Answer to a Debt Collection Lawsuit in Texas: Form CV-ANS-103

If you have been sued over a debt in Texas Justice Court, the answer to a debt collection lawsuit in Texas is a free, four-page form called the CV-ANS-103, and you have 14 days from the date you were served to file it. Miss that deadline and the creditor can win by default without a hearing. File it on time, check the defenses that apply to you, and the plaintiff has to prove its case.

The 14-Day Deadline

In Justice Court, your Answer is due 14 days after you were served with the lawsuit papers. If the 14th day lands on a weekend or court holiday, the deadline rolls to the next business day.¹ Cases filed in County or District Court run on a different clock: the Answer is due by 10 a.m. on the Monday following 20 days after service.²

If you do nothing, the creditor can ask the court for a default judgment. A default judgment lets the creditor pursue collection actions such as freezing bank accounts or placing liens on property.³

What the CV-ANS-103 Form Contains

The CV-ANS-103, titled “Debt Collection Answer for Justice Court,” is a fill-in-the-blank form published by TexasLawHelp.org and Texas Appleseed and most recently updated in February 2025. Filing it costs nothing, and you do not need a lawyer to complete it.⁴

The form is organized into sections that each do a specific job:

Case information: the cause number, plaintiff’s name, defendant’s name, and the Justice Court precinct, place, and county. Copy these exactly from the citation you received.
General denial: a standard statement denying the plaintiff’s claims and forcing them to prove everything they have alleged. A general denial does not accuse the other side of lying; it simply puts them to their proof.¹
Additional defenses: checkboxes for statute of limitations, lack of standing, identity theft, prior payment, bankruptcy discharge, and others.
Protected income: space to list income shielded from collection, such as Social Security, disability, veterans’ benefits, pensions, child support, or TANF.
Venue: a section for requesting transfer to a different Justice Court if the case was filed in a precinct where you do not live. This section requires either an unsworn declaration or notarization.
Jury trial request: a checkbox to request a jury, which costs $22 paid at least 14 days before trial (or a fee waiver).
Certificate of Service: confirmation of the date and method you used to send a copy of the Answer to the plaintiff or their attorney.⁴

You can download the form from TexasLawHelp.org or the Texas Justice Court Training Center at tjctc.org.⁵ Texas Appleseed publishes a version through its “My Debt Collection Rights” toolkit.⁶

How To Fill Out and File the Answer

Work through the form in order:

Copy the case header exactly from the papers you were served, including cause number, county, precinct, and place.
Enter your full name, mailing address, phone number, and email.
Review the list of defenses and check every box that applies. Once the case moves forward, you generally cannot raise defenses you did not include in your Answer.⁷
List any protected income. This puts the court and the creditor on notice that some or all of your income may be off-limits even if the creditor wins.
Sign the form. A physical signature works; if you are filing electronically, typing “/s/” followed by your name counts as an electronic signature.¹
Serve the plaintiff on the same day you file. Acceptable methods include personal delivery, mail, fax, email (only if the plaintiff agreed to receive documents by email), or another method approved under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 501.4.
File with the court. You can file in person (bring the original and at least two copies), by e-filing if the court accepts it, by email if the court permits it, or by mail. If mailing, use registered mail with return receipt for proof of delivery.
Complete the Certificate of Service on the form itself, showing the date and method you used to send the copy.⁴

One caution before you file. TexasLawHelp notes that filing an Answer before raising a “special appearance” (a challenge to the court’s authority over you personally) waives your right to make that challenge later. If you believe the court has no personal jurisdiction over you, talk to a lawyer first.

If the deadline is close and you cannot access the form, a handwritten letter to the court can count as an Answer as long as it includes the case number, your mailing address, and the reasons you believe you do not owe the debt.² The official form is still the safer choice because it lists the defenses and procedural pieces you might otherwise leave out.

Defenses To Check on the Form

Checking the right boxes is one of the most consequential parts of the Answer. Affirmative defenses not raised in your initial response may be waived under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 94.⁷

Statute of Limitations

Texas has a four-year statute of limitations for most consumer debts, running from the date of the last payment or the date the debtor first failed to pay.⁸ If the lawsuit was filed after that four-year window closed, the debt is time-barred. A partial payment or a promise to pay can restart the clock for debts held by original creditors. For debts held by debt buyers, Texas Finance Code § 392.307 (enacted in 2019) prevents the statute of limitations from being revived by a payment, a reaffirmation, or any other activity.⁹

Lack of Standing

If a debt buyer is suing you rather than the original creditor, the plaintiff must prove it actually owns your specific debt. Under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 508.2, a debt collector or assignee filing in Justice Court must include the name of the original creditor, the basis for its standing, and an itemized breakdown of the amount sought.¹⁰ If the plaintiff cannot show a complete chain of ownership from the original creditor to itself, the case may fail.

Other Boxes on the Form

The Answer form also includes checkboxes for these defenses:⁴

Already paid or settled.
Wrong person: the account does not belong to you, or you did not make the charges.
Identity theft: someone else created the debt using your identity.
Bankruptcy discharge: the debt was wiped out in a bankruptcy case (you will need to provide the case number).
Prior judgment or dismissal: the debt was already resolved in a previous lawsuit or arbitration.
Improper sale of collateral: the creditor did not give required notice before selling property that secured the loan, or did not sell it in a commercially reasonable way.
Credit protection plan: you bought a plan to cover payments in case of disability or job loss and notified the creditor.

When a Verified Denial Is Required

For most straightforward debt cases, the general denial on the CV-ANS-103 is enough to force the plaintiff to prove its case. Some situations require a stronger response called a verified denial: a sworn statement, made under penalty of perjury, that specifically denies certain allegations.

Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 93 lists 18 categories of claims that require a verified denial. In debt cases, the two most relevant are sworn accounts under TRCP 93(10) and TRCP 185, where the plaintiff attaches an affidavit swearing the account is “just and true,” and denial of execution of instruments under TRCP 93(7), where you are disputing that you signed the contract being sued on.¹¹ If a verified denial is required and you do not file one, the court treats the plaintiff’s allegations as conclusively true, essentially an automatic admission that shuts down your ability to argue at trial.¹²

On the Texas Appleseed Defendant’s Answer form, verified pleas require an “Unsworn Declaration Made Under Penalty of Perjury” (authorized by Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code § 132.001), which asks for your full name, date of birth, address, and signature.¹¹ Rule 185 suits on sworn accounts may not apply to credit card debts, according to case law including Powers v. Adams, which found that credit-card accounts are likely outside Rule 185’s scope.

Protected Income and Property

Listing protected income on the Answer form matters because Texas shields significant categories of income and property from collection even after a judgment. Current wages cannot be garnished for consumer debt, though they can be for child support, spousal maintenance, student loans, and tax debts.¹³ Once a paycheck is deposited into a bank account, it may lose that protection and become subject to a writ of garnishment.¹⁴

Key categories of exempt property and income include:

Government benefits: Social Security, SSI, SSDI, veterans’ benefits, TANF, FEMA disaster benefits, and Railroad Retirement Board benefits.
Retirement accounts: 401(k)s, IRAs, pensions, profit-sharing plans, annuities, and 529 college savings plans.
Homestead: your primary residence, up to 10 acres in an urban area or 100/200 acres rural for individuals/families, though it can still be foreclosed for a mortgage, property taxes, or home equity defaults.
Personal property: up to $50,000 in value for a single person or $100,000 for a family, covering household items, tools of your trade, one vehicle per licensed driver, clothing, pets, and other listed items.¹⁵

If exempt funds are frozen after a judgment, you can file a Protected Property Claim Form or a motion to dissolve or modify the garnishment writ. Banks are also required to protect two months’ worth of directly deposited federal benefits like Social Security.¹⁴

If the Deadline Already Passed

If a default judgment has already been entered, you still have options, but the windows are short. In Justice Court, you can file a motion to set aside the default judgment within 14 days of the date the judgment was signed. In County or District Court, that window is 30 days.³ Past those deadlines, a “Bill of Review” may be an option, though TexasLawHelp describes this route as very difficult to win and typically reserved for cases where the defendant has strong evidence of never having been properly served.

Fee Waivers

Filing the Answer itself is free, but other court costs, such as the $22 jury fee, may apply. If you cannot afford them, file a “Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs or an Appeal Bond.” Fees should be waived if you receive means-tested government benefits like food stamps, TANF, Medicaid, or SSI; are represented by legal aid; qualified for legal aid but were turned away; or can show that paying court fees would prevent you from meeting basic household needs.¹⁶ The process is governed by Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145.

Where To Get the Form

Three free sources publish the Answer form and supporting guidance:

TexasLawHelp.org hosts the CV-ANS-103 along with a step-by-step guide, a deadline calculator, and guides on exempt property and affirmative defenses.¹
The Texas Justice Court Training Center provides an Answer form and an information packet for debt claim defendants at tjctc.org.⁵
Texas Appleseed’s “My Debt Collection Rights” toolkit at mydebtcollectionrightstexas.org offers a response form, a video library, a glossary, and guidance on whether you are judgment proof.⁶

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State Law Library of Texas. Time-Barred Debts
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