Texas Rule 194 required disclosures: what to disclose, and when
By Lou Navarro · · 9 min read
In a Texas civil case filed since January 1, 2021, outside the Family Code, disclosure no longer waits to be requested. Rule 194 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure makes it automatic, on a clock that starts with the first answer.
This article reads Rule 194 as the Texas courts currently post it: who discloses, when, what, the exemptions, and what happens to a disclosure that is late or never corrected.
What changed in 2021
Before 2021, a Texas party disclosed this information when the other side served a request for disclosure. The Supreme Court of Texas rewrote the discovery rules effective January 1, 2021, to carry out legislation passed in 2019, and set out which cases the new rules reach:
“The amendments apply to cases filed on or after January 1, 2021, except for those filed in justice court. The rules amended by this Order continue to govern procedures and limitations in cases filed before January 1, 2021.”
The Court’s comment to the rule explains the change in one sentence:
“Rule 194 is amended based on Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a) to require disclosure of basic discovery automatically, without awaiting a discovery request.”
Two later amendments matter here. Suits governed by the Family Code are carved out of Rule 194; since a 2023 amendment, disclosure in those suits works by request under a separate Rule 194a. And a 2024 amendment, discussed below, revised the pretrial exhibit disclosure.
Who must disclose, and without being asked
“Except in a suit governed by the Family Code, as exempted by Rule 194.2(c), or as otherwise agreed by the parties or ordered by the court, a party must, without awaiting a discovery request, provide to the other parties the information or material described in Rule 194.2, 194.3, and 194.4.”
Three things can displace the duty: the Family Code carve-out, an exemption under Rule 194.2(c), and an agreement of the parties or an order of the court.
The deadline: 30 days after the first answer
“A party must make the initial disclosures within 30 days after the filing of the first answer or general appearance unless a different time is set by the parties’ agreement or court order. A party that is first served or otherwise joined after the filing of the first answer or general appearance must make the initial disclosures within 30 days after being served or joined, unless a different time is set by the parties’ agreement or court order.”
The trigger is the first answer or general appearance in the case, not each party’s own answer. The Court’s comment closes off the usual reasons for waiting:
“A party is not excused from making its disclosures because it has not fully investigated the case or because it challenges the sufficiency of another party’s disclosures or because another party has not made its disclosures.”
What Rule 194.2(b) requires you to disclose
Without awaiting a request, each party provides the other parties:
- the correct names of the parties, and the name, address and telephone number of any potential parties
- the legal theories and, in general, the factual bases of the party's claims or defenses
- the amount and any method of calculating economic damages
- persons having knowledge of relevant facts, with a brief statement of each one's connection with the case
- the documents, electronically stored information and tangible things the party may use to support its claims or defenses, by copy or by category and location (impeachment-only material excepted)
- the indemnity and insuring agreements, settlement agreements and witness statements described in Rule 192.3(f), (g) and (h)
- in a suit alleging physical or mental injury, the medical records and bills described in 194.2(b)(10) and (11)
- the name, address and telephone number of any person who may be designated as a responsible third party
Two of those items carry their own limits. The legal theories and factual bases are
“the legal theories and, in general, the factual bases of the responding party's claims or defenses (the responding party need not marshal all evidence that may be offered at trial)”
And in an injury case, the medical records go out at the start:
“in a suit alleging physical or mental injury and damages from the occurrence that is the subject of the case, all medical records and bills that are reasonably related to the injuries or damages asserted or, in lieu thereof, an authorization permitting the disclosure of such medical records and bills”
Proceedings exempt from initial disclosure
“The following proceedings are exempt from initial disclosure, but a court may order the parties to make particular disclosures and set the time for disclosure:”
There are five: an action for review on an administrative record; a forfeiture action arising from a state statute; a petition for habeas corpus; an action involving domestic violence; and an action on appeal from a justice court.
Expert and pretrial disclosures
“In addition to the disclosures required by Rule 194.2, a party must disclose to the other parties testifying expert information as provided by Rule 195.”
Rule 195.5(a) lists the expert information, which is also due without a request. Unless the court orders otherwise, Rule 195.2 sets the dates: experts for a party seeking affirmative relief are designated 90 days before the end of the discovery period, and all other experts 60 days before it. Then, close to trial, each party
“a party must provide to the other parties and promptly file the following information about the evidence that it may present at trial other than solely for impeachment:”
That means its witnesses and its exhibits, each list separating what the party expects to present or offer from what it may use if the need arises. The timing:
“Unless the court orders otherwise, these disclosures must be made at least 30 days before trial.”
The exhibit item is the one the 2024 amendment changed (Misc. Docket No. 24-9097, effective December 1, 2024): it now calls for a list identifying each document or other exhibit.
No work-product objection, and limits on use
“No objection or assertion of work product is permitted to a disclosure under this rule.”
The rule’s 1999 comment notes that privileges other than work product may still be asserted under Rule 193.3. And the theories-and-damages disclosures can be revised without being turned against the party later:
“A disclosure under Rule 194.2(b)(3) and (4) that has been changed by an amended or supplemental response is not admissible and may not be used for impeachment.”
Disclosures open the discovery period
Disclosures also start discovery. First, timing:
“In a suit not governed by the Family Code, unless otherwise agreed to by the parties or ordered by the court, a party cannot serve discovery on another party until after the other party’s initial disclosures are due.”
Second, the discovery period. Under the Level 2 plan,
“In a suit not governed by the Family Code, all discovery must be conducted during the discovery period, which begins when the first initial disclosures are due and continues until the earlier of:”
30 days before the date set for trial, or nine months after the first initial disclosures are due. Under a Level 1 plan, the period begins at the same point and runs 180 days. A Level 3 plan is set by court order under Rule 190.4. Under Levels 1 and 2, the date the first initial disclosures are due is the anchor the rest of the discovery schedule hangs from.
Signing, supplementing and the cost of silence
“The signature of an attorney or party on a disclosure constitutes a certification that to the best of the signer's knowledge, information, and belief, formed after a reasonable inquiry, the disclosure is complete and correct as of the time it is made.”
The Court’s comment ties the disclosures to the ordinary discovery rules:
“As with other written discovery responses, required disclosures must be signed under Rule 191.3, complete under Rule 193.1, served under rule 191.5, and timely amended or supplemented under Rule 193.5.”
Rule 193.5 also says how fast a correction has to come:
“An amended or supplemental response must be made reasonably promptly after the party discovers the necessity for such a response. Except as otherwise provided by these rules, it is presumed that an amended or supplemental response made less than 30 days before trial was not made reasonably promptly.”
And Rule 193.6 says what follows when it does not:
“A party who fails to make, amend, or supplement a discovery response, including a required disclosure, in a timely manner may not introduce in evidence the material or information that was not timely disclosed, or offer the testimony of a witness (other than a named party) who was not timely identified, unless the court finds that:”
there was good cause for the failure, or the failure will not unfairly surprise or unfairly prejudice the other parties.
“The burden of establishing good cause or the lack of unfair surprise or unfair prejudice is on the party seeking to introduce the evidence or call the witness.”
Even if that burden is not met, the court may grant a continuance or postpone the trial to allow the response and discovery on it. A witness left off the disclosures early can be a witness you may not call at trial.
A Rule 194 checklist for every Texas file
- You know whether the suit is governed by the Family Code, or is one of the five proceedings Rule 194.2(c) exempts.
- The 30-day date, counted from the first answer or general appearance (or from service or joinder for a later party), is on the calendar, with any agreement or order that changes it in the file.
- The disclosures cover every item in Rule 194.2(b) that applies, and an attorney signed them.
- No discovery went out before the other side's disclosures were due, unless the parties agreed or the court ordered it.
- Expert designation dates under Rule 195.2 and the pretrial disclosures 30 days before trial are on the calendar.
- Someone owns amending and supplementing, reasonably promptly.
Local rules and the orders in your case may change the details; where an order differs from this list, follow the order.
Frequently asked questions
- When are initial disclosures due under Texas Rule 194?
- Within 30 days after the filing of the first answer or general appearance, unless the parties agree or the court orders a different time; a party joined later has 30 days from service or joinder (Tex. R. Civ. P. 194.2(a)).
- Does Rule 194 apply to every Texas civil case?
- No. It does not apply in a suit governed by the Family Code, and Rule 194.2(c) exempts administrative-record review, statutory forfeitures, habeas petitions, actions involving domestic violence and justice-court appeals, unless the court orders particular disclosures.
- Can a party object to a required disclosure as work product?
- No. Rule 194.5 permits no objection or assertion of work product to a disclosure under the rule.
- What happens if a party does not disclose a witness in time?
- Under Rule 193.6(a), a party that fails to make, amend or supplement a required disclosure in a timely manner may not offer the testimony of a witness, other than a named party, who was not timely identified, unless the court finds good cause or no unfair surprise or unfair prejudice. The party offering the witness carries that burden.
Keep the dates where the team can see them
In Trial Commander, the disclosure date and every date that follows it can be entered on the matter’s deadline list, each with its own reminders. Texas matters get the Texas content described on our Texas page, and civil litigation is included in every seat.
Want a quick look at a file first? The free Trial Readiness Self-Check asks 20 questions, including whether initial disclosures have been served where your court requires them. Nothing you enter is saved or sent.
Sources
Lou Navarro is a practicing Florida, Texas and D.C. trial lawyer and built Trial Commander. This article is general information for lawyers and their staff about Texas state-court practice. It is not legal advice. Check the current rules, your court’s local rules and the orders in your case before relying on it.