Texas Judgment Collection Guide: Enforcing a Texas Money Judgment
Texas is a paradox for judgment creditors — generous on some tools (the Turnover Order under CPRC §31.002 is one of the most flexible enforcement instruments in any state), restrictive on others (consumer wage garnishment is constitutionally prohibited). Texas judgments enforce for 10 years and renew under CPRC §34.001. Here’s the complete playbook for collecting on a Texas money judgment.
Texas judgment enforcement is shaped by two foundational facts that diverge sharply from most states. First, Texas is one of only four states (along with North Carolina, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania) where consumer wage garnishment is constitutionally prohibited — Article XVI §28 of the Texas Constitution exempts current wages for personal services from garnishment except for child support, court-ordered spousal maintenance, federally-guaranteed student loans, and federal tax debts. Second, Texas provides the Turnover Order under CPRC §31.002, one of the most flexible and powerful post-judgment enforcement instruments in any state — a court order compelling the debtor to physically deliver any non-exempt property to the creditor or to the court for application against the judgment.
For creditors who understand this framework, Texas is a state where wage-based recovery is essentially closed but where non-wage assets are aggressively reachable. The Turnover Order, when paired with comprehensive asset discovery, can compel delivery of cash, accounts receivable, business equity, contractual rights, settlement proceeds, cryptocurrency, and any other identifiable non-exempt asset. Skilled Texas judgment creditors invest heavily in asset discovery — particularly bank account location and business interest mapping — because that information is the gating input to effective Turnover practice.
This guide covers the full Texas enforcement framework: judgment lien creation through abstract recording, the Turnover Order procedure, non-wage garnishment (which is permitted), post-judgment discovery (depositions, interrogatories, and document production), the substantial Texas homestead and personal-property exemptions that creditors must navigate, and the renewal procedure under CPRC §34.001 to preserve the judgment beyond its initial 10-year window.
📺 In this video
- 0:00The Texas paradox — strong tools, restrictive garnishment
- 0:25Recording the abstract & creating judgment liens
- 1:00Turnover orders under CPRC §31.002 — the marquee tool
- 1:40Bank garnishment and non-wage garnishment
- 2:15Post-judgment discovery and debtor depositions
- 2:45Renewal under CPRC §34.001
💡 The Turnover Order advantage
CPRC §31.002 authorizes the trial court to order the debtor to turn over any non-exempt property — including documents, electronic records, and intangible rights — to the creditor or to a court-appointed receiver. The order can be enforced through contempt. Unlike a writ of execution (which requires the sheriff to physically locate and seize specific property), a Turnover Order shifts the location-and-delivery burden onto the debtor under threat of contempt sanctions. This is enormously powerful against debtors with intangible assets, complex business holdings, or assets the debtor could deliver but that the sheriff couldn’t practically reach.
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Recording the abstract of judgment in Texas
The abstract of judgment in Texas is recorded with the County Clerk in any Texas county where the debtor owns or might own non-exempt real property, creating a judgment lien under Texas Property Code §52.001 et seq. The abstract is filed on a form prescribed by Property Code §52.003, includes statutory required information (debtor name, judgment amount, court of entry, date of judgment, creditor name and address), and creates a lien on every non-exempt parcel of real property the debtor owns in that county at recording — and on every parcel acquired during the lien period under §52.001(b).
⚠️ Texas homestead exemption is among the broadest in the U.S.
The Texas homestead exemption — Texas Constitution Article XVI §50–§52 — protects the debtor’s primary residence from forced sale to satisfy most judgments, regardless of the home’s value. The exemption covers up to 10 acres in an urban homestead and up to 200 acres for a family rural homestead (100 acres for a single adult). Judgment liens attach to the homestead but cannot force sale; the lien matters only when the debtor sells voluntarily or refinances. Practitioners targeting Texas debtors must understand the homestead structure to set realistic recovery expectations.
The Texas judgment lien attaches to non-exempt real property — investment property, vacation homes, rental property, vacant land, and commercial real estate. Decedent estates and inherited property hit the lien at the moment of conveyance. Real-property holdings discovery is therefore high-value Texas enforcement work: a comprehensive multi-county property search across the debtor’s known and likely-affiliated counties identifies the recording priority list. Real-property search methodology is the same in Texas as elsewhere — the difference is the strategic value, given Texas’s homestead protection on residential property.
Turnover orders under CPRC §31.002
CPRC §31.002 authorizes the trial court to compel the debtor to physically deliver any non-exempt property — tangible, intangible, present, or contingent — to the creditor, the levying officer, or a court-appointed receiver. The application requires showing the judgment is unsatisfied, the debtor has identifiable non-exempt property, and the property cannot readily be reached by ordinary legal process. The court then orders specific turnover of identified property and can appoint a receiver to coordinate complex deliveries.
Cash and bank account turnover
When the debtor maintains accounts the creditor has identified through asset discovery, the Turnover Order can compel the debtor to withdraw and deliver the funds directly. This is procedurally cleaner than non-wage garnishment when the bank is located out of state or the debtor has multiple small accounts that would be expensive to garnish individually. The court order shifts the recovery burden onto the debtor; failure to comply is contempt.
Accounts receivable and incoming income
Self-employed debtors, small business operators, and 1099 contractors typically have receivables the Turnover Order can reach. The order compels delivery of incoming customer payments, contract receivables, and recurring revenue streams. Combined with a court-appointed receiver, this is the most effective Texas mechanism against business operators — comparable in effect to a California Assignment Order under CCP §708.510.
Business interests and equity
Equity in closely-held LLCs, limited partnerships, and corporations is reachable through Turnover practice in Texas, though procedural mechanics depend on the entity structure. For LLC member interests, the standard remedy is a charging order under Texas Business Organizations Code §101.112 (which doesn’t transfer ownership but assigns distributions to the creditor); for corporate stock, direct turnover is available. Mapping business interests is high-leverage work because debtors often hold significant equity in operating entities they don’t voluntarily disclose.
Cryptocurrency and digital assets
Texas Turnover practice has evolved to reach digital assets including cryptocurrency wallets, exchange accounts, and tokenized property. Recent Texas cases have ordered turnover of private keys, exchange-account credentials, and stablecoin balances. Discovery of digital holdings runs through ACH-pattern analysis on identified bank accounts (exchange deposits and withdrawals leave traces), credit-header data showing exchange-account presence, and tax-record cross-references where the debtor has reported cryptocurrency gains.
Settlement proceeds and contingent rights
When the debtor is the plaintiff in pending litigation, has a contractual right to receive future payments, or is a beneficiary of a trust or estate, the Turnover Order can capture those expected proceeds. The order can be entered prospectively against contingent rights — when the proceeds materialize, they flow directly to the creditor or receiver under the order’s terms.
💡 Why Turnover beats traditional levy in Texas
A writ of execution requires the sheriff to physically locate, seize, and dispose of property. For physical real property, that’s straightforward. For everything else — bank accounts in distant branches, accounts receivable, intangible business equity, cryptocurrency, digital assets — the writ-and-sheriff model is procedurally heavy and operationally weak. The Turnover Order moves the burden onto the debtor under contempt threat, which compresses the timeline and broadens the reachable asset categories dramatically.
Bank garnishment and non-wage attachments
While Texas constitutionally prohibits consumer wage garnishment, it permits garnishment of non-wage assets including bank accounts, accounts receivable not constituting wages, contractual rights to payment, and similar non-employment income. The garnishment procedure runs through the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 658–679, applied for by writ of garnishment served on the third-party garnishee (typically a bank or business owing the debtor money). The garnishee answers with a statement of what is owed; the court orders payment to the creditor up to the judgment balance.
Bank account garnishment is the workhorse non-wage tool. Once identified through asset discovery, accounts at Texas banks are garnishable through the standard writ procedure. Out-of-state banks with Texas branches present jurisdictional questions worth analyzing case-by-case; the Turnover Order is often a cleaner alternative for out-of-state banking relationships. Business-debtor accounts receivable garnishments are common when the debtor operates a business with identifiable customer-payment streams.
⚠️ Wage garnishment exceptions
The Texas wage-garnishment prohibition has limited exceptions: child support orders, court-ordered spousal maintenance, federally-guaranteed student loans, federal tax debts, and certain criminal restitution orders. Ordinary judgment creditors cannot reach wages through garnishment. The Turnover Order can order the debtor to deliver received wages after they’ve been deposited (since the constitutional protection is for current wages still owed, not for wages already paid into a bank account), but this is a complex area where Texas case law has evolved substantially.
Post-judgment discovery in Texas
Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 621a authorizes post-judgment discovery to aid in enforcement. The creditor can issue post-judgment interrogatories, requests for production, and notices of deposition to the debtor. Discovery scope mirrors pre-trial discovery — any matter relevant to identifying non-exempt assets, income sources, recent transfers, and financial relationships. Failure to respond is sanctionable; willful nondisclosure can produce contempt and adverse evidentiary inferences.
Post-judgment depositions are particularly effective in Texas because the deposition produces sworn testimony usable in subsequent Turnover applications, contempt proceedings, and fraudulent-transfer litigation. Many Texas creditors run a sequence: (1) interrogatories and document requests to compel disclosure; (2) deposition based on the disclosed information; (3) Turnover Order based on deposition testimony identifying specific assets; (4) contempt proceedings if the debtor fails to deliver under the Turnover Order. The progression converts informal evasion into formal contempt risk and produces high settlement leverage.
💡 Third-party discovery — the spouses-and-relatives play
Texas post-judgment discovery extends to third parties believed to have information about debtor assets. Subpoenas to spouses, business partners, accountants, and employers are routine. For debtors who have transferred assets to family members or run business operations through nominees, third-party discovery often surfaces the connections that direct discovery wouldn’t reach.
Renewal under CPRC §34.001
Texas money judgments are dormant after 10 years from entry under CPRC §34.001 unless revived by writ of scire facias or new action on the judgment. The 10-year clock restarts each time a writ of execution is properly issued and returned, so active enforcement preserves the judgment. For creditors not actively pursuing recovery, the scire facias revival procedure must occur within the 10-year period to reset the clock.
⚠️ Texas dormancy is mechanical and unforgiving
A Texas judgment that goes 10 years without an issued-and-returned writ becomes dormant. Once dormant, the creditor must file a scire facias proceeding to revive — a separate court action that creates new procedural hurdles and may face statute-of-limitations defenses depending on timing. Strategic creditors maintain a writ-issuance calendar to keep judgments active even when no immediate recovery is anticipated. A single annual writ application keeps the 10-year clock perpetually reset.
Renewal practice for Texas judgments isn’t the application-based renewal of California — it’s ongoing enforcement activity that triggers the 10-year reset. This makes Texas judgments slightly more administratively demanding than California judgments to keep alive long-term, but the result is the same: a judgment that stays alive enforces indefinitely.
Texas-specific success factors
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Common questions
How long does a Texas judgment last?
Texas money judgments are enforceable for 10 years from entry under CPRC §34.001, but the 10-year clock resets each time a writ of execution is properly issued and returned. Active enforcement keeps the judgment perpetually alive. Judgments that go 10 years without an issued-and-returned writ become dormant and must be revived through a scire facias proceeding. Many Texas creditors apply for a writ at least annually to maintain active status.
Can I garnish wages in Texas?
No, with limited exceptions. Article XVI §28 of the Texas Constitution prohibits garnishment of current wages for personal services for ordinary judgment debts. The exceptions are: child support, court-ordered spousal maintenance, federally-guaranteed student loans, federal tax debts, and certain criminal restitution. For ordinary judgment creditors, the alternative tools are bank account garnishment (which is permitted, since deposited wages lose the constitutional protection), Turnover Orders, and non-wage receivable garnishments.
What is a Turnover Order and how do I get one?
A Turnover Order under CPRC §31.002 is a court order compelling the debtor to physically deliver non-exempt property to the creditor, levying officer, or court-appointed receiver. The creditor applies to the court showing the judgment is unsatisfied, identifying specific non-exempt property, and demonstrating that the property cannot readily be reached through ordinary legal process. The court orders specific turnover and can appoint a receiver. Failure to comply is contempt. Turnover Orders reach assets that writs of execution practically cannot — bank accounts in distant branches, accounts receivable, business equity, cryptocurrency, and intangible rights.
What is the Texas homestead exemption?
The Texas homestead exemption — Texas Constitution Article XVI §50–§52 — protects the debtor’s primary residence from forced sale to satisfy most judgments, regardless of value. Urban homesteads cover up to 10 acres; rural homesteads cover up to 200 acres for a family or 100 acres for a single adult. Judgment liens attach to the homestead but cannot force sale; recovery occurs only on voluntary sale or refinance. The homestead exemption does not protect against tax liens, mechanic’s liens for work on the property, owelty of partition, or purchase-money mortgages.
Can I purchase or take assignment of a Texas judgment?
Yes. Texas judgments are assignable under common-law principles and Texas Business and Commerce Code provisions. The assignment must be in writing; the assignee files an assignment notice with the court so the case caption reflects the new creditor of record. The assignee can pursue all enforcement procedures (writs, abstracts, Turnover Orders, post-judgment discovery, garnishments) in the assignee’s name.
How do I find Texas judgment debtor assets?
Comprehensive Texas asset discovery includes: (1) banking-data search through licensed FCRA-permitted-purpose providers, (2) Texas county property records search across all relevant counties, (3) Secretary of State business entity search, (4) UCC-1 filings naming the debtor as debtor or creditor, (5) employment search through credit-header ACH analysis, (6) mineral and royalty interest search through specialized property records, (7) vehicle and DPS records (subject to DPPA permitted-purpose rules), and (8) state unclaimed-property database searches. Professional asset search consolidates these into a court-admissible report.
What is the Texas post-judgment interest rate?
Texas post-judgment interest accrues at a rate prescribed by Texas Finance Code §304.003 — the higher of 5% or the prime rate published by the Federal Reserve, with a 15% cap. The rate is calculated annually and applies to the unpaid principal of the judgment. For currently issued judgments, the rate is typically in the 6–10% range depending on prevailing prime rates.
Are there exceptions to the wage garnishment prohibition?
Yes — the Texas constitutional prohibition has limited exceptions for child support, court-ordered spousal maintenance, federally-guaranteed student loans, federal tax debts, and certain criminal restitution orders. For these specific obligation types, wage garnishment is permitted under federal law preempting the state constitutional prohibition. Ordinary commercial and consumer judgment creditors cannot reach wages.
What if the debtor moved out of Texas?
When a debtor moves out of Texas, the Texas judgment can be domesticated in the new state under that state’s Sister State and Foreign Money Judgments Act (every state has adopted some version of UEFJA). The procedure is fast: file an authenticated copy of the Texas judgment with the receiving state’s court, pay the registration fee, serve notice on the debtor, and after a brief notice period the foreign judgment is enforceable as a domestic judgment of the receiving state. See our guide on out-of-state debtors.
Is professional skip tracing necessary for Texas enforcement?
For straightforward enforcement against Texas debtors with stable employment relationships and clear residential ties, basic public-record searches may produce enough information. For most contested enforcement — debtors who have moved, debtors operating through multiple business entities, debtors with informal income, debtors deliberately maintaining low public profiles — professional skip tracing is essential. The licensed-data infrastructure available to professional investigators surfaces banking relationships, current employment, real-property holdings, mineral interests, business affiliations, and address history that public-record searches don’t reach.
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Legal Disclaimer. People Locator Skip Tracing provides investigative services for lawful purposes only. All searches comply with applicable privacy laws including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), and Texas state privacy statutes. Judgment-collection investigative services are restricted to permissible purposes including post-judgment enforcement by a judgment creditor or assignee-creditor. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code provisions cited in this guide are general references; specific cases require licensed counsel familiar with current Texas case law and procedural rules.
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