Texas · Official court form
Fill out the Statement of Inability to Afford Court Costs yourself
Statement of Inability · Misc. Docket No. 22-9090 · Supreme Court of Texas
Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs or an Appeal Bond (bilingual). You type every answer. We put your words, exactly as you typed them, into the official form and make a PDF on your device.
This tool is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. We are not connected with the Texas courts. You choose the form and every answer. The PDF is the form approved by the Supreme Court of Texas in Misc. Docket No. 22-9090, from txcourts.gov, with its text unchanged.
Court costs include filing fees and fees for service of process (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145(a)). The official form is 12 pages; the PDF is large (7 MB) and loads when you start typing.
Your Statement is ready. What to do next
This tool is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.
Do this by hand after you print:
- Page 3, item 3: mark the first box (“I am being represented … for free …”) by hand, and attach the “Exhibit: Legal Aid Certificate.”
- Page 3, item 3: mark the box “I am not represented by legal aid.” by hand.
- Attach proof of the public benefits you checked, such as a copy of an eligibility form or check.
- Page 11 (Option 1): write your date of birth by hand, and sign. No notary.
- Page 12 (Option 2): take the form and photo identification to a notary and sign in front of the notary.
- Check, mark and sign
Open the PDF and read all 12 pages. If something is wrong, fix it here and download again. Mark item 3 on page 3 by hand. Then sign: Option 1 (page 11) under penalty of perjury, no notary; or Option 2 (page 12) in front of a notary. Everything must be true.
- Attach proof
Rule 145(d) says you should submit with the Statement any available evidence that you cannot afford costs. Proof that you or your dependent gets benefits from a means-tested government program, or that legal aid represents you, is prima facie evidence. The form asks you to attach proof of benefits, and the “Exhibit: Legal Aid Certificate” if legal aid represents you. (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145)
- File it with the clerk
File the Statement with the clerk of the court where your case is, with your petition, your answer or your appeal. The clerk must make the form available for free, may return it for correction only if it is not sworn, and on filing a sworn Statement must docket the case, issue citation and give any other ordinary service (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145(c)).
- Appealing a justice court judgment
A party may appeal a justice court judgment by filing a bond, making a cash deposit, or filing a Statement with the justice court within 21 days after the judgment is signed or a motion to reinstate, set aside or for new trial is denied (Rule 506.1(a)). The court must notify the other parties no later than the next business day; they may contest the Statement within 7 days after notice (Rule 506.1(d)–(e)).
- If someone contests it
Outside the justice court, a motion to make you pay costs must contain sworn evidence, and you can’t be ordered to pay without an oral evidentiary hearing with 10 days’ notice; you may challenge such an order in the court of appeals within 10 days after it is signed (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145(e)–(g)). In a justice court case, the defendant may contest within 7 days after the answer is due and the judge must hold a hearing; a Statement that says you receive government benefits based on need may be contested only on whether that is true (Rule 502.3(d)).
Good to know
- The form starts with: “NOTICE: THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS SENSITIVE DATA.” Keep your copy safe.
- Keep a copy of everything you file.
Sources: Texas Judicial Branch: forms · Texas Rules of Civil Procedure (Rules 145, 502.3, 506.1) · the Statement (PDF).