Texas TROs and temporary injunctions: fourteen days, a bond with two sureties, and a trial setting
Texas procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
Texas injunction practice has three requirements that catch people, and two of them are conditions of the order's validity rather than mere formalities.
A TRO without notice — and the 14 days
TRCP 680:
No temporary restraining order shall be granted without notice to the adverse party unless it clearly appears from specific facts shown by affidavit or by the verified complaint that immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage will result to the applicant before notice can be served and a hearing had thereon.
Every TRO granted without notice must:
- be endorsed with the date and hour of issuance;
- be filed forthwith in the clerk's office and entered of record;
- define the injury and state why it is irreparable, and state why the order was granted without notice; and
- expire by its terms within such time after signing, not to exceed fourteen days, as the court fixes — unless within that time the order is extended for a like period for good cause shown, or the adverse party consents.
Fourteen days, running from signing, with the hour endorsed on the face of the order because of it. The structure closely parallels FRCP 65(b), and the 14-day figure is the same.
TRCP 680 also requires that a motion to dissolve be heard on two days' notice, and that where a TRO is granted without notice the application for temporary injunction be set down for hearing at the earliest possible date, taking precedence over all other matters except older matters of the same character.
The bond has an unusual requirement
TRCP 684:
In the order granting any temporary restraining order or temporary injunction, the court shall fix the amount of security to be given by the applicant. Before the issuance of the temporary restraining order or temporary injunction the applicant shall execute and file with the clerk a bond to the adverse party, with two or more good and sufficient sureties, to be approved by the clerk, in the sum fixed by the judge …
Two features distinguish this from the federal rule.
Two or more sureties. FRCP 65(c) requires "security in an amount that the court considers proper" without specifying its form. Texas requires a bond with at least two good and sufficient sureties, approved by the clerk.
Before issuance. The bond is a precondition, not a follow-up.
The bond is conditioned that the applicant "will abide the decision which may be made in the cause, and that he will pay all sums of money and costs that may be adjudged against him if the restraining order or temporary injunction shall be dissolved in whole or in part."
The rule then exempts the State, a municipality, a State agency and a subdivision of the State acting in their governmental capacity from the bond requirement.
Every order has to describe what it forbids
TRCP 683:
Every order granting an injunction and every restraining order shall set forth the reasons for its issuance; shall be specific in terms; shall describe in reasonable detail and not by reference to the complaint or other document, the act or acts sought to be restrained; and is binding only upon the parties to the action, their officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and upon those persons in active concert or participation with them who receive actual notice of the order by personal service or otherwise.
Identical in substance to FRCP 65(d). An order that enjoins "the conduct complained of in Plaintiff's petition" does not comply — and Texas appellate courts have treated Rule 683 defects as rendering an order void, not merely voidable, which is a harsher consequence than the federal analogue produces.
The trial-setting requirement is unique
Same rule, and it has no counterpart in the federal rules:
Every order granting a temporary injunction shall include an order setting the cause for trial on the merits with respect to the ultimate relief sought. The appeal of a temporary injunction shall constitute no cause for delay of the trial.
A temporary injunction order that does not set the case for trial is defective under Rule 683. This is one of the most commonly litigated defects in Texas injunction practice, and it is entirely avoidable — the trial date goes in the order.
The order of the three devices
Texas distinguishes three things that federal practice collapses into two:
| Device | Duration | Notice | Bond |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temporary restraining order | not to exceed 14 days, one like extension | may issue without notice on the Rule 680 showing | required before issuance — TRCP 684 |
| Temporary injunction | until trial on the merits | requires notice and a hearing | required before issuance — TRCP 684 |
| Permanent injunction | final relief | after trial | — |
TRCP 681: "No temporary injunction shall be issued without notice to the adverse party." TRCP 682 requires the application to be supported by affidavit or verified petition setting out a cause of action and the grounds.
Compared with the federal rule
| Texas | Federal | |
|---|---|---|
| TRO without notice | affidavit or verified complaint showing immediate and irreparable injury before notice can be served | affidavit or verified complaint + attorney certification of notice efforts |
| TRO duration | 14 days from signing, one like extension | 14 days from entry, one like extension |
| Motion to dissolve | 2 days' notice | 2 days' notice |
| Security | bond with two or more sureties, before issuance | security in an amount the court considers proper |
| Order contents | reasons, specific terms, reasonable detail, not by reference | reasons, specific terms, reasonable detail, not by reference |
| Trial setting in the order | required for a temporary injunction | not required |
| Government exemption | State, municipality, agency, subdivision | United States, its officers and agencies |
The one requirement Texas lacks is the federal attorney certification about efforts to give notice — TRCP 680 requires the order to state why it issued without notice, but not a separate certification from counsel.
A short checklist
Applying:
- Verify the petition or attach an affidavit with specific facts — TRCP 680 and 682.
- Prepare the bond with two sureties and get it filed before the order issues.
- Draft the order to comply with Rule 683: reasons, specific terms, the acts restrained described in detail without referring to the petition.
- If you're seeking a temporary injunction, put the trial setting in the order. Rule 683 requires it.
- Calendar 14 days from signing for a TRO, and set the temporary-injunction hearing immediately.
Responding:
- Check Rule 683 compliance first — a defective order is vulnerable on its face.
- Check the bond — it must have been filed before issuance, with two or more sureties.
- Two days' notice is all you need to move to dissolve a TRO granted without notice.
- Check the trial setting if a temporary injunction issued.
Where these rules live
- Tex. R. Civ. P. 680 — Temporary Restraining Order
- Tex. R. Civ. P. 681 — Temporary Injunction: Notice
- Tex. R. Civ. P. 682 — Sworn Petition
- Tex. R. Civ. P. 683 — Form and Scope of Injunction or Restraining Order
- Tex. R. Civ. P. 684 — Applicant's Bond
- Tex. R. Civ. P. 687 — Requisites of Writ
For forms and step-by-step help, the Texas courts point to TexasLawHelp.org. This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and the substantive standard for injunctive relief comes from case law this site doesn't cover.