The notice bureau: Texas
Legal notices in Texas: rules, rates, deadlines
Qualifying papers, the statutory rate basis, run schedules, and booking, from the state's own rules.
Statutory basis: Tex. Gov. Code ch. 2051, subch. C
The controlling law for Texas newspaper notices. Read the current text at the official source before filing; legislatures amend these sections, and the statute outranks every guide, including this one.
Source: Tex. Gov. Code ch. 2051, subch. C (official text), retrieved Jul 31, 2026.
Which papers qualify
Texas Government Code chapter 2051 sets the test for a newspaper that may carry government notices: it must devote at least 25 percent of its space to general interest items, publish at least once a week, be entered as second-class postal matter in its county, and have been published regularly for at least a year.
Court-ordered citations by publication have their own venue rules under the Rules of Civil Procedure and the court's order; the order names where the notice runs.
Source: Texas Press Association, retrieved Jul 31, 2026. The state's official notice aggregation and verification point.
What it costs: the rate basis
For government notices, chapter 2051 ties what a paper may charge to its published rates for similar commercial advertising. Private-party and court notices are priced by each paper's legal desk, usually per line or per column inch, quoted at placement.
The Texas Press Association operates the state's public notice infrastructure and can place multi-county schedules through one desk, which is the practical route when a court order requires publication where the defendant is most likely to be found.
| Notice type | Schedule |
|---|---|
| Citation by publication (civil) | As the court order and Rules of Civil Procedure direct; commonly weekly runs, but the order controls |
| Government and county notices | Set by the statute requiring the notice; chapter 2051 governs the paper, not the count |
Source: Tex. Gov. Code ch. 2051, subch. C, retrieved Jul 31, 2026. Schedules stated by the code section or order governing each notice type.
Booking before the deadline
Call the legal desk of a qualifying paper in the required county, or place through the Texas Press Association for multi-paper schedules. Send exact text, get a line-count quote, confirm the first-run date against your deadline, and order the affidavit of publication with the placement.
The local wrinkle
The 25 percent test
Shoppers and advertising-only sheets fail chapter 2051's general-interest test even when they look like newspapers. If a bargain sheet quotes you a suspiciously low rate for a government notice, check the qualification first; a failed publication buys nothing.
Notice cost and deadline desk
Enter the paper’s legal per-line rate for a cost figure. Rates are set by each paper or by statute; this desk never guesses one.
Add your court or sale date and the desk counts the weeks back to your last safe first-run date.
Deadline arithmetic only; the statute or court order for your notice type controls the real schedule. State rules and citations are on the state pages below.
Neighboring bureaus: California and Florida. All states and the general workflow: the notice bureau. Commercial deadline mechanics: the deadline page.