Texas Asset Search

Every link in this guide was opened and verified on Sep. 17, 2026.

An asset appearing in a public record is not automatically available to pay a judgment. This guide separates the public-record search from private financial information and the Texas collection process.

Follow the documents, not just the name

For real estate, follow the recorded owner and any separate mineral interest. A company formed in Texas may own property through another entity or operate on leased premises. Read assignments and signed instruments instead of treating every business address as owned land.

Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 658 onward govern garnishment. The application requires supporting facts and the applicable statutory basis. The garnishment is separately docketed under the rules; it should not be described as an automatic administrative extension of the original judgment.

Obtain the correct writ and arrange service on the bank through the authorized officer. Identify the institution and debtor precisely. Requirements for prejudgment garnishment, including approval or security questions, should not be casually imported into a postjudgment description without checking which provisions apply.

Rule 663a requires notice to the defendant as soon as practicable after service on the garnishee. The applicable packet includes more than the writ: the rules address the application, supporting affidavits or orders and the Protected Property Notice, instructions and claim materials under Rule 679b.

The bank's answer, any protected-property claim and the court's determination must then be handled. Rule 668 addresses judgment against the garnishee where appropriate. A bank restraint is not the same as immediate payment to the creditor.

Use the Texas Supreme Court's current rules edition. The official rules source reviewed for this guide incorporates changes through July 1, 2026; an older service packet may omit notices now required by the governing rules.

The applicable official starting points are Texas Judicial Branch: current rules and standards, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, including Rules 658-679b; edition effective July 1, 2026. Use the current issuer's forms and instructions for the particular case.

An abstract of judgment recorded in county land records and a forced-sale execution involve different steps and protections. The appraisal district's value is not a recovery estimate. For mineral interests, company shares or equipment, establish the exact right owned and prior claims before deciding on the enforcement tool.

The Census Bureau's 2020-2024 estimates report an owner-occupied housing rate of 62.6% and a median value of owner-occupied housing of $283,800 in Texas. The rate refers to occupied housing units, not a percentage of people. The value is not an estimate of equity available to creditors. Census QuickFacts: Texas.

Real-estate and mineral records where relevant, company interests and business collateral provide useful public leads. Bank funds require the separate garnishment analysis and properly sequenced notices.

Do not omit the protected-property materials or assume debtor notice can be skipped because the bank is served first. Prepare the application, writ, supporting papers, notices and follow-up as a complete proceeding.

• Rockwall County: judgment collection and garnishment

A Texas divorce is a district court case, and the district clerk of the county keeps the file. The file is open. The statutory restriction in Family Code chapter 6 is section 6.411, which applies only in a county with a population of 3.4 million or more, which means Harris County, and there only until the date of service of citation or the 31st day after filing, whichever comes sooner; after that the file is released to non-parties like any other. Everywhere else the divorce file is open from the day it is filed unless a court seals it.

The sworn money form

Texas has no statewide financial affidavit form. Its sworn disclosure is the inventory and appraisement: under Family Code 6.502(a)(1) the court, while a divorce is pending, may order a sworn inventory and appraisement of the real and personal property owned or claimed by the parties and a list of debts and liabilities, in the form and manner the court specifies, and local rules in some counties require one, as in Tarrant County, where unless the court orders or the parties agree otherwise each party must prepare and exchange one with the opposing party in every case involving the characterization, value or division of property. Nothing in chapter 6 makes it confidential, so a filed inventory is part of the public file unless sealed. The final decree of divorce dividing the estate of the parties, any mediated settlement agreement, which binds the parties under 6.602(b) when it meets that section's requirements, or agreement incident to divorce incorporated in the decree, temporary orders under 6.502 and qualified domestic relations orders signed by the court are in the district clerk's file on the same terms.

Finding and reading the file

The statewide search is re:SearchTX at research.txcourts.gov, open to registered users, who see the cases and documents not marked confidential or sealed, and the larger district clerks run their own portals; the Travis County District Clerk's Online Court Records Search Portal is free and covers family and civil cases from 2006 to the present with public court records viewable online. At the counter the Travis County District Clerk charges $1 per page for a non-certified electronic document up to 10 pages and 10 cents per page beyond that, and $5 per certified document. Rule 76a of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, the general sealing rule with its public notice, hearing and findings, excludes documents filed in an action originally arising under the Family Code from its definition of court records, so its notice and hearing procedure does not govern sealing a divorce file.

Bankruptcy files for Texas residents

Texas has four bankruptcy districts: the Northern District at txnb.uscourts.gov, the Southern District at txs.uscourts.gov, the Eastern District at txeb.uscourts.gov and the Western District at txwb.uscourts.gov. Their schedules name deposit accounts and the employer and are public under 11 U.S.C. 107.

After the file: post-judgment discovery and turnover

Rule 621a of the Rules of Civil Procedure lets a judgment creditor use the discovery rules after judgment to learn what the debtor owns, and Civil Practice and Remedies Code 31.002 entitles a judgment creditor to aid from a court of appropriate jurisdiction, including a justice court, through injunction or other means in order to reach property that is not exempt, with the court able to order the debtor to turn over non-exempt property and the related documents or records to a sheriff or constable, apply the property to the judgment or appoint a receiver. The Texas judgments and liens page covers the procedure.

• Texas Family Code chapter 66.411 Harris County waiting period; 6.502 sworn inventory and appraisement
• Travis County District Clerk, case information and recordsA county portal with family cases from 2006 forward
• Travis County District Clerk feesCopy and certification charges
• Civil Practice and Remedies Code chapter 31Section 31.002, the turnover statute

The national guide covers what stays private, the collection tools for every asset class and what a search and levy can cost: Asset Search, what public records reveal and what stays private.