An ex parte order in Texas is an emergency court order a judge can sign without first notifying the other party, and it is available in family violence cases, certain child custody disputes, and civil emergencies where waiting would cause irreparable harm. You get one by filing a sworn petition and affidavit showing an urgent, specific threat, and if the judge grants it, the order holds until a follow-up hearing where both sides can be heard.
Which Type of Ex Parte Order Fits Your Situation
Texas has three main routes, each with its own statute and its own showing. Filing under the wrong one is one of the most common reasons a request stalls.
Family Violence Protective Orders
The most common route is a temporary ex parte protective order under Texas Family Code 83.001. A judge can issue it without notice or a hearing if the sworn application shows a clear and present danger of family violence.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code 83.001 – Requirements for Temporary Ex Parte Order Vague fear is not enough. Judges want concrete details: dates, descriptions of what happened, threatening messages, prior incidents.
Custody TROs in Pending Suits
Under Texas Family Code 105.001, a court in a pending custody suit can issue a temporary restraining order that prevents a parent from removing a child from a defined area, disturbing the child’s peace, or taking other harmful actions. This TRO does not require the affidavit showing of immediate and irreparable injury that a standard civil TRO does. There is a hard limit, though: the court cannot shift temporary conservatorship, meaning who actually has custody, without notice and a hearing unless a governmental entity like Child Protective Services asks for emergency removal under Chapter 262.2State of Texas. Texas Family Code 105.001 – Temporary Orders Before Final Order So a TRO can keep the other parent from fleeing with your child, but a custody swap will almost always require a hearing first.
Civil TROs
Outside family law, Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 680 governs TROs in business disputes, asset protection cases, and other civil matters. To get one without notice, your sworn affidavit must show immediate and irreparable harm before the other side can be served and heard.3Texas Courts. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 680 Typical uses include stopping a business partner from draining accounts or preventing the destruction of evidence. Courts scrutinize these because you are asking to restrict someone’s rights without giving them a chance to respond.
What You Have to File
Every ex parte request rests on two documents: a petition and a sworn affidavit. The petition sets out the legal basis and the situation. In a family violence case, it identifies your relationship to the respondent, describes specific acts or threats, and explains the clear and present danger. In a custody TRO, it explains why the restraint is necessary for the child’s safety. In a civil Rule 680 request, it describes the irreparable harm and why notifying the other side first would defeat the purpose.
The affidavit is where most applications succeed or fail. The judge only has your version, so gaps and inconsistencies read as reasons to say no. Include dates, locations, and what happened at each incident. Describe injuries. Quote threats as precisely as you can remember.
Supporting evidence carries real weight. Police reports, photographs of injuries, medical records, and screenshots of threatening messages help in family violence cases. For a child custody emergency, school records, CPS reports, medical evaluations, and statements from teachers or counselors who have seen the child matter. In civil disputes, contracts, financial records, and communications showing the threatened harm establish urgency. The more concrete documentation you attach, the less the judge has to rely on your word alone.
Filing Fees
If you are seeking a protective order in a family violence case, Texas law prohibits any fees. Under Texas Family Code 81.002, no court clerk, sheriff, constable, or other public official may charge you for filing, serving, or entering a protective order, and that includes certified copies, court reporters, modifications, and transfers.4State of Texas. Texas Family Code 81.002 – No Fee for Applicant
For civil TROs and custody-related restraining orders filed outside the protective order framework, standard court filing fees apply. They vary by county but generally run a few hundred dollars. Add the cost of service: sheriffs and constables charge a fee, and private process servers typically charge $50 to $150 for expedited personal service. Attorney retainers for emergency filings start in the low thousands, though legal aid organizations often represent domestic violence applicants for free.
How the Judge Decides
Most ex parte orders are decided on paper. The judge reviews the petition, affidavit, and attachments in chambers. If the showing is strong enough, an order can be signed the same day, sometimes within hours. Family violence dockets in many counties are built to move fast.
Some judges will ask you to appear briefly to clarify something in the affidavit. That is not an adversarial hearing. The other party is not there. The judge is testing the credibility and completeness of what you filed before acting on your word alone.
If the judge grants the order, it will spell out specific prohibitions matched to your situation. Family violence protective orders commonly bar contact, keep the respondent away from your home and workplace, and prohibit firearm possession. Custody TROs often restrict a parent from taking the child outside the jurisdiction. Civil TROs may freeze assets or prohibit destruction of specific documents. Law enforcement is notified so officers can respond to violations. Under Texas Family Code 83.003, judges also have discretion to waive any bond requirement for ex parte protective orders.
How Long the Order Lasts
Durations differ by type, and confusing them can leave you unprotected when you think you are covered.
A temporary ex parte protective order under Family Code Chapter 83 is valid for up to 20 days, and the court can extend it for additional 20-day periods if needed.5State of Texas. Texas Family Code 83.002 – Duration of Order; Extension The court must set a full hearing on a permanent protective order no later than 14 days after the application is filed, or 20 days in counties with populations exceeding two million. At that hearing, both sides present evidence and the judge decides whether to issue a protective order lasting up to two years or longer.6State of Texas. Texas Family Code 85.001 – Required Findings and Orders
A civil TRO under Rule 680 expires within 14 days of signing unless the court extends it for good cause for one additional 14-day period, or the other party agrees to more time.3Texas Courts. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 680 That gives you at most 28 days to get a temporary injunction hearing scheduled. Miss the window without an extension or a set hearing and the TRO simply expires.
Serving the Other Party
Once the order is signed, the other party has to be served with it and all supporting documents. This is not a formality. An improperly served order can be challenged or thrown out, and it cannot be enforced against someone who never received notice of it.
In Texas, a sheriff, constable, or authorized private process server handles service. Personal service is strongly preferred because it creates a clear record. If personal service is not possible despite diligent efforts, you can ask the court to approve alternatives like certified mail or service by publication, though courts approve these reluctantly in protective order cases.
Keep your service records tight. If the respondent later claims they were never served, the burden of proving otherwise falls on you.
If Your Request Is Denied
Judges deny ex parte requests more often than people expect, usually because the evidence was thin, the threat did not read as immediate, or the paperwork had procedural problems. The denial itself often points to what to fix.
Your strongest next step is asking for a full hearing where both parties present evidence. In family violence cases, even after an ex parte denial, the court can schedule a hearing on a standard protective order under Family Code 85.001, typically within 14 days of the application date.6State of Texas. Texas Family Code 85.001 – Required Findings and Orders At that hearing you can call witnesses, introduce more evidence, and have the other party cross-examined.
If the denial was about insufficient documentation, you can refile with stronger evidence: medical records you had not obtained yet, prior police reports, or sworn statements from witnesses. A victim advocate or attorney can often identify what the first application was missing.
If you are in immediate physical danger while the legal process moves, call local law enforcement. Officers can intervene without a court order, and their reports become evidence for your next filing.
What Happens If the Order Is Violated
Texas courts enforce these orders aggressively.
Violating a family violence protective order is a Class A misdemeanor under Texas Penal Code 25.07, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000. The charge becomes a third-degree felony, carrying 2 to 10 years in prison, if the person has two or more prior convictions for violating a protective order, or if the violation involved an assault or stalking.7State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 25.07 – Violation of Certain Court Orders or Conditions of Bond in a Family Violence Case It can escalate to a state jail felony if the respondent possessed a deadly weapon during the violation. Officers can arrest on the spot when they witness a breach or have probable cause.
Contempt is a separate track. Under Texas Government Code 21.002, contempt penalties include a fine of up to $500, confinement for up to six months, or both.8State of Texas. Texas Government Code 21.002 – Contempt of Court
In custody cases, taking or keeping a child in violation of a court order, including a temporary ex parte order, is interference with child custody under Texas Penal Code 25.03. That is a state jail felony punishable by 180 days to 2 years in a state jail facility and a fine of up to $10,000.9State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 25.03 – Interference With Child Custody Beyond criminal exposure, a parent who violates a custody order risks losing custody rights. Courts often respond with supervised visitation or by modifying the arrangement against the violator.
Firearms and Interstate Travel
A detail worth knowing on both sides of the case: the initial ex parte protective order does not by itself trigger the federal firearms ban. Under 18 U.S.C. ยง 922(g)(8), a person subject to a qualifying protective order cannot possess any firearm or ammunition, and violation is a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Federal law requires that the order was issued after a hearing where the respondent received actual notice and a chance to participate. Ex parte orders do not meet that standard. The ban attaches once the court holds the follow-up hearing and issues the final protective order.
Interstate enforcement works differently. Under the Violence Against Women Act, every state, tribe, and territory must give full faith and credit to valid protection orders from any other jurisdiction.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders That covers ex parte orders as long as the respondent will receive notice and an opportunity to be heard within the time Texas requires. Since Texas requires a full hearing within 14 to 20 days of filing, a properly issued Texas ex parte protective order is enforceable across state lines during that window. If you travel or move, carry a certified copy of the order, because officers in another state can only enforce what they can see.