Enforcing Foreign Judgments

Enforcing a foreign judgment from another state in Texas: Do not be concerned if your judgment is from another state, it can be enforced in Texas.

Enforcing a foreign judgment in Texas:

The term “foreign judgment” means a decree or order of a court of the United States or of any other court that is entitled to full faith and credit under the US Constitution in Texas.

The Texas Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act (“UEFJA“) governs the domestication of foreign judgments in Texas.  The UEFJA sets out a process for taking a judgment from a U.S. federal court or another state’s court and turning it into a Texas judgment. That is, “domesticating” the judgment.

Note: in order to enforce a foreign judgment you need to provide us a copy of the judgment known as an Exemplified Judgment. The court clerk in the court that issued the judgment can normally provide this to you. We discuss obtaining an exemplified copy of judgment here.

After following the proper steps, the judgment is “domesticated.” It is then treated as a Texas judgment for all intents and purposes. It can then be abstracted and executed upon. Under the UEFJA, when a copy of a properly authenticated foreign judgment is filed with the clerk of any Texas court of competent jurisdiction,  it will be treated in the same manner as a judgment of the court in which the foreign judgment is filed.  It has the same effect and is subject to the same procedures, defenses, and proceedings for reopening, vacating, staying, enforcing, or satisfying a judgment as a judgment of the court in which it is filed.

Enforcing a foreign judgment in Texas means filing an affidavit with the Texas clerk.  The affidavit must show the name and last known post office address of both the judgment creditor and the judgment debtor.

The filing of a final, valid and subsisting foreign judgment using these procedures not only initiates enforcement proceedings, but also automatically creates an enforceable Texas state judgment.

We are Dallas Collections Lawyers. Please contact us with any questions about collecting your debt.