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Filing the Petition: Your First Trip (or Upload) to the District Clerk

Reviewed by the Amicably document team · Updated September 5, 2026

Filing the Original Petition for Divorce is the moment your case legally exists, and in Texas it happens one of two ways: you carry a paper packet into the district clerk's office in the county where you meet the residency requirement, or you submit the same documents electronically through the eFileTexas portal. Either path creates the same thing, a cause number, an assigned court, and a filed suit that starts the clock on your divorce.

This guide walks through what has to be true before you file, what belongs in the packet, how the in-person and electronic routes actually differ, and what the clerk's office does with your petition once it is in the system.

Before you file: what has to be true first

The district clerk will accept a petition that does not meet Texas's residency rule, but the case will not survive a challenge, so it is worth confirming this before your trip or upload. Either the person filing (the petitioner) or the other spouse (the respondent) must have been domiciled in Texas for the preceding six months and a resident of the county where the petition is filed for the preceding 90 days. Only one spouse needs to meet the requirement, so a couple who married in Texas and has since had one spouse move away can usually still file in the county where the other spouse lives.

You also need to know which ground you are filing on. Most agreed cases are filed on insupportability, the no-fault ground, which does not require proving anything about who caused the marriage to break down. For a full walkthrough of the whole case from petition to decree, see our guide to how to file for divorce in Texas; for the residency rule specifically, see Texas divorce residency requirements.

What goes in the packet

The centerpiece is the Original Petition for Divorce, the document that opens the case and states what you are asking the court to do. Beyond the petition itself, most district clerks expect a Civil Case Information Sheet with a paper filing. The Texas Supreme Court repealed the rule that made the sheet mandatory, but clerks still generally ask for one because it feeds the case into the court's own tracking system. If you are e-filing, most portals populate the equivalent case data as part of the submission instead of asking for a separate form.

Filing fees are set by each county's district clerk and change, so treat any figure as a starting point rather than a fixed statewide price. Harris County's district clerk lists a base filing fee around $350 for a case with no children, rising somewhat for a case with children. Our full breakdown of what a Texas divorce costs covers more counties and the fee-waiver option in detail.

Two ways to file: a paper trip or an upload

Texas gives self-represented filers a real choice here. Attorneys practicing in courts that have mandated electronic filing must e-file, but a party representing themselves is never required to. Whichever route you take, the case is the same case once it is accepted.

eFileTexas is operated by Tyler Technologies for the state's Judicial Committee on Information Technology. Because Texas requires the person whose name is on the case to be its filer, an assembled packet still has to go in under your own name, whichever method you choose.

What the clerk's office does with your petition

Whether it arrives on paper or through the portal, the same intake sequence happens to your petition once it lands at the district clerk.

1. Review for completeness. The clerk checks that the petition, the Civil Case Information Sheet, and the fee (or the fee-waiver statement) are all present before accepting the filing.
2. Cause number assigned. Your case receives a cause number, the identifier that follows it through every filing and hearing until the decree.
3. Court and judge assigned. Many counties assign cases to a specific district court or family court by rotation, and some issue a county standing order that takes effect the day you file, before your spouse has even been notified.
4. File-stamped copy returned. You receive (or can download) a copy of the petition bearing the clerk's file stamp, which is your proof the case exists.
5. Citation issued, if needed. If your spouse will be formally served rather than signing a waiver, the clerk issues a citation for the constable or process server to deliver along with the petition.

None of this requires your spouse's involvement yet. Filing is something the petitioner does alone; the respondent's turn, whether by waiver or formal service, comes next.

What happens after you file

Filing the petition starts the one deadline that runs no matter what: Texas courts cannot grant a divorce before the 60th day after the petition was filed, and that day count begins at filing, not at service. The only exceptions are two narrow family-violence circumstances; there is no general way for a judge to waive or shorten it.

1. Day 0Petition filed with the district clerk (paper or electronic). Cause number and court assigned. The 60-day clock starts.
2. Soon afterRespondent signs a waiver of service, notarized and dated after the filing date, or is formally served with the citation and a copy of the petition.
3. ThroughoutBoth spouses can prepare the Final Decree of Divorce and, in a case with children, the required disclosures and support terms, while the waiting period runs.
4. Day 60+The earliest day a Texas court may sign the divorce decree, once the case is otherwise ready for a prove-up.

Because a waiver of service can only be signed after the petition is on file, filing is also the step that unlocks the rest of an agreed case. Our guide to waiver of service in a Texas divorce covers that next step, and how to e-file on eFileTexas walks through the upload process screen by screen for anyone choosing that route.

Frequently asked questions