Texas notice to vacate: 2026 requirements, delivery, and checklist

A notice to vacate Texas is a written demand required by Texas Property Code §24.005 before most forcible detainer (eviction) filings under the 2026 rules. The statute sets a default of at least three days, lists delivery methods, and — when the only issue is unpaid rent and the tenant was not late before the month of the notice — requires a notice to pay rent or vacate. This article reports those rules; it does not decide whether any delivery method is sufficient for your case.

Eviction Wizard helps landlords organize eviction documents, submit through the court's e-filing system, request a process server, and track every deadline — in one dashboard. Eviction Wizard AI Partners, LLC is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.

Key takeaways

• Texas Property Code §24.005, as amended by Texas SB 38 (89th Legislature, effective January 1, 2026), requires written notice before most eviction filings and keeps a default of at least three days unless a written lease or agreement sets a shorter or longer period.
• When possession is terminated solely for unpaid rent and the tenant was not late or delinquent before the month the notice is given, the statute requires a notice to pay rent or vacate.
• Section 24.005(f-3) lists four delivery methods: mail; delivery to the inside of the premises in a conspicuous place; hand delivery to a tenant 16 or older; and electronic communication only if the parties agreed in writing. This page does not advise that any method is sufficient. Check your lease; consult a Texas attorney.
• Section 24.0042 controls day counting: exclude the trigger day, count weekends and holidays, and roll a last day that falls on a weekend or state or federal holiday to the next business day.
• Landlord notice delivery is not court citation service. After you file, a sheriff or constable (or another officer authorized under §24.0051) serves the lawsuit papers.

Contents

• What Texas Property Code §24.005 requires before filing
• When the 2026 rules require a notice to pay rent or vacate
• Delivery methods listed in the 2026 statute
• How §24.0042 counts notice days
• Notice fields checklist
• Landlord notice delivery is not court citation service
• How Eviction Wizard handles this
• After the notice period ends

What Texas Property Code §24.005 requires before filing

As of 2026, Texas Property Code §24.005 still requires written notice before a landlord files most forcible detainer suits. If the occupant is a tenant under a written lease or oral rental agreement, the landlord must give a tenant who defaults or holds over at least three days' written notice to vacate before filing, unless the parties contracted for a shorter or longer period in a written lease or agreement.

That default is the number behind searches for a “3-day notice to vacate.” Trade-association lease forms have long used a different period. Whether your form does, and whether that clause controls, is a lease-reading question. Check your lease. Consult a Texas attorney before you treat a one-day, three-day, or longer period as the period that applies.

Occupancy type changes the same section. Tenants at will or by sufferance, and tenants of a person who acquired possession by forcible entry, still receive at least three days unless a written agreement sets a different period (§24.005(b)–(c)). Forcible-entry occupants under §24.001 may receive oral or written notice (§24.005(d)). A holdover after a fixed term is not the same fact pattern as a first unpaid-rent month. A landlord who files for holdover must also comply with tenancy-termination rules in Texas Property Code §91.001. A separate ten-day registered or certified demand under §24.006, used when the landlord wants attorney’s fees and the lease does not already provide for them, is not the eviction notice.

Federal overlay still matters for some properties. Public commentary on the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) continues to treat a 30-day notice as required for covered dwellings. Whether a given unit is covered is a legal determination. Under §24.005(c-1), a landlord that satisfies the Chapter 24 notice is not required to delay filing based on that federal requirement, but a writ of possession may not be served until the period between delivery of the Chapter 24 notice and service of the writ equals or exceeds the federal period. Confirm coverage with counsel.

The notice is the first formal document in how to start an eviction in Texas. It is not a court filing and not a lock-change authorization.

When the 2026 rules require a notice to pay rent or vacate

Senate Bill 38 rewrote the nonpayment path. Section 24.005(a) now splits unpaid-rent cases by the tenant’s payment history.

If the tenant’s right of possession is terminated based solely on nonpayment of rent, and the tenant was not late or delinquent in paying rent to the landlord before the month in which the notice is given, written notice under §24.005 shall be given in the form of a notice to pay rent or vacate. The statute uses “shall,” not “may.” That first-time-late fact pattern is the one landlords most often skip when they reuse a generic “vacate in three days” template.

If possession is terminated for nonpayment and the tenant was late or delinquent before the month in which the notice is given, written notice may be either a notice to pay rent or vacate or a notice to vacate. Later delinquencies do not carry the same mandatory pay-or-vacate command.

Three statutory conditions sit inside the first-time rule:

1. Solely nonpayment. The mandatory form applies when termination is based solely on unpaid rent. Other alleged defaults — unauthorized occupants, lease-term violations, holdover after a non-renewal — are different grounds.
2. Not late or delinquent before the notice month. The trigger is the tenant’s history with this landlord before the month the notice is given, not a sense that “this is the first letter.”
3. The month of the notice. Record the rent period, the notice date, and any earlier delinquency dates in the same file.

A notice to pay rent or vacate is still a §24.005 notice. It still must be written, still must run for the period the lease or statute requires, and still must be delivered under the methods below. The difference is the demand on the page: pay the rent or vacate, rather than vacate only. How much rent to state, whether to include late fees, and whether a later tender stops the case are questions this article does not answer. Consult a Texas attorney. If a housing-program rule also requires a notice of proposed eviction, §24.005(e) lets the two periods run concurrently at the landlord’s discretion.

Delivery methods listed in the 2026 statute

SB 38 repealed the old §24.005(f), (f-1), and (f-2) delivery subsections and replaced them with §24.005(f-3). The official text requires that a notice under §24.005 be delivered using at least one of the following methods:

1. Mail, including first class mail, registered mail, certified mail, or a delivery service.
2. Delivery to the inside of the premises, in a conspicuous place.
3. Hand delivery to any tenant of the premises who is 16 years of age or older.
4. Electronic communication, including e-mail or other electronic means, if the parties have agreed in writing.

Those four methods are what the statute lists. This article reports the list. It does not rank the methods and does not tell you which one a justice court will accept on your facts.

Electronic delivery is the method that generates the most avoidable errors. Section 24.005(f-3)(4) is conditional: electronic communication is listed only if the parties have agreed in writing. A portal login, a text-message habit, or an email on the rental application is not something this article will bless as that written agreement. Whether your lease or a later written addendum is the agreement the statute requires is a legal question. Check your lease. Consult a Texas attorney. Eviction Wizard does not advise on delivery sufficiency, and this page does not either.

Hand delivery is equally easy to over-read. The enacted text says “any tenant of the premises who is 16 years of age or older,” not “any person who answers the door.” Some 2026 summaries shorten that to in-person delivery to an occupant 16 or older. The word in the statute is “tenant.” Who counts as a tenant on your lease is not a blog determination. Record the recipient’s name and relationship to the lease. Recording those facts is not a ruling that the delivery was sufficient.

Mail under (f-3)(1) includes first class, registered, certified, or a delivery service. Conspicuous-place delivery under (f-3)(2) is delivery to the inside of the premises, in a conspicuous place. If your template still cites repealed outside-door posting rules, replace the template. Section 24.005(f-4) states that subsection (f-3) does not apply if the tenant actually receives the notice. That is a statutory actual-receipt clause, not a planning tool.

Use at least one listed method. This article does not tell you that two methods are required or that two methods cure a defective one. After you deliver, write down the method, the date, and what you kept as proof. Check your lease. Consult counsel before you file on the strength of that delivery.

How §24.0042 counts notice days

Senate Bill 38 added Texas Property Code §24.0042, which now controls periods prescribed by Chapter 24. A period of time prescribed by this chapter:

1. does not include the day of the event that begins the period;
2. includes Saturdays, Sundays, and state or federal holidays;
3. includes the last day of the period; and
4. if the last day of the period is a Saturday, Sunday, or state or federal holiday, is extended so that the last day is the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or state or federal holiday.

The delivery day is out. Weekends and holidays count as ordinary days during the run. The last day counts. Only when that last day itself lands on a weekend or a state or federal holiday does the period extend.

A worked illustration of the statutory method — not a ruling on your case — looks like this. A three-day notice delivered on a non-holiday Tuesday excludes Tuesday. Wednesday is day one, Thursday is day two, and Friday is day three. If the last day would fall on a Saturday, clause (4) extends it to the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday — typically Monday. Your lease may set a period other than three days. A 30-day federal period, if it applies, is a different length. Write the delivery date, the period you are using and why, then apply §24.0042 to that length.

Mail adds a timing issue the computation statute does not resolve: when the triggering event occurred — drop-off, postmark, or receipt. Section 24.0042 tells you how to count from that event. It does not define the event for every delivery method. Record four dates: the delivery date, the first counted day, the last day after any weekend or holiday rollover, and the first date you believe you may file. Deadline tracking is a file habit, not a promise that a court will accept your count.

Notice fields checklist

A Texas notice is only as useful later as the fields you put on it and the proof you keep. Filings after January 1, 2026, start with a sworn petition under §24.00505. The petition and the notice should describe the same tenancy. The table is an operations checklist, not a statutory form. Completing every row does not make a notice legally sufficient.

Field	What to record	Why it shows up again
Tenant name	Every adult tenant named on the lease, spelled as the lease spells it	The sworn petition and citation must identify who answers.
Property address	Street, unit, city, county, and any mailbox or gate identifier the lease uses	Venue is the justice precinct where the property sits (§24.0041).
Rent amount	Periodic rent, the unpaid period, and any other sums demanded, labeled as what they are	A notice to pay rent or vacate needs a dollar figure the tenant can act on.
Lease dates	Lease start, current term end or month-to-month conversion, and the month of this notice	First-time-late analysis uses the notice month and any earlier delinquency. Holdover cases also need the term end for §91.001.
Delivery method	Which §24.005(f-3) method you used — mail, inside conspicuous-place delivery, hand delivery (recipient), or electronic (the written agreement you believe authorizes it)	Naming the method is not a ruling that it was sufficient. Check your lease; consult counsel.
Proof of delivery	Mailing receipt, photograph of interior placement, hand-delivery note, or electronic send log	Proof belongs in the packet you review before you authorize filing.
Dates	Delivery date, first counted day, last day after §24.0042, and the date you intend to file	Filing before the period ends is a common reason a case is reset or dismissed.

Use the lease as the source document. If you upload a lease into a document tool, the useful extraction is these fields — tenant name, property address, rent amount, lease dates — placed onto the notice for your review. You still read every line, choose the notice form, and decide — with counsel if needed — how you will deliver it. Printed kits and DIY eviction vs software guides often stop at “fill in the blanks.” The file that survives a kickback is the one that can show the same tenant, address, rent, dates, and a delivery record that matches what you will swear to later.

Landlord notice delivery is not court citation service

Two different documents move in a Texas eviction, and they are served by different people.

The notice to vacate or notice to pay rent or vacate is the landlord’s pre-suit demand under §24.005. The landlord or the landlord’s agent delivers that notice using a method listed in §24.005(f-3), subject to the actual-receipt rule in (f-4). That step happens before a petition is filed. It is not service of process.

The citation is the court’s notice that a lawsuit has been filed. After you file a sworn petition under §24.00505, Texas Property Code §24.0051(f) requires a sheriff or constable, including a deputy, to make a diligent effort to serve the citation and petition not later than the fifth business day after the petition is filed. If service is not completed by then, the landlord may — but is not obligated to — arrange service by another law-enforcement officer who meets the training conditions in that subsection.

Conflating those steps produces bad calendars. Posting a notice on the door does not start the court’s five-business-day service clock. Waiting for a constable to deliver the notice to vacate is waiting for an officer who is not assigned that job. Process-server conversations belong to citation and related court papers, not to the choice among the four statutory notice methods. Keep notice proof in one folder and petition, citation, and service attempts in another — even if both live in one dashboard.

Self-help is a third, illegal path. Changing locks, shutting off utilities, or removing a tenant’s property to “speed up” a notice period is not a delivery method under §24.005. Only law enforcement executes a writ of possession after judgment. You deliver the notice. The court issues the citation. A sheriff, constable, or other authorized officer serves the citation.

How Eviction Wizard handles this

Eviction Wizard is built for the document-and-deadline work around a Texas notice, not for deciding whether a delivery method is valid.

You upload the lease. The product may extract tenant name, property address, rent amount, and lease dates and place them into the notice and later forms for your review and editing. You correct those fields before anything leaves the draft state. Nothing files without your confirmation. You remain the filer.

State-specific notice options are populated for review as part of the Document Organizer workflow. You choose the form you believe matches the fact pattern — including a notice to pay rent or vacate versus a notice to vacate — after you have read the lease and, where the first-time-late rule or a federal overlay is in play, after you have consulted counsel. The software does not tell you that email is authorized or that a three-day count is finished.

You record the delivery method you used and upload proof. The dashboard can log a delivery date and hold the notice period beside later stages: citation, hearing, judgment, appeal, and writ of possession. Deadline alerts are calendar support, not a substitute for applying §24.0042 or for a lawyer’s review of a close call.

When you decide to file, you review the sworn petition packet, confirm the precinct result (shown as based on the information you provided, not as a guarantee), and authorize submission to the court’s e-filing system. Court fees and third-party fees are separate from the $149 Document Organizer fee. You can build the case before you pay; you pay when you file. A process-server request relates to court papers after filing. Independent attorneys in the Attorney Directory handle sufficiency questions this article and the product both refuse. Optional attorney review of a packet is a completeness pass, not representation unless you hire the attorney directly. Texas is the first launch state, county by county.

After the notice period ends

When the last day of the notice period has passed under §24.0042, the next statutory document is a sworn petition. Section 24.00505 states that to initiate an eviction suit, a sworn petition must be filed with the court and must include the contents required by the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. As of 2026, Rule 510 is the procedural rule that governs eviction cases.

Venue is the justice precinct where the real property is located (§24.0041). Under the 2026 venue rules, a wrong-precinct filing is not cured by transfer. Confirm the precinct against the same address you put on the notice.

Trial setting under §24.0051(g) is not earlier than the 10th day and not later than the 21st day after the petition is filed, with additional limits tied to service and postponement. Those dates belong on the same timeline as the notice dates. They are not the notice period.

If you want the full start-to-writ map, use the companion guide on how to start an eviction in Texas. If you want the statute-by-statute list of what SB 38 changed besides notice, use the Texas SB 38 explainer. Do not file while the notice period is still running. Do not skip the pay-or-vacate form on a first unpaid-rent month. The petition will be sworn. The notice is what you will say you gave.

Frequently asked questions

What is a notice to vacate in Texas under the 2026 rules?

It is the written pre-suit demand required by Texas Property Code §24.005 before most forcible detainer filings. The default period is at least three days unless a written lease or agreement sets a different period. For a first unpaid-rent month with no earlier delinquency, the statute requires a notice to pay rent or vacate. This is statutory reporting, not advice on your lease.

Can a Texas landlord email a notice to vacate?

Section 24.005(f-3)(4) lists electronic communication, including email, only if the parties have agreed in writing. This article does not say your lease meets that condition and does not say an email you already sent was sufficient. Check your lease. Consult a Texas attorney before you rely on email or any other electronic means.

How do you count a three-day notice to vacate in Texas?

Texas Property Code §24.0042 excludes the day the period begins, counts Saturdays, Sundays, and state or federal holidays, includes the last day, and extends the last day when it falls on a weekend or those holidays. Your lease may set a period other than three days. Apply the statute to the period that actually applies.

When is a notice to pay rent or vacate required?

When the tenant’s right of possession is terminated solely for nonpayment of rent and the tenant was not late or delinquent in paying rent to the landlord before the month in which the notice is given, §24.005(a) says the notice shall be a notice to pay rent or vacate. Later unpaid-rent months may use either form. Whether your ledger shows a first delinquency is a question for counsel.

Is delivering a notice to vacate the same as serving the lawsuit?

No. The landlord delivers the §24.005 notice before filing. After a sworn petition is filed, a sheriff or constable (or another officer authorized by §24.0051) serves the citation and petition and has a five-business-day window to attempt service. Do not treat a posted notice as citation service.

Does the CARES Act still require 30 days’ notice in Texas?

Public sources continue to treat the CARES Act 30-day notice as applicable to covered properties. Whether your property is covered is a legal question. Under §24.005(c-1), satisfying the Chapter 24 notice does not require delaying filing for a federal period, but a writ of possession may not be served until that federal period has run from the Chapter 24 notice. Confirm coverage with a Texas attorney.

Put the notice in a file you can defend

A Texas notice to vacate in 2026 is a short document with a long afterlife. The form has to match the ground. The period has to match the lease or the three-day default, then run through §24.0042. Delivery has to be a method §24.005(f-3) lists — electronic only if there is a written agreement — without this page telling you that your method was enough.

Check your lease. Consult a Texas attorney on sufficiency, coverage, and close dates. If you want the notice, the proof, and the calendar in one dashboard — later e-filing authorized by you — join the Eviction Wizard waitlist.