Tex. R. Civ. P. 99

ISSUANCE AND FORM OF CITATION

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RULE 99. ISSUANCE AND FORM OF CITATION
a. Issuance. Upon the filing of the petition, the clerk, when requested, shall forthwith issue
a citation and deliver the citation as directed by the requesting party. The party requesting
citation shall be responsible for obtaining service of the citation and a copy of the petition.
Upon request, separate or additional citations shall be issued by the clerk. The clerk must
retain a copy of the citation in the court’s file.
b. Form. The citation shall (1) be styled "The State of Texas," (2) be signed by the clerk
under seal of court, (3) contain name and location of the court, (4) show date of filing of
the petition, (5) show date of issuance of citation, (6) show file number, (7) show names of
parties, (8) be directed to the defendant, (9) show the name and address of attorney for
plaintiff, otherwise the address of plaintiff, (10) contain the time within which these rules
require the defendant to file a written answer with the clerk who issued citation, (11)
contain address of the clerk, (12) notify the defendant that in case of failure of defendant
to file and answer, judgment by default may be rendered for the relief demanded in the
petition, and (13) notify the defendant that the defendant may be required to make initial
disclosures. The citation shall direct the defendant to file a written answer to the plaintiff's
petition on or before 10:00 a.m. on the Monday next after the expiration of twenty days
after the date of service thereof. The requirement of subsections 10, 12, and 13 of this
section shall be in the form set forth in section c of this rule.
c. Notice. The citation shall include the following notice to the defendant: "You have been
sued. You may employ an attorney. If you or your attorney do not file a written answer
with the clerk who issued this citation by 10:00 a.m. on the Monday next following the
expiration of twenty days after you were served this citation and petition, a default
judgment may be taken against you. In addition to filing a written answer with the clerk,
you may be required to make initial disclosures to the other parties of this suit. These
disclosures generally must be made no later than 30 days after you file your answer with
the clerk. Find out more at TexasLawHelp.org."
d. Copies. The party filing any pleading upon which citation is to be issued and served shall
furnish the clerk with a sufficient number of copies thereof for use in serving the parties to
be served, and when copies are so furnished the clerk shall make no charge for the copies.
[RULE 100. Repealed effective January 1, 1988]
[RULE 101. Repealed effective January 1, 1988]
[RULE 102. Repealed effective January 1, 1988]
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