Travis County Civil District Courts Document Format Requirements
49 rules from official source documents
23 of 49 checked against the court's document. Each rule says how far it was checked. A value with a question mark is not in the court's wording on its card.
Font, margin, spacing, and file format requirements for court filings. This page is scoped to Travis County Civil District Courts; use the court rules overview to switch categories without leaving this court.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL
A draft order must be on a page separate from pleadings, motions, and certificates of service, and must have a heading with the cause number, case style, and court.
A draft of an order must not be typed on the same page with a pleading, motion, certificate of service, or any part thereof, and each such draft must have a heading showing the cause number, the style of the case, and the court in which it is pending.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL
The judge’s signature line on a proposed order must appear on a page with other text, not by itself on a separate page.
The signature line for the judge to sign proposed orders must not be on a separate page but must be on a page with other text.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL
An Order to Appear before answer day must be on a separate page and contain the language in the posted court form.
Orders to Appear before answer day must be on a separate page and must contain the language in the form posted on the Travis County Civil District Courts’ website.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL
A show-cause or other case-setting order presented for judicial signature must be on a separate page and not combined with a pleading.
Any show cause or other order setting a case presented for signature to a judge must be on a separate page and not combined with a pleading.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL
Proposed or draft orders may not be filed as stand-alone documents and may be filed only as attachments to other pleadings.
Proposed or draft orders must not be filed with the clerk as stand-alone documents. Proposed or draft orders may be filed with the clerk only as attachments to other pleadings.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL
A draft order must be on a separate page from pleadings, motions, and certificates of service, and must have a heading with the cause number, case style, and court.
A draft of an order must not be typed on the same page with a pleading, motion, certificate of service, or any part thereof, and each such draft must have a heading showing the cause number, the style of the case, and the court in which it is pending.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL
The judge’s signature line on a proposed order must appear on a page with other text, not on a separate page.
The signature line for the judge to sign proposed orders must not be on a separate page, but must be on a page with other text.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL
An Order to Appear before answer day must be on a separate page and contain the language in the form posted on the Travis County Civil District Courts' website.
Orders to Appear before answer day must be on a separate page and must contain the language in the form posted on the Travis County Civil District Courts' website.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL
- Format
Upload each exhibit as a separate PDF and do not combine exhibits into one PDF.
Each exhibit must be uploaded as a separate PDF. Do not combine multiple exhibits into a single PDF;
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL
Use the specified party designations and exhibit-number format regardless of which party filed the motion, adding last names when designations repeat and no other descriptive language to the exhibit number.
USE THIS FORMAT REGARDLESS OF WHICH PARTY IS THE MOVING PARTY. The party who originally filed the lawsuit should be designated Petitioner or Plaintiff (P), the opposing party should be designated Respondent (R) or Defendant (D), and an Intervenor should be designated Intervenor (I), regardless of the party that filed the motion being heard. If there is more than one party with the same designation, use last names to identify the party. The exhibit numbers should include “00” prior to the exhibit number. For example: P-001; R Smith-001; I Jones-001. There should be no other descriptive language in the exhibit number.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL
Civil cases
Electronic exhibits uploaded to Box are preferred and official; if upload is not possible, bring at least four indexed paper copies in binders.
The Court strongly prefers electronic exhibits, uploaded to Box as instructed in the separate document entitled “Guidance on Submission of Electronic Exhibits.” The electronic exhibits will be the official exhibits. However, if you are unable to upload electronic exhibits, you must bring no fewer than four paper copies of each exhibit to be offered into evidence (one each for the Court, Staff Attorney, witness [who gets the original], and opposing counsel), and they must be indexed and placed in binders.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL
Civil cases
- Format
Upload each exhibit as its own text-searchable PDF; do not combine multiple exhibits into one PDF.
Each exhibit must be uploaded as a separate text-searchable PDF file. Do not combine multiple exhibits into a single PDF.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL
Civil cases
- Format
Word and Excel exhibit documents must be converted to PDF.
Word and Excel documents must be converted to PDF.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL
Civil cases
Exhibit files must not be password-protected, encrypted, or rights-management protected.
The computer file must not be password-protected, encrypted, or protected by rights management.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL
Civil cases
Scanned exhibit documents must be made searchable with OCR before upload.
Prior to uploading, make sure that any scanned documents are searchable using an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) tool.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL
Civil cases
Exhibits offered in court must be marked with numerals, not letters.
Exhibits must be marked with numerals, not letters.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL
Civil cases
Numerals, rather than letters, must be used for exhibits offered in court; letters may be used for exhibits attached to pleadings.
While A, B, C is often used for exhibits attached to pleadings, numerals must be used for exhibits offered in court.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL
Civil cases
Do not add letters, hyphens, or dots to exhibit numbers.
No letters, hyphens, or dots should be added to the exhibit numbers.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL
Civil cases
Exhibit filenames must use three-digit exhibit numbers to maintain the proper order in Box.
Each exhibit file name must be a three-digit exhibit number to keep exhibits in proper order within Box (i.e., P-001, P-010, P-100, D-001, D-010, D-100).
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026WARNING
An order setting a case that is presented to a judge for signature must be on a separate page and may not be combined with a pleading.
Any show cause or other order setting a case presented for signature to a judge must be on a separate page and not combined with a pleading.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026WARNING
Pages within each pre-marked exhibit should be separately numbered.
The pages of each pre-marked exhibit should be separately numbered so that the Court can quickly locate specific pages of each exhibit.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026WARNING
Civil cases
If exhibit numbers are expected to exceed 999, use four-digit numbering for all exhibits.
If you anticipate exhibit numbers to go beyond 999, use four-digit numbering for all exhibits, i.e., P-0001, P-0010, P-0100, P-1000.
Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026WARNING
Civil cases
- Format
- DOCX
Proposed jury questions and instructions must be submitted in Word format.
Submit in Word proposed jury questions and instructions, with supporting cites to cases, statutes, and the PJC, at the pretrial conference or on or before the first day of trial, by uploading them to Box and by email to the Briefing Attorney.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?
Any show cause or other order setting a case presented for signature to a judge must be on a separate page and not combined with a pleading.
Summary: Orders setting a case that are presented for a judge's signature must be on a separate page and must not be combined with a pleading.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?
If a spreadsheet is used in lieu of the Proposed Property Division form, then a copy of such spreadsheet must be provided to the court in an editable electronic format at the beginning of the trial.
Summary: If a spreadsheet is used instead of the Proposed Property Division form, an editable electronic copy must be provided to the court at the beginning of trial.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?
Orders to Appear before answer day must be on a separate page and must contain the language in the form posted on the Travis County Civil District Courts’ website.
Summary: Orders to Appear before answer day must be on a separate page.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?
Judges must not be requested to sign orders setting cases except when a show cause order is necessary, or when some rule of law requires that an order for a setting be signed by a judge. Any show cause or other order setting a case presented for signature to a judge must be on a separate page and not combined with a pleading. Even if a judge signs such an order, the setting must be made with the Court Administrator's office.
Summary: Orders setting cases may be presented to a judge for signature only when a show cause order or a rule of law requires it, must appear on a separate page not combined with a pleading, and do not substitute for making the setting with the Court Administrator's office.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?
A draft of an order must not be typed on the same page with a pleading, motion, certificate of service, or any part thereof
Summary: A draft order must not be typed on the same page as a pleading, motion, certificate of service, or any part thereof.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?
The signature line for the judge to sign proposed orders must not be on a separate page, but must be on a page with other text.
Summary: The judge's signature line on proposed orders must be on a page with other text, not on a separate page.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?
The word "entered" must not be used to show the date on which a judgment, decree, or order is signed.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?
If a spreadsheet is used in lieu of the Proposed Property Division form, then a copy of such spreadsheet must be provided to the court in an editable electronic format at the beginning of the trial.
Summary: A party using a spreadsheet instead of the Proposed Property Division form must provide a copy to the court in editable electronic format at the beginning of trial.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?
Orders to Appear before answer day must be on a separate page
Summary: Orders to Appear filed before answer day must be placed on a separate page.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?
Civil cases
Both the movant and nonmovant must send a draft proposed order in Word and PDF formats to 250.submission@traviscountytx.gov.
Summary: Both the movant and nonmovant must email a draft proposed order in Word and PDF formats to 250.submission@traviscountytx.gov.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?
- Format
Each exhibit must be uploaded as a separate PDF. Do not combine multiple exhibits into a single PDF;
Summary: Each exhibit must be uploaded as a separate PDF; multiple exhibits may not be combined into a single PDF.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?
Civil cases
- Format
- DOCX ?
If the matter is taken under advisement, email a proposed order in Word format to the Staff Attorney.
Summary: If a matter is taken under advisement, a proposed order in Word format must be emailed to the Staff Attorney.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?
Civil cases
- Format
2) Each exhibit must be uploaded as a separate text-searchable PDF file. Do not combine multiple exhibits into a single PDF. Word and Excel documents must be converted to PDF.
Summary: Each exhibit must be uploaded as a separate, text-searchable PDF; exhibits may not be combined into one PDF and Word/Excel files must be converted to PDF.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?
Civil cases
The computer file must not be password-protected, encrypted, or protected by rights management.
Summary: Exhibit files may not be password-protected, encrypted, or protected by rights management.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?
Civil cases
4) Exhibits must be marked with numerals, not letters. While A, B, C is often used for exhibits attached to pleadings, numerals must be used for exhibits offered in court. No letters, hyphens, or dots should be added to the exhibit numbers.
Summary: Exhibits offered in court must be numbered with numerals only; no letters, hyphens, or dots may be added to exhibit numbers.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?
Civil cases
6) Each exhibit file name must be a three-digit exhibit number to keep exhibits in proper order within Box (i.e., P-001, P-010, P-100, D-001, D-010, D-100). If you anticipate exhibit numbers to go beyond 999, use four-digit numbering for all exhibits, i.e., P-0001, P-0010, P-0100, P-1000.
Summary: Exhibit file names must use three-digit exhibit numbers with the party designation (e.g., P-001, D-100), switching to four-digit numbering for all exhibits if numbers will exceed 999.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?
Civil cases
Lawyers must use the Court's jury charge and Exhibit List templates which will be provided once your case has been assigned to the 459th District Court.
Summary: Lawyers must use the Court's jury charge and Exhibit List templates, which are provided once a case is assigned to the 459th District Court.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?
A party may file an objection to the assignment of an Associate Judge to hear any trial on the merits. A trial on the merits is any trial in which a party seeks a final adjudication from which an appeal may be taken to a court of appeals. The objection must be in writing.
Summary: A party may object to an Associate Judge hearing any trial on the merits, and the objection must be in writing.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?
A party may file a motion to have any other matter heard originally before a District Judge instead of an Associate Judge. The motion must be in writing and
Summary: A party may move to have a matter heard by a District Judge instead of an Associate Judge, and the motion must be in writing.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?
The pages of each pre-marked exhibit should be separately numbered so that the Court can quickly locate specific pages of each exhibit.
Summary: Pages within each pre-marked exhibit should be separately numbered so the Court can quickly locate specific pages.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?
Civil cases
- Format
- DOCX ?
Submit in Word proposed jury questions and instructions, with supporting cites to cases, statutes, and the PJC, at the pretrial conference or on or before the first day of trial, by uploading them to Box and/or by email to the Staff Attorney. Do not include boiler plate provisions; the Court will add those.
Summary: Proposed jury questions and instructions must be submitted in Word format with supporting citations and without boilerplate provisions.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?
Civil cases
Prior to uploading, make sure that any scanned documents are searchable using an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) tool.
Summary: Scanned exhibits must be verified as searchable using OCR before uploading to Box.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?
Civil cases
7) Audio files (.mp3) and video files (.mp4) may be uploaded to Box, but each audio/video file may not exceed 10GB.
Summary: Audio (.mp3) and video (.mp4) files may be uploaded to Box, but each file is limited to 10GB.
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?
Civil cases
Pre-marked with party abbreviation and number (e.g., P-1, D-2, R-3)
Summary: Trial exhibits must be pre-marked with a party abbreviation and number (e.g., P-1, D-2, R-3).
The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?
Civil cases
Documents provided to the Court should be indexed and uploaded to Box and, if paper copies are used, placed in binders (with a copy of the index provided to opposing counsel)
Summary: Documents provided to the Court must be indexed, uploaded to Box, and, if paper copies are used, placed in binders with a copy of the index provided to opposing counsel.
Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.WARNING?
Civil cases
Audio files (.mp3) and video files (.mp4) may be uploaded to Box, but each audio/video file may not exceed 10GB.
Summary: Audio MP3 and video MP4 files may be uploaded to Box, but each file is limited to 10 GB.
What formatting rules apply to filings in Travis County Civil District Courts?
Travis County Civil District Courts' formatting rule includes the word 'entered' must not be used to show the date on which a judgment, decree, or order is signed; only the signing date may be shown.. The word "entered" must not be used to show the date on which a judgment, decree, or order is signed. Machine summary, not yet verified; check the linked order.
Judge Jan Soifer's formatting rule includes file format PDF and each exhibit must be uploaded as a separate pdf; multiple exhibits must not be combined into a single pdf.. Upload each exhibit as a separate PDF and do not combine exhibits into one PDF.
Judge Maria Cantu Hexsel's formatting rule includes file format PDF, each exhibit must be a separate file., each pdf must be text-searchable., and multiple exhibits must not be combined into a single pdf.. Upload each exhibit as its own text-searchable PDF; do not combine multiple exhibits into one PDF.
14 more rules answer this question in the list above.
Related categories
Back to all rules for this courtPage & Word Limits
Maximum page counts and word limits for motions, briefs, and other filings by judge.
Courtesy Copy Requirements
When and how to deliver courtesy copies to chambers, including triggers, timing, and formatting.
Electronic Filing Rules
Electronic filing requirements, permitted filing channels, EFSP portals, and exceptions.
Filing Timing and Cure Windows
Filing cutoffs, deemed-filed rules, rejection handling, cure periods, and outage procedures.