The citation served on a defendant in a Texas district or county court must direct the defendant “to file a written answer to the plaintiff’s petition on or before 10:00 a.m. on the Monday next after the expiration of twenty days after the date of service thereof” (Tex. R. Civ. P. 99(b)). That sentence produces a deadline unlike any other: it always falls on a Monday, at a fixed hour, between 21 and 27 days after service (later if that Monday is a holiday).
How the Monday rule works
- Count 20 days from the day after you were served. Every day counts.
- The answer is due on the first Monday after that 20th day.
- The filing must be made by 10:00 a.m. in the court’s time zone that Monday.
If the 20th day is itself a Monday, the answer is not due that day — the rule asks for the Monday next after the expiration of twenty days, which is a week later.
Date of service:
- Count 20 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
- The Monday next after is .
Deadline: — The answer is due by 10:00 a.m. in the court's time zone.
When that Monday is a holiday
Several Monday holidays can fall on an answer date: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day among them. Rule 4 applies, so an answer due on a Monday holiday is due the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday — usually Tuesday. Courts of appeals have held exactly that (Proctor v. Green, Houston 1st District, 1984; Conaway v. Lopez, Austin, 1994). They disagree on the hour: Conaway allows the whole of Tuesday, while an earlier Houston 14th District decision upheld a default taken at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday. Treat 10:00 a.m. Tuesday as your deadline.
Date of service:
- Count 20 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
- The Monday next after is .
- is not a court day (Memorial Day), so the deadline moves forward to .
Deadline: — The answer is due by 10:00 a.m. in the court's time zone.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day raises a second question. In 2027 it falls on January 18, and the next day, January 19, is Confederate Heroes Day — a Texas state holiday on which most clerk’s offices stay open. Whether it also extends a deadline is unsettled (see which Texas holidays stop the clock), so the calculator shows Tuesday as the deadline and Wednesday as the alternative.
Date of service:
- Count 20 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
- The Monday next after is .
- is not a court day (Martin Luther King, Jr., Day), so the deadline moves forward to .
Deadline: — The answer is due by 10:00 a.m. in the court's time zone.
Other reading: (Texas state holidays and Dec 24/26 also count as legal holidays)
Filing at 10:00 a.m., not midnight
Most Texas e-filing deadlines run until midnight (Rule 21(f)(5)), but that rule yields when a document “must be filed by a certain time of day.” Rule 99(b) sets one. File the answer before 10:00 a.m., and remember that a document transmitted on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday is deemed filed on the next business day — so an answer e-filed over a holiday weekend is not early; it is deemed filed on the day it is due.
Justice court: 14 days, no Monday rule
Cases in a justice court — small claims and debt claims up to the justice court limit — use Rule 502.5 instead:
- When served with the citation and petition, the answer is due by the end of the 14th day after service.
- When served by publication, it is due by the end of the 42nd day after the citation was issued.
- If the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, it moves to the next day that is not; and if the court closes before 5:00 p.m. on the last day, the answer is due on the court’s next business day.
Choose Texas justice court answer deadline in the calculator. If the justice court closed early on your last day, enter that date as a closed day.
Date of service: · Served with the citation and petition (14 days from service)
- Count 14 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
- Served with the citation and petition (14 days from service) adds no extra days.
Deadline:
Other reading: (Texas state holidays and Dec 24/26 also count as legal holidays)
Date of service: · Served by publication (42 days from the date the citation issued; enter that date)
- Count 14 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
- Served by publication (42 days from the date the citation issued; enter that date) adds time. Count 28 calendar days after (that day is not counted): .
Deadline:
Evictions follow different rules
In an eviction case, the citation sets a trial date, and a written answer is optional; a defendant “may, but is not required to, file a written answer with the court on or before the day set for trial” (Rule 510.11(a)). Appear on the trial date. The Rule 99(b) Monday rule does not apply.
Questions about Texas answer dates
How many days do you have to answer a lawsuit in Texas?
In district or county court, until 10:00 a.m. on the Monday after 20 days have passed since service, which works out to 21 to 27 days unless that Monday is a holiday. In justice court, the answer is due by the end of the 14th day after service (Tex. R. Civ. P. 99(b); Tex. R. Civ. P. 502.5).
What if day 20 falls on a Monday in Texas?
The answer is due the following Monday, one week later. The citation calls for an answer on the Monday next after the twenty days expire, so a Monday that is itself day 20 does not count as that Monday. File by 10:00 a.m. on the later Monday (Tex. R. Civ. P. 99(b)).
What if the Texas answer date falls on a Monday holiday?
The answer moves to the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, usually Tuesday. Courts of appeals disagree on whether the 10:00 a.m. hour still applies that day, so treat 10:00 a.m. Tuesday as the deadline (Tex. R. Civ. P. 4; Proctor v. Green; Conaway v. Lopez).
Can you e-file a Texas answer until midnight?
No. Most Texas e-filing deadlines run to midnight, but that rule gives way when a document must be filed by a set time of day, and the answer rule sets 10:00 a.m. An answer transmitted on a weekend or legal holiday is deemed filed on the next business day (Tex. R. Civ. P. 21(f)(5); Tex. R. Civ. P. 99(b)).
Do you have to file an answer in a Texas eviction case?
No. In an eviction case a written answer is optional: the defendant may file one on or before the trial date set in the citation, and the Monday rule for district and county courts does not apply. Appearing on the trial date is what matters (Tex. R. Civ. P. 510.11(a)).
When is a justice court answer due after service by publication?
By the end of the 42nd day counted from the date the citation issued. A last day on a weekend or legal holiday carries the deadline to the next day that is neither, and a court that shuts before 5:00 p.m. on the last day pushes it to its next business day (Tex. R. Civ. P. 502.5(d), (e)).
What a missed answer date means
The citation itself warns that if no answer is filed by the deadline, “a default judgment may be taken against you” (Rule 99(c)). If the date has passed or is close, contact the court clerk and seek legal help right away — Texas Law Help and local legal aid offices assist people who cannot afford a lawyer. This calculator is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.