Sued for debt in Texas? Start with the 14-day Answer deadline.

Before anything else, one fact: Texas Constitution Article XVI § 28 strongly protects current wages from garnishment for ordinary consumer-debt judgments. Credit-card, debt-buyer, and medical-debt judgments usually cannot be enforced by garnishing current Texas wages, though exceptions and other collection methods can matter. A judgment creditor may still pursue non-exempt bank deposits, liens, turnover orders, or other remedies. That means the deadline still matters.

Somebody has filed a lawsuit against you in a Texas court alleging that you owe money on a consumer debt. The packet in your hand is a Citation (the order to respond, served by a constable, sheriff, or licensed process server under Tex. R. Civ. P. 103) plus a Petition (the Texas equivalent of a complaint, with attached exhibits). Texas runs a three-tier trial-court structure. Justice Court handles cases up to $20,000 under the simplified Tex. R. Civ. P. 500-510. County Court at Law handles cases above $20,000 in most counties. District Court handles cases above the County Court at Law tier. Many credit-card debt-buyer cases land in Justice Court because the typical balance is below the cap.

The trade-off: you may have only 14 days from service to file an Answer in Justice Court under Tex. R. Civ. P. 502.5(d). The wage-garnishment protection does not make a default harmless. The short clock tells you to start today.

The deadline rule depends on which Texas court your case is in. In Justice Court, Tex. R. Civ. P. 502.5(d) sets a 14-day deadline: file the Answer no later than the end of the 14th day after the date of service. Calendar days, not business days, with weekends and legal holidays counted in the 14. If the 14th day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline generally rolls forward under Rule 500.5. In District Court and County Court at Law, Tex. R. Civ. P. 99(b) sets a different rule: the Answer is due at or before 10:00 AM on the Monday next after the expiration of 20 days after service. Look at the case caption to identify which court (Justice / County / District); the deadline mechanics are different.

What default judgment looks like in Texas: judgment for the alleged amount plus court costs plus statutory post-judgment interest under Tex. Fin. Code § 304.003. Once entered, the plaintiff generally cannot garnish current wages for ordinary consumer debt, but can seek other remedies such as garnishment of non-exempt bank-account deposits under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Chapter 63, judgment liens under Chapter 52, or turnover relief where allowed. Texas homestead and personal-property exemptions may protect important assets, but exemption analysis is fact-specific. Setting aside a default judgment requires a Tex. R. Civ. P. 320 motion for new trial filed within 30 days, showing the Craddock factors — discretionary and often harder than answering on time. Treat your effective filing deadline as Day 10 or 11 of the 14, never Day 14.

Texas runs three trial-level civil tiers. Justice Court (≤$20,000 under Tex. Gov't Code § 27.031(a)(2)) operates under the simplified Tex. R. Civ. P. 500-510, with Rule 506.2 explicitly accommodating self-represented practice. The single most pro-se-friendly procedural feature in this registry lives here: Tex. R. Civ. P. 502.5(c) provides that "an answer that contains a general denial places in issue all matters pleaded by the plaintiff except those required to be specifically denied" — meaning a Justice Court Answer can be a one-paragraph sworn or unsworn general denial that puts the plaintiff to its proof on every element, with affirmative defenses preserved by inclusion. No state in this registry — not California, not New York, not Florida — has a comparable simplified-pleading rule for pro se defendants. Discovery in Justice Court is permitted but limited under Rule 500.9 (15 documents for production, restricted interrogatories, leave-of-court depositions); Rule 502.6 streamlines requests for disclosure.

County Court at Law handles cases above $20,000 in most counties up to roughly $250,000 under Tex. Gov't Code § 25.0003(c)(1) — though the exact cap varies by county-specific statute. Some smaller counties have only a Constitutional County Court (Tex. Const. art. V § 16) with original jurisdiction generally between $200 and $20,000; in those counties, cases above $20,000 go directly to District Court. District Court handles cases above the County Court at Law tier. Both follow the full Texas Rules of Civil Procedure with Rule 99(b) Monday-after-20 deadlines, full Rule 192 discovery, and Rule 21 motion practice.

The Texas analog to California's demurrer is Tex. R. Civ. P. 91a — a motion to dismiss for cause of action with no basis in law or fact, filed within 60 days of service and at least 21 days before any hearing. Rule 91a is the procedural vehicle to attack a debt-buyer petition that omits the Tex. R. Civ. P. 508.2 disclosures on its face. Note: the Rule 91a.7 attorney-fee provision was amended September 1, 2019 (SB 2342 / Tex. Sup. Ct. Misc. Docket 19-9111) from mandatory to discretionary fee-shifting — pre-2019 mandatory citations still circulate online but are no longer current.

Texas combines meaningful debtor protections with pro-se-friendly Justice Court procedure. Four pillars matter most.

First, Texas Constitution Article XVI § 28 strongly protects current wages from garnishment for ordinary consumer-debt judgments. New York caps wage execution at 10% of gross under CPLR § 5231. California, Florida, Ohio, Illinois, and many other states use the federal 25%-of-disposable cap. Texas current-wage protection can affect post-judgment collectability, but it does not protect every asset or make default harmless.

Second, Tex. Fin. Code § 392.307(d) creates a debt-buyer post-expiry no-revival rule. When it applies, later payment, promise, or other activity does not revive a time-barred debt-buyer claim. The user still needs to verify that the plaintiff is a debt buyer, the claim is actually time-barred, and no different accrual theory applies.

Third, Tex. R. Civ. P. 502.5(c) gives Justice Court defendants a simplified general-denial Answer path. A short general denial can place many allegations at issue without paragraph-by-paragraph admit-or-deny analysis, while affirmative defenses should still be preserved carefully.

Fourth, the Texas Debt Collection Act covers both debt buyers and original creditors in some collection contexts. § 392.403 can provide damages and attorney-fee remedies where the statutory elements are proven, and federal FDCPA issues may also matter for debt collectors.

The trade-offs: the 14-day Justice Court deadline under Rule 502.5(d) is short and unforgiving. Discovery in Justice Court is limited under Rule 500.9. The Rule 91a.7 fee provision is now discretionary post-2019, so the loss exposure on a denied 91a motion is real for attorney-represented defendants. Rural counties may have less-experienced clerk staff for pro se litigants. Honest balance: Texas has useful protections, but the 14-day urgency is the trade-off.

Days 1-2 — Read the citation and petition carefully. Identify (a) the named plaintiff; (b) the alleged amount; (c) the court tier from the case caption (Justice Court ≤$20K / County Court at Law / District Court); (d) the cause number; (e) the date of service from the return of citation. Calendar your deadline. If Justice Court, count 14 days from service per Tex. R. Civ. P. 502.5(d) with weekend/holiday rollover under Rule 500.5. If District Court or County Court at Law, count to 10:00 AM on the Monday next after the expiration of 20 days per Rule 99(b). Calendar an internal deadline three days earlier — that is your real working deadline.

Days 3-4 — Do not pay anything before checking the deadline and SOL issues. Inside the four-year SOL window, a partial payment can affect the clock under traditional Texas accrual analysis; the § 392.307(d) no-revival rule applies only after the SOL has expired and only when the plaintiff is a debt buyer. Identify which defenses may apply: last payment more than four years ago, plaintiff is a debt buyer, or Justice Court petition missing Rule 508.2(b) disclosures.

Days 5-7 — Gather records. Pull all three credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com and find the original creditor name on the tradeline. Compare to the plaintiff named on the petition. Run the four-year SOL math from your last payment date, and check whether the petition includes charge-off balance, post-charge-off interest and fees, assignment chain, and current-ownership details.

Days 8-12 — Decide between a Rule 91a motion and an Answer. Rule 91a may fit when Rule 508.2 disclosures are facially missing and timing requirements can be met. An Answer is appropriate otherwise. For a Justice Court Answer, Rule 502.5(c) general denial can place many allegations at issue, but affirmative defenses should still be added where supported, such as SOL, no-revival, Rule 508.2 defects, or lack of standing.

Days 13-14 — File at the Justice of the Peace clerk's office for your precinct, or the County Court / District Court clerk if the case is in those tiers. Many Texas Justice Court clerks accept e-filing through eFileTexas.gov; some still require in-person filing. Do not rely on mail filing close to deadline. Pay the filing fee or file Tex. R. Civ. P. 145 Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs. Mail or e-serve a copy on the plaintiff's attorney with a Certificate of Service.