How to Appeal a Texas Small Claims Judgment

What Texans call a small claims case is a civil suit in a justice court, and the way to challenge a justice court judgment is explained in How Texas Justice Courts Handle Small Claims. This article covers the appeal itself: where it goes, the deadline, the bond or deposit that perfects it, and what a new trial in county court looks like.

Where a Texas small claims appeal goes

An appeal from a justice court judgment goes to the county court, the county court at law or the constitutional county court that has civil jurisdiction in that county. The statutory right to appeal comes from Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 51.001, which lets a party to a final justice court judgment appeal to the county court when the judgment or amount in controversy exceeds $250. Because a justice court can hear money disputes up to $20,000 under Tex. Gov’t Code § 27.031, most contested small claims judgments clear the $250 threshold and are appealable.

The appeal is not a review of the justice court record for legal error. It is a trial de novo, meaning the county court holds an entirely new trial as if the justice court trial never happened, under Tex. R. Civ. P. 506.3. Both sides present their evidence and witnesses again, and the county court judge or jury reaches a fresh decision. The earlier outcome carries no weight in the new trial.

The 21-day deadline to appeal

The deadline to appeal is short. Under Tex. R. Civ. P. 506.1(a), a party appeals by filing a bond, making a cash deposit, or filing a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs with the justice court within 21 days after the judgment is signed. The clock runs from the date the judge signs the judgment, not the date a party receives it.

A post-trial motion resets the start of the period. If a party files a motion to reinstate, a motion to set aside, or a motion for new trial, the 21 days run from the date that motion is denied rather than from the original judgment, under Tex. R. Civ. P. 506.1(a).

Appeal bond, cash deposit, or Statement of Inability

An appeal is perfected only when one of three filings reaches the justice court within the deadline: an appeal bond, a cash deposit in place of a bond, or a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs.

The bond amount depends on which side is appealing. Under Tex. R. Civ. P. 506.1(b), an appealing plaintiff files a $500 bond, and an appealing defendant files a bond in an amount equal to twice the amount of the judgment. The bond must be supported by one or more sureties the judge approves, must be payable to the appellee (the other party), and must be conditioned on the appellant prosecuting the appeal and paying any judgment and costs entered on appeal.

A party who prefers not to use a surety can make a cash deposit instead. Tex. R. Civ. P. 506.1(c) allows a cash deposit in the amount the bond would require, paid to the court and held under the same conditions as a bond. For a defendant, that means depositing twice the amount of the judgment in cash; for a plaintiff, $500.

The third path is the Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs, the sworn form that replaces the bond for a party who cannot pay. It is covered in its own section below.

How to perfect the appeal

Perfecting the appeal is the act of filing the right document with the justice court inside the deadline. Tex. R. Civ. P. 506.1(h) states that the appeal is perfected when a bond, cash deposit, or Statement of Inability is filed in accordance with the rule.

1. File the bond, deposit, or Statement with the justice court

   The appeal starts in the justice court that entered the judgment, not the county court. Deliver the appeal bond, the cash deposit, or the Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs to the justice court clerk within 21 days after the judgment is signed.

2. Use the correct amount

   A plaintiff files a $500 bond or deposit. A defendant files a bond or deposit equal to twice the amount of the judgment, under Tex. R. Civ. P. 506.1(b). A bond must be signed by a surety the judge approves and made payable to the other party.

3. Serve notice of the appeal on the other parties

   Within 7 days of filing the bond or making the cash deposit, the appellant must serve written notice of the appeal on every other party, under Tex. R. Civ. P. 506.1(e). Failing to give this notice does not by itself undo a perfected appeal, but it is a required step.

4. Let the justice court transfer the file

   Once the appeal is perfected, the justice court sends the county court clerk a certified copy of the docket entries, a certified bill of costs, and the original papers in the case, under Tex. R. Civ. P. 506.2. The county court then sets the case for a new trial.

After the file reaches the county court, the case proceeds like any other county court civil suit, and either party can request a jury for the new trial by paying the jury fee. Preparing for that second hearing is the same work as the first: the factors a county court weighs are described in what it takes to win in Texas small claims court.

What happens in the county court

The county court tries the case de novo. Under Tex. R. Civ. P. 506.3, the case must be tried in the county court as a new trial in which the entire case is presented as if there had been no previous trial. Evidence that came in at the justice court does not carry over automatically; each side offers its exhibits and testimony again.

Because the trial is new, the county court can reach a different result than the justice court, including a larger or smaller judgment, or a judgment for the party who lost below. The amount in controversy in the county court is still bounded by the justice court’s jurisdiction; the appeal does not expand the case beyond what the justice court could have heard.

A party that wins in the county court collects the judgment using the same post-judgment tools available after any Texas civil judgment, such as a Texas writ of execution to seize property to collect a judgment. The appeal bond or cash deposit on file stands behind the appellant’s obligation to pay a judgment and costs the county court enters.

If you cannot afford the bond or court costs

A party who cannot pay a bond, a cash deposit, or court costs can appeal by filing a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs instead, under Tex. R. Civ. P. 506.1(d). The Statement is a sworn, Supreme Court-approved form filed with the justice court within the same 21-day deadline that applies to a bond.

Filing the Statement is not automatically final. The other party, or the court, can contest the Statement within 7 days after receiving notice of it, under Tex. R. Civ. P. 506.1(d). If the contest is sustained, the appellant can challenge that ruling, and if the inability finding is ultimately overruled, the rule gives the appellant a further five days to file a bond or cash deposit so the appeal is not lost on the cost issue alone.