Reporting to OCA
District clerks, county clerks, justice courts, and municipal courts are required to submit reports and other information to various state agencies and other entities.
District Clerk and County Clerk Reporting Requirements
Note: The Office of Court Administration makes efforts to keep the lists complete and up to date but does not warrant that the lists contain every report that clerks are required to make. OCA has no involvement with reports that clerks are required to make to entities other than the Texas Judicial Council and OCA.
Municipal Court Reporting Requirements
The Texas Municipal Courts Education Center offers extensive resources for municipal courts. The State and City Reports chapter of the Level I Clerk Study Guide addresses the various reporting requirements for municipal courts. Since many of these requirements also apply to justices of the peace, the materials are also useful to justice courts.
Protective Order Reporting
District clerks, county clerks, justice courts, and municipal courts have a number of requirements related to the reporting of protective orders to other agencies. The accurate and prompt reporting of this information is important for victim and public safety. Required Reporting of Protective Orders by Clerks provides a list of the reporting requirements by code. Please contact the Protective Order Resource Attorney for additional information and training on this topic.
National Instant Background Check System (NICS) Reporting
Government Code Sec. 411.0521 requires the clerk of a court to report information to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) when the court:
- orders a person to receive inpatient mental health services under Chapter 574, Health and Safety Code;
- acquits a person in a criminal case by reason of insanity or lack of mental responsibility, regardless of whether the person is ordered to receive inpatient treatment or residential care under Chapter 46C, Code of Criminal Procedure;
- commits a person determined to have mental retardation for long-term placement in a residential care facility under Chapter 593, Health and Safety Code;
- appoints a guardian of the incapacitated adult individual under Chapter XIII, Probate Code (Title 3, Estates Code), based on the determination that the person lacks the mental capacity to manage the person's affairs;
- determines a person is incompetent to stand trial under Chapter 46B, Code of Criminal Procedure; or
- finds a person is entitled to relief from disabilities under Section 574.088, Health and Safety Code.
Texas NICS Mental Health Reporting Manual
The Texas NICS Mental Health Reporting Manual (August 2024) was developed to assist district and county clerks in reporting these cases to DPS. It includes information on the types of cases to report, the data that must be reported, how to report the cases, record retention requirements, and relief from disability. You can access the NICS Reporting Table in the manual or as stand alone document for quick reference.
You may also find answers to your questions in our NICS Frequently Asked Questions (August 2022).
Texas NICS Record Improvement Task Force
In the fall of 2011, the Texas NICS Record Improvement Task Force was established to develop strategic planning for the improvement of the quality and availability of prohibiting mental health adjudication and commitment records in Texas used by NICS. The Texas NICS Mental Health Record Improvement Plan, a requirement of the grant OCA received under the FY 2011 NICS Act Record Improvement Program, is the result of their work.