, shall be descriptively titled. Each page of each instrument shall, in the lower margin thereof, be consecutively numbered and titled; e.g., "Plaintiffs Original Petition- Page 2." Page numbers should continue in sequential order through the last page of any attachments or exhibits (i.e. should not re-start with each succeeding document). Any reference to an attachment shall include the sequential page number where the reference can be found. Orders and Judgments shall be separate documents completely separated from all other papers.

Summary: All filings must be descriptively titled, pages consecutively numbered in the lower margin through attachments, and orders/judgments filed as separate documents.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

Within each folder, each party's exhibits should be listed sequentially and labelled simply as 'Exhibit (insert number)'

Summary: Exhibits within each folder should be listed sequentially and labelled 'Exhibit (insert number)'.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

No exhibit on the jump drive shall contain any stray markings or writing unless such markings or writing are on the original exhibit admitted into evidence.

Summary: Exhibits on the jump drive must not contain stray markings or writing unless present on the original admitted exhibit.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

Format

DOCX ?

The Court requests the parties provide an electronic copy of the proposed charge or findings of fact and conclusions of law so that the documents can be reviewed and considered by the Court, in a word processing format.

Summary: Parties must provide the Court an electronic copy of the proposed charge or findings of fact and conclusions of law in word processing format.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

Format

PDF

Please submit paper exhibits, such as color photos, emails, letters, reports, etc., that are expected to be presented to the Court Reporter, on a thumb-drive, or on an SD card, in .pdf format ONLY.

Summary: Paper exhibits for the Court Reporter must be submitted on a thumb-drive or SD card in PDF format only.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

Format

OTHER ?

Please submit all media exhibits, such as audio recordings, videos, etc., should be submitted on a thumb-drive, or on an SD card, in .wav, .mp3 or .mpeg formats ONLY.

Summary: Media exhibits must be submitted on a thumb-drive or SD card in WAV, MP3, or MPEG formats only.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

Format

PDF

Paper exhibits should be in PDF format and can be emailed to the Reporter at tina.thompson@dallascounty.org.

Summary: Paper exhibits must be in PDF format and emailed to the court reporter.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Do not submit to the Court a flash drive or other computer device with materials for the Court's consideration.

Summary: Flash drives and other computer devices may not be submitted to the Court.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

Format

DOCX ?

fact and conclusions of law before the trial. These documents also should be emailed in WORD format to the Court Coordinator at 101court@dallascounty.org

Summary: Proposed jury charges and findings of fact/conclusions of law must be emailed in WORD format to the court coordinator.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

Media exhibits, such as audio recordings, videos, etc., should be submitted on a thumb-drive, or on an SD card, in .wav, .mp3 or .mpeg formats ONLY.

Summary: Media exhibits must be submitted on a thumb-drive or SD card in .wav, .mp3, or .mpeg formats only.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Format

PDF

Any party needing to admit either exhibits or other evidence referred to above must electronically deliver same to the Court Reporter in PDF format in advance of the hearing already pre-marked with exhibit stickers and chronologically numbered for ease of reference (and directing a witness's attention) during remote proceedings. The pages of each Exhibit, deposition, declaration of other proffered evidence must be sequentially numbered for ease of reference.

Summary: Exhibits and evidence must be delivered to the Court Reporter in PDF format in advance of the hearing, pre-marked with exhibit stickers and chronologically numbered, with sequentially numbered pages.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

Margins

top 1 in, bottom 1 in, left 1 in, right 1 in ?

Motions and/or Brief shall be 12 point, and margins of 1” on each side of a page.

Summary: Motions and briefs must use 12-point font and 1-inch margins on each side.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

Additionally, the use of reduced, multiple pages (i.e.: Min-u-script) is hereby prohibited.

Summary: Reduced, multiple-page formats (Min-u-script) are prohibited.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

Format

DOCX ?

The submission must be emailed to Sheria West at sheria.n.west@dallascounty.org with a copy to all parties, in Microsoft Word

Summary: Bench trial submissions must be in Microsoft Word format.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

Format

DOCX ?

The working charge should be initiated in Microsoft Word format by Plaintiff and emailed to Defendant.

Summary: The working charge must be initiated in Microsoft Word format.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.INFO?

Civil cases

Format

DOCX ?

These should be submitted to the Court Administrator via e>mail in MS Word format.

Summary: Proposed findings and trial briefs in bench trials must be emailed to the Court Administrator in MS Word format.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.INFO?

Format

PDF

The exhibits should be pre-marked in one PDF, if possible, and tabbed/bookmarked.

Summary: Exhibits should be pre-marked in a single PDF and tabbed/bookmarked if possible.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.INFO?

Civil cases

In a multi-party case, the parties may segregate and list exhibits by party in a format similar to this:

Summary: In multi-party cases, parties may optionally segregate and list exhibits by party.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.INFO?

Civil cases

The court uses enterprise-level videoconferencing: Microsoft Teams. The court does not support consumer-level videoconferencing.

Summary: The court uses Microsoft Teams for videoconferencing; consumer-level platforms are not supported.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.INFO?

Civil cases

Judge Frazier prefers motions to be written in Arial Font.

Summary: Judge Frazier prefers motions written in Arial font.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.INFO?

Civil casesCourt notice

Format

PAPER

Trial exhibits 50 pages or less will be accepted in paper form.

Summary: Trial exhibits of 50 pages or less are accepted in paper form.

Machine summary. Not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Format

PDF

This is needed in PDF format (NO LINKS, NO ZIP FILES).

Summary: Courtesy copies must be in PDF format and must not contain links or zip files.