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Nacogdoches County, TX Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | Two courts share original probate jurisdiction concurrently: the County Court at Law of Nacogdoches County and the Nacogdoches County Court, the constitutional county court, under Estates Code Section 32.002(b) and Government Code Section 25.0003(d). Nacogdoches County has one statutory county court (Government Code Section 25.1761), which is a county court at law, not a statutory probate court, so "Probate Court" is not this county's court name. No judge's name is stated here; the county's site could not confirm one this session |
| Filing office | The Nacogdoches County Clerk. Under Government Code Section 25.1762(f-1), the county clerk serves as clerk of the county court at law in probate matters (the district clerk's role there is limited to cases of concurrent jurisdiction with the district court, which does not include ordinary probate filings) |
| Courthouse | 101 W. Main Street, Nacogdoches, TX 75961, matching the street and number given on the county's own homepage. The county does not currently publish a room number for the clerk's counter; ask for the County Clerk's office when you arrive |
| Mailing address | The county does not currently publish a separate mailing address; use the street address above |
| Phone | (936) 560-7733 for the County Clerk, though the county does not currently publish a direct clerk line on its homepage. The county's general switchboard, which the homepage does publish, is 936-560-7755. Call and ask for the County Clerk's probate desk to be safe |
| Fax | Not published on the reachable part of the county's site |
| Office hours | Not published on the reachable part of the county's site. Call ahead |
| Filing fee | No Nacogdoches County fee schedule could be located this session. The base court filing fee to open a probate case is set by Texas statute and is the same in every county: $360, made up of a $223 local consolidated fee (Local Government Code Section 135.102(a)(1)) and a $137 state consolidated fee (Section 133.151(a)(1)). On top of that, the County Clerk collects statutory per-service fees, including $8.00 to issue a citation and $2.00 for each Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (Section 118.052), and the sheriff or constable charges a posting or service fee set by the commissioners court (Section 118.131). A later contested or adverse probate action is $120 (Section 135.102(a)(2); Section 133.151(a)(2)). Confirm the current total with the County Clerk. A filer who cannot afford the fee may file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs |
| Local forms | Not confirmed this session; no local forms could be located |
| E-filing | Mandatory for attorneys in probate cases statewide, under a Supreme Court of Texas order that phased in by county population and reached every Texas county no later than July 1, 2016 (Misc. Docket No. 13-9164; Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1)). No Nacogdoches-specific e-filing notice was found this session. An unrepresented party may e-file through eFileTexas.gov but is not required to |
| Case search | The Nacogdoches County Clerk runs its own Official Record Search at nacogdoches.tx.publicsearch.us, which lists "Probates" as one of its searchable record types alongside real property records, with case number, page count, recorded date, and document status fields. The portal's own published pricing charges $1.00 per page for document copies and $5.00 for a certified copy. Documents e-filed in a Nacogdoches County case may also be reachable through the statewide re:SearchTX portal, which charges for documents and states it provides an unofficial copy |
| Remote appearance | Not confirmed this session |
| Website | https://www.nacogdochesco.gov/ (the county's site is mid-migration; no department page could be reached this session) and https://nacogdoches.tx.publicsearch.us/ (the County Clerk's own record search, confirmed live) |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before filing anything in Nacogdoches, know what is actually in the estate and what it owes. Whether a Texas estate needs a court proceeding at all, and which route fits, depends on whether there is a will, who the distributees are, what the assets are worth, and whether there are unpaid debts. Those routes are set by state statute and are the same in all 254 Texas counties; they are explained on the Texas state page. Because Nacogdoches County's own clerk and court pages could not be reached this session, calling the courthouse before filing to confirm current hours, fees, and any local paperwork matters more here than it would with a fully reachable county site.
Identify every bank and credit union account, retirement plan, brokerage holding, life insurance policy, vehicle, and parcel of Nacogdoches County or out-of-county real property, along with every debt, before applying. How each asset is titled decides whether it passes through the estate at all: survivorship accounts, accounts with a named beneficiary, and land covered by a recorded transfer on death deed pass outside the estate and never reach either Nacogdoches County court. Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for exactly this step, so the application filed with the Nacogdoches County Clerk describes the estate accurately the first time.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Nacogdoches County Courthouse, 101 W. Main Street in Nacogdoches, the county seat, is the probate filing location for the county. The court serves every community in the county, including Nacogdoches, Garrison, Cushing, and Chireno.
Venue is straightforward for a Nacogdoches County resident: you file in the county where the decedent resided, if the decedent had a domicile or fixed place of residence in Texas (Estates Code Section 33.001(a)(1)). For a decedent with no Texas domicile or fixed residence, venue depends on where the death happened and where the estate or the nearest of kin are (Section 33.001(a)(2)).
Nacogdoches County has one statutory county court, the County Court at Law of Nacogdoches County (Government Code Section 25.1761). Because Nacogdoches County has no statutory probate court, the county court at law and the Nacogdoches County Court have CONCURRENT original probate jurisdiction under Estates Code Section 32.002(b); neither court replaces the other. Government Code Section 25.1762, which sets out the county court at law's own provisions, adds nothing that narrows its probate jurisdiction; it covers a concurrent family-law grant with the district court, the judge's salary, and a rule letting a party request a 12-member jury in matters of concurrent jurisdiction with the district court. That same section's clerkship split (Section 25.1762(f-1)) puts probate filings on the county clerk's side of the docket, not the district clerk's, because ordinary probate matters are not among the concurrent-jurisdiction case types the district clerk handles.
If a matter in the proceeding becomes contested, the mechanism is Estates Code Section 32.004, not Section 32.003: the judge of the county court may, on the judge's own motion, or shall, on the motion of any party, transfer the contested matter to the county court at law, and may transfer the entire proceeding there as well.
The jurisdiction process
- Confirm the route and gather the documents. Collect the original signed will if there is one, a certified copy of the death certificate, the names and addresses of the people who inherit, and a list of assets and debts with values. A person named in a will to settle the estate is an executor; a person appointed by the court where there is no will, or where no named executor qualifies, is an administrator; the Texas Estates Code's umbrella term for either is personal representative.
- Draft the papers yourself or with an attorney. Texas has no comprehensive statewide set of probate procedure forms, and no local Nacogdoches County forms could be confirmed this session, so the application, proof of death and other facts, proposed order, oath, and inventory should be treated as drafted documents unless the Clerk's office says otherwise when you call.
- File with the Nacogdoches County Clerk at the courthouse, or e-file through eFileTexas.gov. Attorneys must e-file in probate matters under a statewide mandate that reached every Texas county no later than July 1, 2016 (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1)); an unrepresented party may e-file but is not required to. Call ahead to confirm the office's current hours and any paper-filing option, since the county's own department page is not currently reachable online.
- Deliver the original will to the County Clerk within three business days if you e-filed the application. This is a statewide rule with no electronic substitute (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(12)).
- Pay the filing fee. The statewide statutory base is $360.00 ($223 under Local Government Code Section 135.102(a)(1) plus $137 under Section 133.151(a)(1)), plus the County Clerk's per-service fees (citation issuance $8.00, Letters $2.00 each, Section 118.052) and any sheriff posting fee (Section 118.131). No Nacogdoches-specific schedule was found; confirm the current total by phone. A filer who cannot afford the cost files a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145).
- Have the citation posted or served, and let the assigned court set the hearing. No filing-to-hearing window or docket schedule could be confirmed for Nacogdoches County this session; ask the Clerk's office directly.
- Collect the letters. On an admitted will the court grants Letters Testamentary to a qualifying executor (Estates Code Section 306.001); where there is no will, or no named executor qualifies, it grants Letters of Administration (Section 306.002). Each set costs $2.00 (Local Government Code Section 118.061).
- Administer the estate and file what the statute requires. Notice to beneficiaries (Section 308.002), published notice to creditors within one month of receiving letters (Section 308.051), notice to secured creditors within two months (Section 308.053), and the inventory, filed before the 91st day after the personal representative qualifies unless the court grants longer (Section 309.051(a)), apply the same way in every Texas county. Where the estate runs as an independent administration (Estates Code chapters 401 to 405), the court's involvement afterward is deliberately minimal.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Nacogdoches County
No local Nacogdoches County probate forms could be confirmed this session, because the County Clerk's own department pages are not currently reachable while the county's website is mid-migration. Texas as a whole has no comprehensive statewide set of probate procedure forms: the Texas Judicial Branch forms page carries only will forms, a transfer on death deed kit, and civil forms in this area, and the Supreme Court of Texas has not promulgated a small estate affidavit form or a muniment of title form under Government Code Section 22.020(b)(1) (Estates Code chapters 205 and 257). Ask the County Clerk directly whether the office requires or provides any local cover sheet or checklist before you file.
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Nacogdoches County Clerk Official Record Search (nacogdoches.tx.publicsearch.us) | The County Clerk's own first-party record search, confirmed live, including a "Probates" record type alongside real property records |
| Nacogdoches County, TX official website (nacogdochesco.gov) | The county's general homepage, mid-migration to a new platform as of this writing; only a general phone number, address, and a handful of unrelated links are currently reachable |
| Texas Judicial Branch court forms (txcourts.gov) | The statewide forms that do exist, including the Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs required by Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145, and the Supreme Court of Texas will forms |
Recent updates
| Change | What it means in Nacogdoches County |
|---|---|
| County website migration, in progress as of August 2026 | Nacogdoches County's site is moving from co.nacogdoches.tx.us to nacogdochesco.gov. As of this writing the new site's own homepage states "we're moving to a new website," and department-level pages for the County Clerk, both county courts, and the County Judge are not yet reachable. Call the county's general line, 936.560.7755, and confirm details before relying on any older cached information you find elsewhere |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Nacogdoches County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the Nacogdoches-area home was held with a right of survivorship or passed under a recorded transfer on death deed, it goes to the survivor outside the estate and the county courts are not involved in the house itself. Where other assets stood in the decedent's sole name, the spouse applies in either the County Court at Law of Nacogdoches County or the Nacogdoches County Court, files with the County Clerk or e-files through eFileTexas.gov, and budgets at least $360.00 for the statutory base fee, confirming the current total with the Clerk by phone. | Asset discovery to establish how the home and accounts are titled and what actually has to reach the court. Packet generation for the Nacogdoches County filing. A vetted attorney referral if title or a claim turns out to be disputed. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | Much of this can be done from out of state. Attorneys must e-file through eFileTexas.gov under the statewide mandate; an unrepresented party may e-file but is not required to (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1)). Whether a court filing is needed at all depends on the assets and whether there is a will, and those routes are statewide. The original will still has to reach the County Clerk within three business days of an e-filed application (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(12)); call the Clerk's office first to confirm current procedure, since the county's own department page is not currently reachable online. | Asset discovery to size the estate from out of state and confirm which route fits before anyone travels. Packet generation so the filing is accepted the first time. Attorney referral where distance or an unreachable county page makes local counsel the practical answer. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Selling real property means someone needs the authority document, so this goes through an administration in whichever of Nacogdoches County's two courts the case is docketed to. The parent applies, citation is issued and served or posted, and the court appoints the personal representative and grants Letters of Administration (Estates Code Section 306.002), or Letters Testamentary if there is a will (Section 306.001). The inventory follows, filed with the County Clerk before the 91st day after qualification (Section 309.051(a)). | Asset discovery for the child's accounts, insurance, and real property. Packet generation for the administration and the inventory. Attorney referral where a sale, a mortgage payoff, or a disagreement among heirs makes counsel worthwhile, which matters more here because a contested matter can be transferred to the County Court at Law of Nacogdoches County (Estates Code Section 32.004). |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Nacogdoches County Clerk Official Record Search (nacogdoches.tx.publicsearch.us) | The County Clerk's own first-party record search, including a "Probates" category alongside real property records. Confirmed live and branded to the County Clerk |
| Nacogdoches County, TX official website (nacogdochesco.gov), 936.560.7755 (general county line) | The county's general homepage. The site is mid-migration as of this writing, and no department page for the County Clerk, either county court, or the County Judge could be reached this session; call the general line and ask to be routed to the probate desk |
| eFileTexas.gov | Registration for the statewide electronic filing system and the list of certified electronic filing service providers |
| re:SearchTX (research.txcourts.gov) | The statewide court records portal. Free registration is required, documents are charged for, and the portal states it provides an unofficial copy |
| Texas State Law Library probate research guide (guides.sll.texas.gov), (844) 829-2843 toll free in Texas | The strongest government self-help source for Texas probate: general information, probating a will, executors, formal administration, informal methods, and legal forms |
| TexasCourtHelp.gov | General information and videos about making your way through the Texas court system |
| TexasLawHelp.org, wills, estate planning and probate (texaslawhelp.org) | Plain-language Texas probate articles and self-help toolkits from the Texas Legal Services Center, a non-profit |
| Lone Star Legal Aid, offices and counties served (lonestarlegal.org), intake (800) 733-8394 | Free civil legal help for eligible low-income residents. Lone Star Legal Aid's own office list names a Nacogdoches Office serving Nacogdoches County directly, alongside Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, Houston, Jasper, Newton, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby, and Tyler counties. Confirm it can take a decedent's estate matter before relying on it |
| State Bar of Texas Lawyer Referral and Information Service (texasbar.com), (800) 252-9690 | Referrals to Texas attorneys, Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central. The initial consultation is capped at $20 for 30 minutes |
| Texas law libraries directory (guides.sll.texas.gov) | The Texas State Law Library's curated directory of law libraries in Texas, organized by region |
| Texas Estates Code (statutes.capitol.texas.gov) | The statute itself, including the court structure provisions in chapter 32, venue in chapter 33, letters in chapter 306, and the inventory in chapter 309 |
When to hire an attorney
Because Nacogdoches County's own clerk and court web pages could not be reached this session, calling ahead matters even for an otherwise straightforward estate. Counsel earns its keep when a will or an appointment is likely to be challenged, when there is no will and the heirs have to be determined, when real property has to be sold or divided, when the estate is insolvent or a creditor is pressing, or when a business or out-of-state property is involved. If a matter becomes contested, the county court may transfer it to the County Court at Law of Nacogdoches County (Estates Code Section 32.004), a step that can change which judge and which procedures apply. County Clerk staff can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice. Sunset connects families to a vetted Texas probate attorney serving Nacogdoches County.
How Sunset helps
Find the accounts and assets. Sunset searches more than 2,300 financial institutions and public records to surface bank and credit union accounts, retirement plans, brokerage holdings, life insurance, Nacogdoches County real property, and unclaimed property, so you know what the estate holds and which route fits before anything is filed in the estate settlement.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the paperwork for your route, ready to file with the Nacogdoches County Clerk or e-file through eFileTexas.gov.
Find a local probate attorney. When a matter is contested, the county's own site is hard to reach, or the situation otherwise calls for counsel, Sunset connects families to a vetted Texas probate attorney serving Nacogdoches County.
Sunset is free for families. Revenue comes from bank partners that pay Sunset while estate funds sit in an FDIC-insured estate account ($3M coverage).
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file for probate in Nacogdoches County?
With the Nacogdoches County Clerk at the county courthouse, 101 W. Main Street, Nacogdoches, TX 75961. The case is heard concurrently by the County Court at Law of Nacogdoches County and the Nacogdoches County Court, the constitutional county court (Estates Code Section 32.002(b); Government Code Section 25.0003(d)). File in Nacogdoches County if the decedent lived here and had a domicile or fixed place of residence in Texas (Section 33.001(a)(1)).
Is e-filing required for probate in Nacogdoches County?
For attorneys, yes, under a statewide Supreme Court of Texas mandate that reached every county no later than July 1, 2016 (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1)). No Nacogdoches-specific e-filing notice could be confirmed this session because the county's own department pages are not currently reachable. Filing is through eFileTexas.gov; an unrepresented party may e-file but is not required to.
How much does it cost to file probate in Nacogdoches County?
The statewide statutory base is $360.00: a $223 local consolidated fee (Local Government Code Section 135.102(a)(1)) plus a $137 state consolidated fee (Section 133.151(a)(1)). No Nacogdoches County fee schedule could be located this session, so confirm the current total, including any per-service or sheriff posting fees, with the County Clerk by phone. A filer who cannot afford the cost files a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145).
Are there local probate forms in Nacogdoches County?
Not confirmed. No local forms could be located this session because the County Clerk's department pages are not currently reachable online. Texas has no comprehensive statewide set of probate procedure forms either, so expect the application, order, oath, and inventory to be drafted documents unless the Clerk's office says otherwise.
How do I look up a Nacogdoches County probate case online?
The Nacogdoches County Clerk runs its own Official Record Search at nacogdoches.tx.publicsearch.us, which lists Probates as a searchable record type alongside real property records, showing case number, page count, recorded date, and document status. The portal's own published pricing charges $1.00 per page for document copies and $5.00 for a certified copy. Documents e-filed in the case may also be reachable through the statewide re:SearchTX portal, which charges for documents and states it provides an unofficial copy.
What happens if someone contests a will in Nacogdoches County?
Because Nacogdoches County has a county court at law with probate jurisdiction, the mechanism is Estates Code Section 32.004: the judge of the county court may, on the judge's own motion, or shall, on the motion of any party, transfer the contested matter to the County Court at Law of Nacogdoches County, and may transfer the entire proceeding there as well.
Why is this Nacogdoches County page missing some details other county pages have?
Nacogdoches County's website is in the middle of moving to a new platform. As of this writing, its County Clerk, County Court at Law, County Judge, and District Clerk department pages could not be reached, so this page states only what could be verified from the county's own reachable pages, from Government Code Chapter 25, and from statewide Texas law, and flags what could not be confirmed rather than guessing.
Do I have to travel to Nacogdoches to settle an estate?
Attorneys must e-file through eFileTexas.gov, and an unrepresented party may e-file too. The original will has to reach the County Clerk within three business days of an e-filed application (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(12)). No remote appearance policy could be confirmed for hearings this session, so call the courthouse before assuming one is available.
Shaped by the families we've helped
Thank you to the thousands of families who have trusted Sunset to help settle their loved ones' estates. This page is shaped by the questions they actually asked and the obstacles they actually hit — and that hard-won experience is what keeps it accurate, current, and genuinely useful to the families who come next.