QBffice of the Elttornep @enera
&ate of aexae
DAN MORALES
ATTORFEY
GENERAL October 29,1996
The Honorable Mike Driscoll Opinion No. DM-250-A
Harris County Attorney
1001 Preston, Suite 634 Re: Correction of summary of Attorney
Houston, Texas 77002-1891 General Opinion DM-250 (1993) (RQ-915)
Dear Mr. Driscoll:
It has recently been brought to my attention that certain language in the summary
of Attorney General Opinion DM-250 may not accurately reflect the conclusion reached in
the text of the opinion and may be misleading.
In response to your second question concerning the fees that may be charged if
service of process by registered or certified mail is made by the clerk of the justice court,
we state in Attorney General Opinion DM-250 as follows:
We think [that] ‘all other processes and procedures in a civil
matter in a justice court’ under section 118.122 includes service of
process by registered or certified mail in civil cases. We therefore
conclude that pursuant to sections 118.121 and 118.122 of the Local
Government Code, service of process by mail is a ‘service rendered
before judgment’ that is included in the $15.00 filing fee established
for a civil matter in justice court.
Attorney General Opinion DM-250 (1993) at 3.
In the summary, we state that: “Pursuant to sections 118.121 and 118.122 of the
Local Government Code, the justice court clerk may charge a fee of $15.00 for service of
process by registered or certified mail . . .” Id.at 5.
We agree that the quoted language does not accurately reflect the conclusion
reached in the text of the opinion and is misleading and, accordingly, revise the summary
to read as follows:
SUMMARY
Pursuant to rule 536 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, the
clerk of a justice court must serve citation by mail or publication if
asked to do so. Rule 536 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure
permits any sheriff, constable or any person authorized by law or any
The Honorable Mike D&co11 - Page 2 (DM250-A)
person authorized by court order who is at least eighteen years old to
serve process in justice cases by registered or certified mail. Rule
116 authorizes service by publication in justice court cases by the
sheriff or any constable of any county in Texas or the clerk of the
court in which the case is pending. Pursuant to sections 118.121 and
118.122 of the Local Government Code, the justice court clerk m
charge a fee of $15.00 for filine the case. The iustice court clerk may
not charge a fee for service of orocess bv certified or registered mail;
however, the justice court clerk may collect advance payment for the
expense of postage for serving process by mail unless another statute
exempts the party from paying such costs. [Emphasis added.]
DAN MORALES
Attorney General of Texas
JORGE VEGA
First Assistant Attorney General
SARAH J. SHIRLEY
Chair, Opinion Committee
Prepared by Sarah J. Shirley
Assistant Attorney General
Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Combined Opinion