Civil harassment in Texas is pursued not through a single dedicated statute but through a combination of protective orders that restrict a harasser’s behavior and civil lawsuits built on tort claims like intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and defamation. Protective orders can move quickly and keep the person away from you; a lawsuit takes longer but can recover money for what the harassment has cost you. Most of the underlying claims must be filed within two years, so how fast you act matters as much as which path you choose.
What Counts as Harassment Under Texas Law
The clearest statutory definition sits in the criminal code. Texas Penal Code Section 42.07 prohibits threatening bodily injury, sending repeated electronic communications designed to alarm or torment someone, posting repeated messages on social media likely to cause emotional distress, and tracking or monitoring another person without consent.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 42.07 – Harassment Criminal harassment is generally a Class B misdemeanor, and a Class A misdemeanor for repeat offenders or when electronic harassment targets a child.
No parallel civil statute exists. That matters because a victim who wants to sue cannot simply file “for harassment.” Civil courts do, however, borrow the criminal code’s categories when deciding whether conduct is severe enough to be actionable. Repeated unwanted calls, threatening emails, obsessive social media contact, and physical surveillance are the patterns that most commonly translate into a viable civil case.
Cyberharassment has its own wrinkle. The statute covers repeated electronic communications and social media posts intended to cause distress, but exempts communications made in connection with a matter of public concern.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 42.07 – Harassment Courts assess the whole pattern, not one message at a time, when deciding whether online conduct is targeting or commentary.
Claims You Can File
Because Texas has no standalone civil harassment cause of action, plaintiffs bring one or more established tort claims. The most common are:
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED). The workhorse claim. You must show the defendant’s conduct was extreme and outrageous, that they acted intentionally or recklessly, and that the conduct caused severe emotional distress. The bar for “extreme and outrageous” is high: conduct must go beyond what a reasonable person would tolerate in a civilized society. Isolated rude comments rarely qualify. Sustained campaigns of intimidation, threats, or humiliation are where the claim gets traction.
- Invasion of privacy. Covers intrusion upon seclusion — an invasion of your private affairs that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. Unauthorized surveillance, tracking, reading private communications, or repeatedly showing up uninvited fit here.
- Defamation. Available when the harassment includes publishing false statements that damage your reputation. You must prove the statements were false, published to third parties, and caused actual harm.
- Stalking. Primarily criminal, but a pattern of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear can also support a civil damages claim.
Most cases lean on IIED and layer other theories on top. The “extreme and outrageous” element is where weak claims die: courts routinely dismiss IIED claims where the behavior, though genuinely upsetting, does not shock the conscience.
You Have Two Years, Usually
Section 16.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code requires personal injury lawsuits to be filed within two years of the day the cause of action accrues.2State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003 – Two-Year Limitations Period IIED, invasion of privacy, and most other harassment-related torts fall inside this window.
Figuring out when the clock started is the hard part. A single incident is easy. Ongoing harassment is not. The continuing tort doctrine may allow the limitations period to restart with each new act, but courts analyze that case by case. Waiting until the harassment stops before filing is risky, because incidents at the beginning of the pattern may already be time-barred by the time you file, weakening what you can prove.
Protective Orders for Immediate Safety
A protective order is often the first thing a victim needs, because it works faster than a lawsuit and it directly restricts the harasser’s behavior. Which type applies depends on the relationship between you and the person harassing you.
Family Violence Protective Orders
Title 4 of the Texas Family Code covers protective orders when the harasser is a spouse, former spouse, dating partner, household member, or co-parent. You file in the county where you live or where the harassment happened. If the court finds a clear and present danger, it can issue a temporary ex parte order the same day, without notice to the harasser and without a hearing. Those temporary orders last up to 20 days and can be extended for additional 20-day periods pending the full hearing.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 85 – Issuance of Protective Order
After a hearing, a final protective order can last up to two years. It can exceed two years when the harasser committed a felony involving family violence, caused serious bodily injury, or was the subject of two or more previous protective orders protecting the same person. Violating a protective order can trigger contempt and criminal penalties.
Stalking Protective Orders
If you have no family or dating relationship with the person stalking you, Chapter 7B of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides a separate route covering stalking, sexual assault, and trafficking. You need reasonable grounds to believe you are a victim of stalking. These orders can potentially last for life, which makes them a powerful option against persistent stalkers who are strangers or acquaintances.
Civil Injunctions Inside a Lawsuit
Once you file a civil harassment lawsuit, you can also ask the court for an injunction as part of the case. Injunctions are broader and more flexible than statutory protective orders. A court can order the defendant to stop contacting you, stop posting about you online, or stay away from your workplace. You must show a probable right to relief and that irreparable harm would occur without the court’s intervention. Violating an injunction can lead to contempt proceedings, fines, or jail time.
How a Civil Lawsuit Works
If a protective order isn’t enough, or you want compensation, the next step is a civil suit. Texas uses fact pleading, so the petition must list specific incidents with dates, describe how the conduct caused distress or fear, and name the legal theories being pursued. Vague allegations of “harassment” without concrete facts will not survive a motion to dismiss.
The case goes in either a district court or a county court at law. County courts at law generally handle civil cases up to $200,000 in controversy; district courts are the trial courts of general jurisdiction for larger claims.4Texas Judicial Branch. Texas Courts – A Descriptive Summary Venue usually belongs in the county where the harassment occurred or where the defendant lives. If cyberharassment crosses state lines, federal court may be available under diversity jurisdiction when the parties are citizens of different states and more than $75,000 is at stake.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1332 – Diversity of Citizenship; Amount in Controversy; Costs
Filing fees run a few hundred dollars. If you cannot afford them, you can file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs under Rule 145. Receiving benefits from a means-tested government program, or being represented by a qualifying legal aid provider, creates a presumption of eligibility for the waiver.6Texas Rules Project (South Texas College of Law Houston). Rule 145 – Payment of Costs Not Required
After filing, the defendant has to be served. Rule 106 allows personal delivery or certified mail with return receipt, and if those fail, the court can authorize alternative service by email or social media.7South Texas College of Law. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 106 – Method of Service Cases can be dismissed if service is never properly completed. Once served, the defendant must file an answer by 10:00 a.m. on the Monday following the expiration of 20 days after service.8South Texas College of Law Houston. Rule 99 – Issuance and Form of Citation
The Evidence That Actually Wins
Harassment cases rise or fall on documentation, and courts want to see a pattern. Preserve emails, texts, voicemails, social media messages, and posts in their original digital form, with metadata intact. Screenshots help, but the underlying files authenticate more cleanly if the defendant challenges them. Witness testimony from coworkers, neighbors, or family members who observed the conduct or its effect on you adds real weight.
The severity element is where plaintiffs stumble most often. IIED requires “severe” distress, not ordinary upset. Medical records showing treatment for anxiety, depression, PTSD, or related conditions linked to the harassment carry far more weight than your own testimony alone. A contemporaneous journal helps, but professional treatment records are what courts credit.
What a Court Can Order
A successful case can produce both money and behavioral restrictions.
Compensatory damages cover measurable losses: lost wages, psychological treatment costs, security expenses like new locks or cameras, and other out-of-pocket costs traceable to the harassment. Non-economic damages compensate for emotional distress, anxiety, reputational harm, and diminished quality of life. These are harder to quantify but regularly awarded when the evidence supports them.
Punitive damages are available for especially egregious conduct, but you must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant acted with malice. Texas caps exemplary damages at the greater of $200,000 or two times economic damages plus non-economic damages (with non-economic damages capped at $750,000 for this calculation). The cap does not apply when the underlying conduct amounts to certain felonies like aggravated assault, sexual assault, or felony-level stalking.9State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 41.008 – Limitation on Amount of Recovery
Injunctive relief can require the defendant to stop contacting you, remove harmful online content, stay away from your home or workplace, or issue a retraction. For many victims, this is the point of the lawsuit. Violating the order can bring contempt, fines, or jail.
When the Defendant Can Push Back Early
Two procedural tools let defendants try to end a harassment case before trial, and both are worth knowing before you file.
Under Rule 91a, a defendant can move to dismiss a claim that has no basis in law or fact, meaning the allegations, even if true, don’t entitle you to relief.10vLex United States. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 91a If the motion succeeds, the court must award the defendant reasonable attorney’s fees on the dismissed claim. That fee-shifting cuts both ways and is one reason vague petitions are risky.
The Texas Citizens Participation Act, codified in Chapter 27 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is the state’s anti-SLAPP law. A defendant can seek early dismissal of claims arising from the exercise of free speech, the right to petition, or the right of association. If your harassment lawsuit is based on statements the defendant made about a matter of public concern, the TCPA may apply. Filing a TCPA motion automatically suspends discovery until the court rules. The court must hear the motion within 60 days and rule within 30 days of the hearing. To keep the case alive, you have to establish a prima facie case for each element of your claim through clear and specific evidence. If you can’t, the court must dismiss and award the defendant attorney’s fees and costs. If the motion itself was frivolous or filed to delay, the defendant can be ordered to pay your fees instead.
The TCPA is where genuine victims sometimes get their strongest cases challenged as attacks on free speech, and where defendants engaged in legitimate commentary sometimes still get pulled through litigation. Either way, if you are considering a civil suit against someone whose conduct includes public statements, plan for that motion from the beginning: assemble the specific evidence for every element of every claim before you file, not after.