Court of Appeals for the [First-Fourteenth] District of Texas / Fifteenth Court of Appeals

Format

Type

Times New Roman 14 pt, double-spaced

Margins

1-inch margins

Opening brief

15,000 words or 50 pages

Reply brief

7,500 words or 25 pages

What counts

Excludes caption, identity of parties and counsel, statement regarding oral argument, TOC, index of authorities, statement of the case, issues presented, statement of jurisdiction, statement of procedural history, signature, proof of service, certification, certificate of compliance, appendix. Civil: aggregate of all a party's briefs max 27,000 words / 90 pages. Page limits apply only if not computer-generated

Rules

Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure (TRAP) — TRAP 9.4(b)-(e) (8.5x11; 1-in. margins; double-spaced except footnotes, block quotes, short lists, issues; conventional typeface >=14-pt, footnotes >=12-pt); TRAP 9.4(i)(1)-(2)

Parts of the brief, in order

1. Cover — Required · TRAP 9.4(g)
2. IDENTITY OF PARTIES AND COUNSEL — Required · TRAP 38.1(a)
3. TABLE OF CONTENTS — Required · TRAP 38.1(b)
4. INDEX OF AUTHORITIES — Required · TRAP 38.1(c)
5. STATEMENT OF THE CASE — Required · TRAP 38.1(d)
6. STATEMENT REGARDING ORAL ARGUMENT — If applicable · TRAP 38.1(e); 39.7
7. ISSUES PRESENTED — Required · TRAP 38.1(f)
8. STATEMENT OF FACTS — Required · TRAP 38.1(g)
9. SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT — Required · TRAP 38.1(h)
10. ARGUMENT — Required · TRAP 38.1(i)
11. PRAYER — Required · TRAP 38.1(j)
12. Signature block — Required · TRAP 9.1
13. CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE — Required · TRAP 9.4(i)(3)
14. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE — Required · TRAP 9.5(e)
15. APPENDIX — If applicable · TRAP 38.1(k)

Argument headings: Clear and concise argument for the contentions made with citations to authorities and to the record; organized by issue

Standard of review: Not mandated as a separate section; conventionally stated within the argument for each issue

Record citations: Statement of facts must be supported by record references (38.1(g)); convention: (CR 45) clerk's record, (2 RR 34) reporter's record

Appendix

Required when applicable. Pages are numbered like App. 12. (TRAP 38.1(k))

• trial court judgment or appealable order
• jury charge and verdict or findings of fact/conclusions of law (if any)
• text of any rule, regulation, statute, etc. on which argument is based
• other optional items

Required in civil cases; not required in criminal cases

Certificates

• Compliance: Certificate by counsel or unrepresented party stating the number of words in the document
• Service: Signed by person who served; states date and manner of service, name and address of each person served, and party represented if served person is counsel

Good to know

• Appellee brief may omit parts adequately covered by appellant (38.2)
• Reply brief addresses new matters in appellee brief (38.3)
• Sensitive data must be redacted (TRAP 9.9)
• Rules current as of TRAP effective Feb. 6, 2026

Filing: eFileTexas (electronic filing mandatory for attorneys); text-searchable PDF