How Do I Get Appointed as Executor in Texas?

In Texas, the probate court appoints the personal representative and the County clerk issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration; every appointment goes through the court.

State

Document Type

Getting appointed in Texas

Personal Representative — executor (testate) or administrator (intestate); most often serving as INDEPENDENT executor/administrator under Tex. Est. Code ch. 401-404

The form that opens the estate

No statewide fill-in form

Attorney-drafted pleading

Where you file

Statutory probate court where one exists; otherwise the county court at law exercising probate jurisdiction or the constitutional county court (Tex. Est. Code ch. 32)

What the court issues (with a will)

Letters Testamentary

issued by County clerk

Letters are an output — the court issues them after granting the petition.

At a glance

UPC adoptedInformal trackE-filing (self-represented)Self-represented filingLocal/county forms

eFileTexas is the statewide e-filing system for civil and probate cases; e-filing is mandatory for attorneys and optional for self-represented filers. But e-filing access is not the constraint. The constraint is who may bring the application at all: the statutory probate courts require an applicant for letters testamentary or letters of administration to be represented by a licensed attorney, on the reasoning that an executor "represents the interests of beneficiaries and creditors" rather than only himself (Travis County Probate Courts, Court Policy Regarding "Pro Se" Applicants, 10/1/2024). A self-represented filer with a working e-filing account still cannot open the estate.

Texas has no statewide probate application or Letters forms; the actual paperwork (application to probate the will / for letters, proof of death and will, proposed order, oath, and any small estate affidavit) is local to each statutory probate court, county court at law, or constitutional county court. Larger counties (Harris, Dallas, Bexar, Tarrant, Travis, Collin, Denton, El Paso, Fort Bend, etc.) have statutory probate courts with their own local rules and filing requirements.

Bond

Required before Letters: Yes
Waivable by will: Yes
Waivable by beneficiaries: Yes

What to file with the petition

Application to admit the will to probate and/or for letters testamentary or of administration (Tex. Est. Code ch. 256 / ch. 301; contents per § 301.052) — drafted by counsel, no statewide form
Original will and any codicils, filed with the application (Tex. Est. Code ch. 256)
Certified copy of the death certificate / proof of death
Citation issued by the county clerk and served — by posting where the will is produced in court — before the court may act on the application, and proof of that service (Tex. Est. Code §§ 258.001, 258.003; §§ 256.151(4), 301.151(4))
Proposed order admitting the will / granting letters for the court to sign (Tex. Est. Code ch. 306)
Representative's oath or declaration under penalty of perjury, and bond unless waived (Tex. Est. Code ch. 305)
Inventory, appraisement, and list of claims filed within 90 days after the representative qualifies — or, for an independent executor with no unpaid debts other than secured debts, taxes, and administration expenses, an affidavit in lieu of it (Tex. Est. Code §§ 309.051, 309.056)

Small-estate alternative

Bypasses full Letters: Yes

State-specific notes

Independent administration (Tex. Est. Code ch. 401-404) is the dominant Texas model: once the court admits the will and grants independent letters, the executor administers with minimal court supervision after filing the inventory. § 401.001(a) lets a testator provide in the will "that no other action shall be had in the probate court in relation to the settlement of the person's estate than the probating and recording of the will and the return of any required inventory, appraisement, and list of claims." Where the will is silent (§ 401.002) or there is no will (§ 401.003), an independent administration can still be created by agreement of all the distributees. Bond: the will can direct that none be required (§ 305.101(b)); failing that, the court MAY waive bond if all distributees agree and waiver is not against the estate's best interest (§ 401.005(a-1)). Muniment of title (§ 257.001) lets a will be probated to pass title with no administration and no letters when the court is satisfied the estate "does not owe an unpaid debt, other than any debt secured by a lien on real estate," or finds no necessity for administration — and it is one of only two proceedings the statutory probate courts let a non-lawyer bring, and then only when all beneficiaries are co-applicants. Small estate affidavit (§ 205.001) is the other: intestate only, 30 days after death, assets excluding homestead and exempt property not exceeding $75,000. None of these produce a statewide fillable appointment form.

General information about how a personal representative is appointed, not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions. Data verified Aug 24, 2026

Texas has no single statewide fill-in petition; the opening document is prepared to statute and filed with the probate court. County clerk issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration after the court grants the petition.

Along with the petition, Texas generally requires: Application to admit the will to probate and/or for letters testamentary or of administration (Tex. Est. Code ch. 256 / ch. 301; contents per § 301.052) — drafted by counsel, no statewide form; Original will and any codicils, filed with the application (Tex. Est. Code ch. 256); Certified copy of the death certificate / proof of death; Citation issued by the county clerk and served — by posting where the will is produced in court — before the court may act on the application, and proof of that service (Tex. Est. Code §§ 258.001, 258.003; §§ 256.151(4), 301.151(4)). The court's own checklist runs longer for particular cases.

Yes. Texas requires a bond by default before Letters issue. A will can waive it. The beneficiaries can also waive it in writing.

Texas restricts self-represented filing. The Texas self-file probate assessment sets self-filing against attorney costs.

Yes. A revocable living trust passes its assets to the beneficiaries without a court appointment in Texas: no petition, no Letters, no bond. A revocable trust built with SimplyTrust takes about fifteen minutes.

Getting Appointed in Texas

Authority to act for the estate comes from Letters issued in Texas by County clerk, on appointment by the probate court. The document is Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (no will). Texas has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code.

Texas publishes no single statewide fill-in petition; the opening document is prepared to statute and filed with the court. The filing fee is $360. Texas has no informal (registrar) appointment track, so every appointment goes through the court.

Texas requires a bond by default before Letters issue, though a will can waive it and the beneficiaries can waive it in writing.

For smaller estates, Texas offers a small-estate procedure for estates under $75,000 that can transfer assets without a full appointment or Letters. The Texas self-file probate assessment compares self-filing and attorney costs.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated September 8, 2026

Legal Sources

Tex. Est. Code § 205.001/205.006
Tex. Est. Code § 305.101 (bond generally required; excepted when the will directs no bond and the executor is found qualified, and for corporate fiduciaries) and § 401.005(a-1) (court may waive bond where the will is silent and all distributees agree)
Tex. Est. Code ch. 256 (probate of wills / application; § 256.052 contents; § 256.003 four-year limit to admit a will), ch. 301 (application for letters testamentary or of administration; § 301.052 contents; § 301.002 four-year deadline to apply for letters), ch. 305 (qualification & bond), ch. 306 (granting & issuance of letters); ch. 401-404 (independent administration)
Tex. Loc. Gov't Code §§ 133.151(a)(1) ($137 state consolidated), 135.102(a)(1) ($223 local consolidated); both amounts enacted by SB 41 (87th Leg., Acts 2021, ch. 472, §§ 1.02, 1.03, eff. 1/1/2022) and unchanged since. SB 1612 (88th Leg., Acts 2023, ch. 256, eff. 1/1/2024) amended § 133.151(a)(2) (the list of non-original actions) and § 135.102(b)-(c) (the fund allocations) but reprinted the $137 unmarked and did not amend § 135.102(a). SB 1760 (89th Leg., Acts 2025, ch. 855) added an $80 fee for filing a guardianship case transferred from another county (Est. Code § 1023.0071), which H.B. 16 (89th Leg., 2nd C.S.) § 9.22(a) made effective January 1, 2026; it did not change the consolidated amounts. § 133.151(a)(1) ($137) and § 135.102(a)(1) ($223) re-confirmed verbatim 2026-10-17 against tcss.legis.texas.gov/Docs/LG/htm/LG.133.htm and LG.135.htm (the codified-text backend; the canonical statutes.capitol.texas.gov page is a JS shell that serves zero statute text); the history lines name only SB 41 and SB 1612.

Data sourced from Texas statutes and official state code. How we research.

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