Texas Writ of Execution: Seizing Property to Collect a Judgment

Winning a money judgment in justice court does not move money. A writ of execution is the enforcement tool that turns an unpaid judgment into a seizure and sale of the debtor’s property. Execution begins only after a creditor has won a judgment at the hearing; this article picks up where the judgment is already in hand and explains what the writ does, when it can issue, what a constable can and cannot take, and how the levy and sale work. It is one of the collection procedures covered in how Texas justice courts handle small claims cases, which sets out the underlying lawsuit and judgment.

What a writ of execution does

A judgment is a court’s declaration that one party owes another a sum of money. It is not a payment, and a debtor who ignores it forces the creditor to collect. Texas judgments are enforced by execution under Rule 621 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, which applies to district, county, and justice courts alike.

A writ of execution is the written command the court issues to a law enforcement officer, a constable or sheriff, to enforce the judgment. The officer locates nonexempt property the debtor owns within the county, seizes it, sells it at public auction, and applies the proceeds to the judgment. In Travis County, for example, the constables process and execute civil process, including executions issued from the justice of the peace courts. The party who holds the judgment is the judgment creditor; the party who owes it is the judgment debtor.

Execution is governed mainly by Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ch. 34 and Part VI of the Rules of Civil Procedure. The justice court that rendered the judgment is where the request for the writ begins.

When a writ of execution can issue

Texas builds a waiting period into execution. Under Rule 627, the clerk or justice of the peace issues the writ at the successful party’s request after 30 days have passed since the final judgment was signed, provided no supersedeas bond has been filed to suspend enforcement and no motion for new trial is pending. The 30-day gap gives the losing party time to pay, move for a new trial, or appeal.

The writ has a limited life. Rule 629 requires that an execution be made returnable in not less than 30 nor more than 90 days, so the officer has that window to act and report back to the court on what was collected.

A judgment does not stay enforceable forever. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 34.001 provides that if a writ of execution is not issued within 10 years after a judgment is rendered, by a court of record or a justice court, the judgment becomes dormant, and no execution may issue on it unless it is revived. A dormant judgment can be revived by scire facias or an action of debt brought within two years after it becomes dormant, under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 31.006.

What a constable can seize, and what is exempt

A writ of execution reaches only nonexempt property, and Texas exemptions are wide. The personal property exemption in Tex. Prop. Code § 42.001 shields personal property up to an aggregate fair market value of $50,000 for a single adult, or $100,000 for a family, measured before liens. The categories that count toward that cap are listed in Tex. Prop. Code § 42.002 and include home furnishings, tools and equipment of a trade or profession, wearing apparel, two firearms, and one motor vehicle for each licensed family member.

Some property is exempt without counting against the dollar cap at all. Current wages for personal services are fully exempt under Tex. Prop. Code § 42.001(b), and the Texas Constitution separately bars garnishment of current wages except for court-ordered child support (Tex. Const. art. XVI, § 28). The family homestead is exempt from execution under Chapter 41 of the Property Code. Most retirement accounts and similar qualified savings plans are exempt under Tex. Prop. Code § 42.0021.

If the debtor owns more of a given type of property than the exemption allows, Tex. Prop. Code § 42.003 lets the debtor designate which items the officer levies on; if the debtor does not, the officer makes the designation.

How the levy and sale work

After the writ issues, the officer levies, taking legal control of the property. Personal property is seized and held; real property is levied through the officer’s record of the writ. The officer must keep seized personal property securely and is liable for loss caused by negligence under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 34.061.

Real property is sold on a fixed schedule. Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 34.041, an execution sale of real property takes place at the courthouse, or a public area the county has designated, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the first Tuesday of the month, after public notice. Personal property is sold at public auction after the notice the Rules of Civil Procedure require.

When the sale is over, the officer applies the money in order. The officer’s reasonable expenses of levy and sale come out first, then the judgment, and any surplus returns to the debtor. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 34.047 requires the officer to deliver the proceeds to the party entitled to them and to pay any surplus to the debtor.

Requesting a writ of execution

1. Confirm the judgment is final and unpaid

   Verify that 30 days have passed since the judgment was signed, that no supersedeas bond has suspended it, and that the debtor has not paid. A judgment on appeal with a bond cannot be executed while the appeal is pending.

2. Ask the issuing court for the writ

   The judgment creditor, or the creditor’s attorney, requests the writ from the clerk or justice of the peace that rendered the judgment. The court prepares the writ directing a constable or sheriff to enforce the judgment.

3. Identify nonexempt property and the right county

   An officer has no duty to hunt for the debtor’s assets under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 34.071. The creditor identifies nonexempt property in the county where the officer serves and directs the officer to it.

4. Deliver the writ to the constable or sheriff

   The writ goes to the officer in the county where the property sits. The creditor pays the officer’s fee for executing the writ, which each county sets separately.

5. Track the return

   The officer levies, sells, and files a return with the court within the 30-to-90-day window the writ allows, reporting what was collected.

Other ways to collect, and what comes next

Execution is one of several post-judgment tools. A turnover order under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 31.002 lets a court, including a justice court, order the debtor to hand over nonexempt property (including present and future rights to property) that an ordinary levy cannot easily reach, and a court can appoint a receiver to collect it. An abstract of judgment recorded in a county’s real property records creates a judgment lien on the debtor’s nonexempt real estate there. Post-judgment discovery lets the creditor question the debtor under oath about what assets exist.

Wage garnishment is generally unavailable in Texas for consumer and contract judgments, because current wages are exempt. A creditor collects from bank accounts, vehicles above the exemption, and other nonexempt assets instead.

If the debtor appealed the underlying judgment, collection waits. An appeal from justice court is a new trial in county court, and a perfected appeal with a bond suspends enforcement until the county court rules.