Tex. R. App. P. 33

Preservation of Appellate Complaints

sha256 c9649a02dba63cd8373723852931a857… · retrieved 7/15/2026, 8:29:28 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 33. Preservation of Appellate Complaints
33.1. Preservation; How Shown
(a) In General. As a prerequisite to presenting a
complaint for appellate review, the record
must show that:
(1) the complaint was made to the trial court
by a timely request, objection, or motion
that:
(A) stated the grounds for the ruling that
the complaining party sought from
the trial court with sufficient
specificity to make the trial court
aware of the complaint, unless the
specific grounds were apparent
from the context; and
(B) complied with the requirements of
the Texas Rules of Evidence or the
Texas Rules of Civil or Appellate
Procedure; and
(2) the trial court:
(A) ruled on the request, objection, or
motion, either expressly or
implicitly; or
(B) refused to rule on the request,
objection, or motion, and the
complaining party objected to the
refusal.
(b) Ruling by Operation of Law. In a civil case,
the overruling by operation of law of a
motion for new trial or a motion to modify the
judgment preserves for appellate review a
complaint properly made in the motion,
unless taking evidence was necessary to
properly present the complaint in the trial
court.
(c) Formal Exception and Separate Order Not
Required. Neither a formal exception to a
trial court ruling or order nor a signed,
separate order is required to preserve a
complaint for appeal.
(d) Sufficiency of Evidence Complaints in Civil
Nonjury Cases. In a civil nonjury case, a
complaint regarding the legal or factual
insufficiency of the evidence - including a
complaint that the damages found by the
court are excessive or inadequate, as
distinguished from a complaint that the trial
court erred in refusing to amend a fact finding
or to make an additional finding of fact - may
be made for the first time on appeal in the
complaining party’s brief.
33.2. Formal Bills of Exception
47
To complain on appeal about a matter that would
not otherwise appear in the record, a party must file a
formal bill of exception.
(a) Form. No particular form of words is
required in a bill of exception. But the
objection to the court's ruling or action, and
the ruling complained of, must be stated with
sufficient specificity to make the trial court
aware of the complaint.
(b) Evidence. When the appellate record contains
the evidence needed to explain a bill of
exception, the bill itself need not repeat the
evidence, and a party may attach and
incorporate a transcription of the evidence
certified by the court reporter.
(c) Procedure.
(1) The complaining party must first present
a formal bill of exception to the trial
court.
(2) If the parties agree on the contents of the
bill of exception, the judge must sign the
bill and file it with the trial court clerk. If
the parties do not agree on the contents
of the bill, the trial judge must — after
notice and hearing — do one of the
following things:
(A) sign the bill of exception and file it
with the trial court clerk if the judge
finds that it is correct;
(B) suggest to the complaining party
those corrections to the bill that the
judge believes are necessary to
make it accurately reflect the
proceedings in the trial court, and if
the party agrees to the corrections,
have the corrections made, sign the
bill, and file it with the trial court
clerk; or
(C) if the complaining party will not
agree to the corrections suggested
by the judge, return the bill to the
complaining party with the judge's
refusal written on it, and prepare,
sign, and file with the trial court
clerk such bill as will, in the judge's
opinion, accurately reflect the
proceedings in the trial court.
(3) If the complaining party is dissatisfied
with the bill of exception filed by the
judge under (2)(C), the party may file
with the trial court clerk the bill that was
rejected by the judge. That party must
also file the affidavits of at least three
people who observed the matter to which
the bill of exception is addressed. The
affidavits must attest to the correctness
of the bill as presented by the party. The
matters contained in that bill of
exception may be controverted and
maintained by additional affidavits filed
by any party within ten days after the
filing of that bill. The truth of the bill of
exception will be determined by the
appellate court.
(d) Conflict. If a formal bill of exception
conflicts with the reporter’s record, the bill
controls.
(e) Time to file.
(1) Civil Cases. In a civil case, a formal bill
of exception must be filed no later than
30 days after the filing party’s notice of
appeal is filed.
(2) Criminal Cases. In a criminal case, a
formal bill of exception must be filed:
(A) no later than 60 days after the trial
court pronounces or suspends
sentence in open court; or
(B) if a motion for new trial has been
timely filed, no later than 90 days
after the trial court pronounces or
suspends sentence in open court.
(3) Extension of Time. The appellate court
may extend the time to file a formal bill
of exception if, within 15 days after the
deadline for filing the bill, the party files
in the appellate court a motion
complying with Rule 10.5(b).
(f) Inclusion in Clerk’s Record. When filed, a
formal bill of exception should be included in
the appellate record.
Notes and Comments
Comment to 1997 change: This is former Rule 52.
Subdivision 33.1 is rewritten. Former Rule 52(b),
48
regarding offers of proof, is omitted as unnecessary.
See TEX. R. CIV. EVID. 103; TEX. R. CRIM. EVID.
103. Subdivision 33.2 is also rewritten and the
procedure is more definitely stated. Former Rule
52(d), regarding motions for new trial, is omitted as
unnecessary. See TEX. R. CIV. P. 324(a) & (b).
Comment to 2002 change: The last sentence of
former Rule 52(d) of the Rules of Appellate Procedure
has been reinstated in substance.

Verbatim from the official publication; the only normalization is removal of the publisher's page headers. Verify against the official source for filing-critical use — court publications change without notice.