§ 18.002.Form of Affidavit

Title 2. Trial, Judgment, and Appeal · Subtitle B. Trial Matters · Chapter 18. Evidence · Subchapter A. Documentary Evidence · Last amended 2013 · Last verified August 29, 2026

In one sentenceSection 18.002 supplies model affidavit forms — one for the provider, one for the records custodian, and a 2013 medical-expenses form requiring the amounts paid and still owed — none of them exclusive.

Full Text of § 18.002

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (b-1) (b-2) (c)

(a)An affidavit concerning cost and necessity of services by the person who provided the service is sufficient if it follows the following form: No. ___________________ AFFIDAVIT Before me, the undersigned authority, personally appeared __________(NAME OF AFFIANT)__________, who, being by me duly sworn, deposed as follows: My name is __________(NAME OF AFFIANT)__________. I am of sound mind and capable of making this affidavit. On __________(DATE)__________, I provided a service to __________(NAME OF PERSON WHO RECEIVED SERVICE)__________. An itemized statement of the service and the charge for the service is attached to this affidavit and is a part of this affidavit. The service I provided was necessary and the amount that I charged for the service was reasonable at the time and place that the service was provided. ________________________________ Affiant SWORN TO AND SUBSCRIBED before me on the __________ day of __________, 19___. My commission expires: ______________________ ________________________________ Notary Public, State of Texas Notary's printed name: John Doe ) IN THE _______ (Name of Plaintiff) ) COURT IN AND FOR v. ) _________ COUNTY, John Roe ) TEXAS (Name of Defendant) ) ________________________________

(b)An affidavit concerning cost and necessity of services by the person who is in charge of records showing the service provided and the charge made is sufficient if it follows the following form: No. ___________________ AFFIDAVIT Before me, the undersigned authority, personally appeared ______(NAME OF AFFIANT)______, who, being by me duly sworn, deposed as follows: My name is __________(NAME OF AFFIANT)__________. I am of sound mind and capable of making this affidavit. I am the person in charge of records of __________(PERSON WHO PROVIDED THE SERVICE)__________. Attached to this affidavit are records that provide an itemized statement of the service and the charge for the service that __________(PERSON WHO PROVIDED THE SERVICE)__________ provided to __________ (PERSON WHO RECEIVED THE SERVICE)__________ on __________(DATE)__________. The attached records are a part of this affidavit. The attached records are kept by me in the regular course of business. The information contained in the records was transmitted to me in the regular course of business by __________(PERSON WHO PROVIDED THE SERVICE)__________ or an employee or representative of __________(PERSON WHO PROVIDED THE SERVICE)__________ who had personal knowledge of the information. The records were made at or near the time or reasonably soon after the time that the service was provided. The records are the original or an exact duplicate of the original. The service provided was necessary and the amount charged for the service was reasonable at the time and place that the service was provided. ________________________________ Affiant SWORN TO AND SUBSCRIBED before me on the __________ day of John Doe ) IN THE _______ (Name of Plaintiff) ) COURT IN AND FOR v. ) _________ COUNTY, John Roe ) TEXAS (Name of Defendant) ) __________, 19___. My commission expires: ______________________ ________________________________ Notary Public, State of Texas Notary's printed name: ________________________________

(b-1)Notwithstanding Subsection (b), an affidavit concerning proof of medical expenses is sufficient if it substantially complies with the following form: Affidavit of Records Custodian of ____________________________________________ STATE OF TEXAS § § COUNTY OF _____________________§ Before me, the undersigned authority, personally appeared __________, who, being by me duly sworn, deposed as follows: My name is ___________________________________. I am of sound mind and capable of making this affidavit, and personally acquainted with the facts herein stated. I am a custodian of records for __________. Attached to this affidavit are records that provide an itemized statement of the service and the charge for the service that __________ provided to __________ on _____. The attached records are a part of this affidavit. The attached records are kept by __________ in the regular course of business, and it was the regular course of business of __________ for an employee or representative of __________, with knowledge of the service provided, to make the record or to transmit information to be included in the record. The records were made in the regular course of business at or near the time or reasonably soon after the time the service was provided. The records are the original or a duplicate of the original. The services provided were necessary and the amount charged for the services was reasonable at the time and place that the services were provided. The total amount paid for the services was $_____ and the amount currently unpaid but which __________ has a right to be paid after any adjustments or credits is $_____. ________________________________ Affiant SWORN TO AND SUBSCRIBED before me on the __________ day of _____, _____. ________________________________ Notary Public, State of Texas Notary's printed name:___________ My commission expires:___________

(b-2)If a medical bill or other itemized statement attached to an affidavit under Subsection (b-1) reflects a charge that is not recoverable, the reference to that charge is not admissible.

(c)The form of an affidavit provided by this section is not exclusive and an affidavit that substantially complies with Section 18.001 is sufficient.

End

Plain-English Summary

The statutory forms for the cost-and-necessity affidavit, reproduced in full in the rule text above.

Subsection (a) gives the form for the person who provided the service. Subsection (b) gives the form for the person in charge of records, and its recitals track the business records exception — the records are kept in the regular course of business, the information was transmitted by someone with personal knowledge, and they were made at or near the time of the service.

Subsection (b-1), added in 2013, is the one that matters most in practice. It is a records-custodian form specific to medical expenses, and it requires two figures the older forms do not: the total amount paid for the services, and the amount currently unpaid which the provider has a right to be paid after any adjustments or credits.

Those two numbers exist because of the paid-or-incurred rule, which limits recovery of medical expenses to the amount "actually paid or incurred." An affidavit reciting only the billed charge would not establish the recoverable figure. This form makes the affidavit produce it.

Subsection (b-2) follows through: if a bill or itemized statement attached to a (b-1) affidavit reflects a charge that is not recoverable, the reference to that charge is not admissible. The written-off amount does not reach the jury through the exhibit.

Subsection (c) keeps the forms from becoming a trap. The form provided by the section is not exclusive, and an affidavit that substantially complies with the affidavit section is sufficient. The 2013 medical form is itself measured by substantial compliance.

The older forms still carry a blank reading "19___" for the year, a relic of their 1993 enactment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to use the exact form in the statute?

No. The forms are not exclusive, and an affidavit that substantially complies with Section 18.001 is sufficient.

What is different about the medical expenses form?

The 2013 form in subsection (b-1) requires the total amount paid for the services and the amount still owed after adjustments or credits — the figures the paid-or-incurred rule makes recoverable.

What happens to a charge that is not recoverable?

If it appears in a bill attached to a (b-1) affidavit, the reference to that charge is not admissible.

Which form do I use?

Subsection (a) for the person who provided the service, subsection (b) for a records custodian, and subsection (b-1) for medical expenses.

Amendment History

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 248, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1993.
Amended by:
Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 560 (S.B. 679), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2013.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from Texas Legislature Online (statutes.capitol.texas.gov). Enacted by the Texas Legislature. Current through May 14, 2026. Last verified August 29, 2026. · Official source