Planning Process-Service Hours in Texas

Morning before work, early evening or Saturday can be useful options for a person on a standard weekday schedule. Shift work, travel and a verified workplace can point to a different window. These are planning suggestions, not measured Texas contact rates.

Record the exact time and result. A failed visit is not completed service, and no particular hour proves that someone is evading. Metro traffic, rural distance, severe weather and lawful gate access are scheduling constraints, not procedural exceptions.

Confirm who is legally authorized to receive entity process and when that recipient is available. A commercial address or staffed front desk alone does not establish authority.

For individual civil citation under Rule 106(a)(1), personal delivery at work can complete service. Leaving papers with someone else requires an authorized substituted method; the workplace address alone does not supply that authorization.

Rule 106(b) requires a motion supported by a statement sworn before a notary or made under penalty of perjury, identifying a location where the defendant can probably be found and specific unsuccessful attempts under (a)(1) or (a)(2). It does not impose a statewide number or an evening or Saturday quota.

A court may authorize delivery to someone older than sixteen at the specified location or another reasonably effective method supported by the evidence. Follow the order and Rule 107’s return requirements. No verified Harris County order establishing a numerical quota is cited here.

Keep the date, time, address, authorized access and observable outcome of each visit. Explain the cause of failure rather than relying on a label such as multiple attempts.

Justice-court and eviction proceedings have separate requirements. Confirm the case type before using district-and-county-court citation guidance for another type of document.