In Texas, whenever a civil lawsuit is filed, the other party must be served with the starting papers to know they are being sued and why. This is the same for divorce suits, Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship, Modifications, etc., unless the other party is willing to sign an Answer or Waiver of Service Only form. The Waiver of Service form will need to be signed in front of a notary in most circumstances. This is discussed in more detail later. The methods of service accepted by the court in Texas are outlined in the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 106. This may seem like a daunting task if the other party is incarcerated, but it is not all that different than serving someone at their home or business.
To serve someone in a Texas prison, you must start by having their physical address. If you are unsure what the physical address is, you can find this information using the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Offender Search. You can search by name or by TDCJ/SID number. If they are in a federal prison, you can use the Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator. With this tool you can search by name or their BOP, DCDC, FBI, or INS number. Finally, if they are being held by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE), there is an ICE Detainee Locator tool you can use. You can search by A-Number or biographical information (first name, last name, and country of birth) with this tool. If you know the respondent is incarcerated but they are not showing up in the results of your search, you can also call the warden at the institution you believe they are at to confirm they are currently located there. Any facility should have their contact number located on their website.
Once you have their physical location, you can request a constable or sheriff serve the respondent wherever they are located. This will be done by the clerk’s office when you file your case. They will give you a citation to fill out so your papers can be served to the right place. There will be a charge associated with this unless you have filed a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs into the case. Any subsequent filings should either be sent to the incarcerated respondent’s attorney (if they have one) or to the respondent in whatever manner is outlined acceptable by the facility where they are located. Some facilities may have more information on how to mail inmates documents on their websites but if not, you can always call the warden or the administrator at an ICE detention facility for more information.
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What about documents that need to be notarized, such as the Waiver of Service? How do I get a notary in to the facility where the respondent is incarcerated? Fortunately, you may not need to worry about this. “Under both federal law (28 U.S.C. § 1746) and state law (Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 132.001), inmates incarcerated in Texas may use an unsworn declaration under penalty of perjury in place of a written declaration, verification, certification, oath, or affidavit sworn before a notary public.” However, this is only applicable to documents being filed in Texas. If you are filing your court papers in a different state you will have to check their laws to confirm whether or not this is an option. If a notary is absolutely required despite the laws listed above, an inmate can “request notary public service by submitting an I-60 to the unit ATC supervisor”.
More articles and webpages about this topic are linked below for your convenience. If you have any specific legal questions, please speak to an attorney.
Service and Issuance of Citation When the Other Side is Incarcerated – Texas Law Help
How to Serve the Initial Court Papers (Family Law) – Texas Law Help
Rules Governing Inmate Access to the Courts, Counsel, and Public Officials Board Policy - Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Civ Pro: How do I serve someone? - Ex Libris Juris
Serving Divorce Papers - Texas State Law Library Guide