George Simons | January 07, 2026
Edited by Hannah Locklear
Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.
Fact-checked by Patrick Austin, J.D.
Patrick Austin is a licensed attorney with a background in data privacy and information security law. Patrick received his law degree at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief for the National Security Law Journal.

Summary: If you're being sued for debt in Texas, you have 14 days to respond to the Summons and Petition in justice court (20 days if your case is in the district court). To respond, you must file an Answer in which you address each claim against you and assert your affirmative defenses. SoloSuit's Answer form makes it easy to respond to your debt lawsuit in a matter of minutes.
“Nothing brings more joy to my heart than a fresh lawsuit delivered to my door nice and early in the morning.” — said no one ever.
Getting sued for a debt is hard. This article will make the process of responding to a debt lawsuit a little bit easier and tell you how to answer a summons for debt collection in Texas, including information specific to filing in the Lone Star, like state deadlines, forms, and debt collection laws.
Sued for debt in Texas? SoloSuit can help you file an Answer into your case before the 14-day deadline.
Start my Answer.A debt claim case begins in Texas when the plaintiff (the person suing) serves a court Summons and Petition, also known as a debt citation, to the defendant (the person being sued). The court Summons is the official document that notifies the defendant about a lawsuit. The Petition outlines the specific claims, or allegations, against the defendant. Proper service of process in Texas should be completed through one of the following ways:
After you're served, the clock starts ticking on the deadline for you to respond before you lose by default. Here's a handy flowchart that outlines all the different paths a debt lawsuit might take:

Generally, you have 14-20 days to respond to a debt claim case in Texas, depending on which type of court your case is in. If you fail to respond within the deadline, the plaintiff may file a default judgment against you. If the court approves it, this type of judgment gives the plaintiff the legal right to garnish your wages, seize your property, and put liens on your home or car. To avoid default judgment, you should respond to the Summons and Complaint ASAP.
Justice court deadline: The deadline to respond in justice court is 14 days from the day of service. If the 14th day falls on a weekend or holiday, the Answer is due by the very next day the court is open.
District court deadline: The deadline to respond in district court is a little bit more complicated. You should file your Answer by 10 am on the Monday after 20 days have passed since you were served.
For example, Freddy is served with a Summons and Complaint for his credit card debt on April 1, 2022. If his case is in the justice court, Freddy has until the end of the day on April 15, 2022 to respond. If his case is in the district court, Freddy has until 10 am on Monday, April 25th, to respond.
Texas doesn't have a statewide Answer form, but there are still several options available online to help you draft an Answer. You can also check with the court your case is in to see if they have a specific form for their court. Here are some great options for drafting an Answer:
If you have free and easy access to a lawyer, it is certainly beneficial to talk to them before filling out court forms and responding to a Texas debt citation claim. However, most lawyers will not give you specific legal advice unless they officially represent you in the case. Attorney fees for legal representation can be costly-sometimes more than the debt owed. SoloSuit saves you the cost and trouble of hiring an attorney and helps you draft a customized response to your debt lawsuit, with proper formatting, legal language and protections, and filing services included.
There are three steps to respond to the Summons and Complaint in your Texas debt claim case:
Let's take a look at each step.
Answering the Complaint can be scary, but with these instructions it will be simple. Just read the complaint and then decide how you want to respond to each numbered paragraph. You can respond in one of three ways:
Generally, attorneys recommend denying all the claims in the Complaint. If a claim is denied, the plaintiff has to prove that it's true. This takes more work, time, and resources on their part. In fact, many debt collection agencies would rather dismiss the case than prove the allegations they're making.
Here are some official instructions to make your complaint in Texas. On the Texas Answer Form, you can make a general denial if you disagree with everything in the complaint; you can also make specific pleas, or request, assert affirmative defenses, and make a Request for Judgment.
Draft your Answer with SoloSuit in minutes.
To assert affirmative defenses, you simply state reasons why the person suing you has no case. Add the relevant defenses to your answer.
Here are some of the more common defenses we see:
These are a few of the many affirmative defenses. It's important to bring these defenses up in your initial response, because once the case progresses, you won't be able to bring them up in court again. Keep in mind that being unable to pay the debt is not normally a legal defense to the debt.
SoloSuit makes it easy to make the right defense.
After you've made your Answer, you need to file it into the case. Filing the Answer is sometimes harder than drafting it. Luckily, Texas accepts filing through mail or e-file, so it's a bit easier on the defendant.
If you choose to send your Answer document in the mail, follow these steps:
The address for the court and plaintiff's attorney should both be on the Summons document you received in the mail. The court's address is usually listed in the first two paragraphs. The attorney's address should be on the top left of the first page.
If you'd rather try filing your Answer electronically, use this site to acces the Texas e-file portal.
SoloSuit can help file your Answer in Texas.
The lawsuit process is the same in small claims courts in Texas: the plaintiff will serve you with the Summons and Petition for debt, and you have to respond before the deadline to avoid default judgment. So, the first step to beating a debt collector in court is to file your Answer. You can also reach out to the plaintiff's attorney to work out a settlement plan after you've responded to the lawsuit. Review the steps listed above to increase your chances of winning in court.
"First time getting sued by a debt collector and I was searching all over YouTube and ran across SoloSuit, so I decided to buy their services with their attorney reviewed documentation which cost extra but it was well worth it! SoloSuit sent the documentation to the parties and to the court which saved me time from having to go to court and in a few weeks the case got dismissed!" – James
Get Started>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit: A Student Solution To Give Utah Debtors A Fighting Chance
It's pretty common practice for creditors to sell debts to debt collection agencies. In fact, these agencies often purchase debts in bulk from credit card companies or banks for pennies on the dollar. This means that they may have purchased your debt for much less than the amount you actually owe, so they will make a huge profit if you pay it off to them. You should do some research before making any payments to a collection agency.
For example, Sally applied for a credit card with American Express back in 2017 and got accepted! Everything was great at first, but when Sally was laid off at work unexpectedly, she wasn't able to make payments on her card. After a few months of missing payments, she owed a total of $954.13 to American Express.
Fast forward 5 years, and Sally is contacted by LVNV Funding LLC about the debt. She's never even heard of this company, but she learns that they are a huge debt collection company that purchased her old debt from American Express for less than $200. LVNV Funding LLC proceeds to contact her over and over again, but she isn't sure if it's a scam. After a few weeks of ignoring their non-stop calls, Sally is served with a Summons and Complaint by LVNV Funding.
In this example, LVNV Funding would make a huge profit if Sally ended up paying the full debt they claim she owes. Since many collection agencies purchase debts for so cheap, they are usually willing to settle the debt for less than the original amount owed. So, a smart response for Sally would be to file an Answer to the lawsuit in court and reach out to LVNV Funding to work out a settlement plan. She might even be able to settle for less than 50% of the original amount (and LVNV Funding would still make a profit).
But, before negotiating a settlement, Sally should make sure the debt is actually valid (i.e. within the statute of limitations, correct amount, proper ownership is granted to LVNV Funding, etc.).
The statute of limitations is the time period in which a creditor or debt collector can initiate a lawsuit to collect a debt. The table below outlines the Texas statute of limitations on debts:
| Debt Type | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Credit Card | 4 years |
| Medical | 4 years |
| Auto Loan | 4 years |
| Student Loan | 4 years |
| Mortgage | 4 years |
| Personal loan | 4 years |
| Judgment | 10 years |
| Source: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004 and § 34.001 |
The statute of limitations on debt is only 4 years in Texas, which means that if no activity has occurred on an account for 4 or more years, debt collectors and creditors no longer have the legal rights to sue for the debt owed. However, that won't stop them.
Creditors and collectors may sue you past the statute of limitations, and it's your job to make this known to the court and bring it up as a defense in your case. Include this defense when you draft and file your Answer in Texas.
The Texas statute of limitations on debt can be interrupted by a lawsuit. Usually, the clock starts running when you miss a payment on the debt account but stops when a lawsuit is filed. So, if you've been sued three years and 11 months after the last activity on your account, you most likely cannot use the statute of limitations as a defense in court.
In 2019, Texas introduced a new debt collection law in Section 392.307 of the Texas Finance Code that prevents reviving the statute of limitations on debt. Here's how:
Note that this law mostly applies to debt buyers, or collection agencies that specialize in purchasing charged-off debt accounts at a discounted rate and working to collect the full amount for a large profit. For debt accounts that are still owed by the original creditor, or passed off to a third-party debt collection agency, be careful to research the statute of limitations on your debt before agreeing to pay anything.
Here are some ways you may restart the clock on the statute of limitations on debt owed to your original creditor in Texas:
Your creditor or its collection agency may persuade you to do these things. Just be sure to check if your Texas debt is four or more years old before you take any of the actions listed above.
Back to Sally's story: Since Sally hasn't made any payments or changes on her account in 5 years, LVNV Funding is legally prohibited from suing her. Sally should include this information in her Answer, and her case will be dismissed!
This example shows why it's so important to verify a debt before taking any action, If Sally had sent LVNV Funding LLC a Debt Validation Letter before they took the matter to court, she could have avoided the lawsuit altogether. Most collection agencies give up after receiving a Debt Validation Letter, because it takes time and money to validate a debt—time and money they'd rather spend targeting someone else in debt.
You can make a Debt Validation Letter with SoloSuit's help in minutes.
Check out this video to learn more about how to draft a Debt Validation Letter in 2 steps:
If you've only received a collections notice, but not a lawsuit, the best way to respond is with a Debt Validation Letter. When a debt collector contacts you in any way, whether it's by phone or mail, you can respond with a Debt Validation Letter. This letter notifies the collector that you dispute the debt and requires they provide proof you owe the debt. They can't call you or continue collecting until they provide validation of the debt. This flowchart shows how you can use a Debt Validation Letter to win.
Get started with a Debt Validation Letter here.
If the debt is valid and you know you owe it, debt settlement might be the best option to help you resolve the issues. Debt settlement typically involves offering to pay off a percentage of the debt immediately in order to settle the matter, effectively clearing your name of the debt. Below, we go over some tips to help you settle debt in Texas and avoid going to court.
If the thought of negotiating with debt collectors, creditors, and their lawyers intimidates you, we've got you covered. We interviewed a consumer rights attorney and asked for tips and tricks on debt settlement. To learn more about how to negotiate debt settlement yourself, check out the following video:
The Texas government has several programs in place to help Texans who are struggling with debt get back on track. Some of these programs have limited eligibility, but they’re still useful for Texans who use up a large part of their income to pay off debt:
If you don’t qualify for any of the programs listed above, you still have debt resolution options in Texas. Debt consolidation, settlement, management plans, and counseling are some of the most effective ways you can work towards paying off a debt and settling it for good. As a last resort, you can also consider filing bankruptcy in Texas.
Whatever you do to find debt relief in Texas, don’t disregard the debt. Ignoring debt can lead to serious consequences like a frozen bank account or wage garnishment. So, it’s best to address your debt situation early to prevent such compounding issues.
Wage garnishment happens when you’ve been sued for debt and the court grants a judgment in favor of the plaintiff (the person or company suing you), then they notify your employer that a percentage of your income should be withheld for the garnishment.
Texas wage garnishment laws benefit consumers. For example, your wages cannot be garnished due to credit card or medical debt. The Texas Constitution states that wage garnishment can only be used to collect debts related to court-ordered child support, unpaid taxes, and student loans.
So, in other words, debt collectors cannot garnish your wages, but they can freeze your bank account. In order to do this, the collector must sue you, win the case, and obtain a “writ of garnishment”.
If a debt collector has frozen your bank account in Texas, you won’t be able to withdraw money or transfer funds from that account.
Respond to your debt lawsuit to prevent wage garnishment.
Texas debt collection laws like Title 5 Chapter 392 subchapter D, also known as the Texas Debt Collection Practices Act, echo the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and provide additional consumer rights protections for Texans.
Under this law, the following are some actions debt collectors cannot take:
These are just a few acts prohibited under Texas debt collection laws that ensure consumers are treated with honesty, dignity and respect during the collections process.
Use SoloSuit's Answer form to stand up for your rights.
To check the status of your court case in Texas, you must first know which court has jurisdiction over the case.
The Texas state judicial system is split into five different levels, and the court that has jurisdiction over your debt collection case is chosen based on the amount of money allegedly owed.
The following graphic outlines the Texas court structure for civil cases involving money:

Your debt collection case will be heard in your county’s Justice Court, County Court, or District Court, depending on the amount in question. It’s likely that the case is filed in the small claims division.
Now that you know where your case is filed, you will have an easier time checking the status of your case. To do so, you can visit or call your local courthouse and ask the clerk for the case status. They will ask you for your case number and other case identifying information.
You can also go online to check your case status in some counties. The following is an exhaustive list of the court case access portal to each county in Texas (if your county is not listed, there is no online access portal):
To learn more about how to resolve debt, we interviewed a former debt collector named Bill who worked for some of the major Texas debt collection agencies, including Avante USA, LTD Financial, and Maximum Recovery Solutions.
In our interview, Bill shared two major tips for dealing with debt collectors:
Watch the full interview with a former debt Texas debt collector below:
Send a Debt Validation Letter to debt collectors in Texas.
Here are some tips for preparing for your court appearance in Texas:
Alternatively, you can avoid going to court by settling your debt for less. SoloSettle can help you get the debt settlement process started.
For more info on how to prepare for your court date in Texas, check out these tips from a real consumer rights attorney:
If the amount of debt is invalid, or the debt belongs to someone else, you should deny any claims listed in the Texas debt citation in your Answer. In addition, include affirmative defenses that explain this information.
Federal law prohibits certain debt collection actions. More specifically, the FDCPA states that a debt collector cannot:
These are common FDCPA violations that could justify a counterclaim or lawsuit against debt collectors and agencies.
In the context of debt collection, a cease and desist letter asks the debt collector to stop contacting you and helps you stand up for your rights under the FDCPA.
A discovery request in a debt lawsuit happens when the case enters the discovery process. During this process, both the plaintiff and defendant gather documentation, witnesses, and other evidence to support their side of the case.
You may receive discovery requests in a debt lawsuit, which could require that you provide documentation regarding your debt, income, other debts, or other information to the opposing side.
If you fail to comply with discovery requests in a debt lawsuit, the court will most likely order a judgment against you. With a judgment, creditors and debt collectors can freeze your bank account in Texas until the debt is paid off.
According to § 805(3) of the FDCPA, debt collectors cannot call you at work in Texas if they know your employer prohibits such calls or if you've specifically asked them not to call your work phone.
The following is a list of Texas courts where you might get sued for debt. Find your local court below to start filing your Answer there. Good luck!
Here's a list of guides on how to respond to a debt collection lawsuit in each state:
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Hosted by Team Solo, The Debt Hotline breaks down debt and personal finance topics with help from attorneys, financial experts, and industry pros. We respond to real questions to help you navigate debt with knowledge and courage.
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