Filing Eviction in Bexar County JP Court: The Step-by-Step for Landlords

Eviction in Bexar County is a Justice of the Peace court matter. You file in the JP precinct where the property sits, not where you live, not where the tenant works, and not in county court. The whole process — from the day the notice to vacate is delivered to the day a constable executes the writ — typically runs 4 to 7 weeks if the tenant doesn't appeal, longer if they do. Skip a step, and the judge will dismiss and send you back to the beginning.

This is the sequence that actually works, in the order a Bexar County landlord runs it.

Step 1: Confirm you have grounds and a clean paper trail

Before you touch a form, pull the file. You need:

• A signed lease (or proof of a month-to-month tenancy)
• A clear breach: nonpayment, holdover after lease end, or a curable lease violation that wasn't cured
• A ledger showing what was owed and what was paid, down to the date
• Any prior notices you sent (late-rent notices, cure notices, HOA violation forwards)

If the tenant is active-duty military, pause and check the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. SCRA protections can stay an eviction for up to 90 days and require an affidavit of military status in the petition. JBSA-Lackland, JBSA-Randolph, and JBSA-Fort Sam Houston tenants are common in San Antonio rentals; the DoD's SCRA website gives you a free status check by SSN or name plus DOB.

Step 2: Deliver the § 24.005 notice to vacate

Texas Property Code § 24.005 requires a written notice to vacate before you can file. The default is 3 days, but your lease can shorten or lengthen it — many Texas Apartment Association leases specify 3 days, some custom leases say 1 day, and a handful default to longer.

Acceptable delivery methods under § 24.005(f):

• Personal delivery to the tenant or any resident 16 or older
• Personal delivery to the premises by affixing to the inside of the main entry door
• Regular mail, registered mail, or certified mail, return receipt requested
• Door-posting in a sealed envelope if the lease allows and certain conditions are met

Document it. Photo of the posted notice with a timestamp, certified mail green card, or a dated delivery affidavit from the person who handed it over. The judge will ask.

Count the days correctly: the day of delivery is day zero. A 3-day notice delivered Monday means you can file Friday at the earliest.

Step 3: Identify the correct JP precinct

Bexar County has four Justice of the Peace precincts, and filing in the wrong one gets the case dismissed for improper venue. Match the property address to the precinct using the county's precinct locator on the Bexar County JP Clerk's site.

Precinct	General area	Notes
JP 1	Central / near West Side	Covers parts of 78207, 78228, downtown-adjacent
JP 2	South / Southwest	Includes parts of Harlandale, South San ISD areas
JP 3	East / Northeast	Covers much of Converse, parts of Judson ISD
JP 4	North / Northwest	Stone Oak (78258), parts of NEISD and NISD, Helotes

Boundaries shift; always verify the specific address before filing. If your rental is in an incorporated suburb like Schertz, Cibolo, or Universal City, it may fall in Guadalupe or Comal County JP jurisdiction, not Bexar.

Step 4: File the petition through eFileTexas

All Texas JP courts accept — and in most cases require — electronic filing through eFileTexas.gov. You'll need an account with a filing service provider (several are free for self-represented filers; attorneys pay per filing).

Your petition (the form is typically titled "Petition: Eviction Case") needs:

• The property address, including unit number
• Names of all adult occupants ("and all other occupants" alone is not enough under recent Rule 510 practice)
• The basis for eviction (nonpayment, holdover, lease violation)
• Amount of rent owed, if any, plus late fees allowed by the lease
• A statement that the § 24.005 notice was delivered and how
• The SCRA military-status affidavit

Filing fees in Bexar County JP court run roughly $46 filing plus $80-ish per defendant for constable service, subject to change — check the current schedule on the clerk's site. If the tenant is indigent and you're worried about collectibility, the fees are still yours to front.

Step 5: Service of citation

Once filed, the constable assigned to that precinct serves the citation on the tenant. Under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 510.4, service must happen at least 6 days before trial. The court will set a hearing date typically 10 to 21 days out from filing.

If personal service fails after two attempts, you can request alternative service — usually door-posting plus first-class mail — with a signed affidavit from the constable. This adds a week or two.

Step 6: The hearing

Show up. Bring:

• The original lease
• The full rent ledger
• The notice to vacate with proof of delivery
• Any photos, texts, or emails relevant to the breach
• A government ID

Hearings are short — often under 15 minutes. The judge will ask you to prove the tenancy, the breach, and the notice. The tenant can raise defenses: improper notice, retaliation under § 92.331 or § 92.108, rent was tendered and refused, conditions rendering the unit uninhabitable under § 92.052. If you followed the statute and have your paperwork, you win on the merits.

If the tenant doesn't appear, you get a default judgment. Either way, the judgment includes possession and, if pleaded, a money judgment for unpaid rent and court costs.

Step 7: The 5-day appeal window

Under Rule 510.9, the tenant has 5 days after judgment to appeal to Bexar County Court at Law. Nothing happens during those 5 days — no writ, no lockout. If they appeal and post the appeal bond (or file a Statement of Inability to Afford and pay one rent period into the court registry), the case restarts in county court, adding 30 to 60 days.

If they don't appeal, on day 6 you can request the writ of possession.

Step 8: Writ of possession and constable execution

You file a request for the writ with the JP clerk and pay the writ fee (currently around $175, plus constable mileage). The constable posts a 24-hour warning notice on the door. After 24 hours, the constable returns, supervises the lockout, and you or your crew remove the tenant's belongings to the nearest public right-of-way. You cannot do a self-help lockout — § 92.0081 and § 92.331 make that expensive. The constable must be present.

Practical tip: book a locksmith and a move-out crew for the morning of the scheduled writ execution. Constables run on their own schedule, but they'll usually give you a window the day before.

What most people get wrong

• Filing before the notice period expires. A 3-day notice delivered at 5 p.m. Monday does not let you file at 9 a.m. Thursday. Count full days, and when in doubt add one.
• Naming only one tenant on the petition. If the lease has two signers and an adult occupant, list all three. A writ only removes named defendants.
• Using "Zelle screenshots" as your ledger. Bring a real ledger — date, charge, payment, balance. Judges in JP 2 and JP 4 in particular will push back on informal accounting.
• Accepting partial rent after filing without a written reservation of rights. In Texas, taking rent after the notice to vacate can waive the breach unless your lease has a non-waiver clause and you document the payment as a credit toward the judgment, not as reinstatement.
• Confusing JP court with county court. JP handles possession. Damages above the JP jurisdictional limit (currently $20,000) or claims beyond rent and costs belong in county or district court — a separate case.
• Trying to DIY a commercial eviction the same way. Commercial tenancies have different notice rules and different lockout rights under § 93.002. This guide is residential only.
• Scheduling the writ for a Friday afternoon. If anything goes sideways — tenant not fully out, belongings dispute — you're stuck over the weekend. Monday or Tuesday mornings are cleaner.

When to hire it out

If the tenant has counsel, has filed a habitability counterclaim, is active-duty military, or is claiming retaliation for a repair request under § 92.056, hire a Texas landlord-tenant attorney. A $400 flat fee through filing is cheaper than losing the case and restarting with a cleaner record.

For everything else — a straightforward nonpayment on a single-family rental in 78250 or a holdover in a Converse duplex — the JP process is designed for landlords to run themselves.

Once possession is back in your hands, the next step is getting the unit re-rented fast. List your vacancy on RentInSA at /list-your-home, browse our landlord resources at /resources for the security-deposit accounting deadline under § 92.103, or find a local property manager at /agents if you'd rather not run the next turnover yourself.