Tex. R. Civ. P. 3a

LOCAL RULES, FORMS, AND STANDING ORDERS

sha256 e5a8cc63cd6deb040509199d82d20ef5… · retrieved 7/15/2026, 8:28:29 PM · Supreme Court of Texas official rules PDF — txcourts.gov, verbatim · awaiting human verification flip (text is verbatim; the flip is the review gate)

RULE 3a. LOCAL RULES, FORMS, AND STANDING ORDERS
(a) General Rule. An administrative judicial region or a court governed by these rules may
promulgate local rules, forms, and standing orders that govern local practice.
(b) Relationship with Other Authorities. Local rules, forms, and standing orders must not be
inconsistent with state or federal law or rules adopted by the Supreme Court of Texas. This
requirement extends to any time period provided by these rules. If adopted by a court, local
rules, forms, and standing orders must not be inconsistent with any rule of the
administrative judicial region in which the court is located.
(c) Publication Required. To be effective, local rules, forms, and standing orders must be
published on the Office of Court Administration’s website.
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Notes and Comments
Comment to 1990 change: To make Texas Rules of Civil Procedure timetables mandatory
and to preclude use of unpublished local rules or other “standing” orders to local practices to
determine issues of substantive merit.
Comment to 2023 change: Rule 3a is amended to remove the requirement that the Supreme
Court of Texas approve local rules and to expressly address local forms and standing orders. The
amended rule provides that local rules, forms, and standing orders must not conflict with other
laws or rules and that they are not effective unless published on the Office of Court
Administration’s website. Section 74.093(b) of the Texas Government Code imposes additional
requirements for local rules.

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