§ 19.001.Application of Chapter
Title 2. Trial, Judgment, and Appeal · Subtitle B. Trial Matters · Chapter 19. Lost Records · Last amended 1985 · Last verified August 29, 2026
Full Text of § 19.001
Plain-English Summary
The scope of a chapter that exists because courthouses burn.
The chapter applies to two categories. First, a deed, bond, bill of sale, mortgage, deed of trust, power of attorney, or conveyance that is required or permitted by law to be acknowledged or recorded and that has been acknowledged or recorded. Second, a judgment, order, or decree of a court of record of this state.
The first category has a condition that is easy to read past. The instrument must in fact have been acknowledged or recorded. An unrecorded deed is outside the chapter — there is no public record to supply, and the original document is a lost private paper.
What the two categories share is that each is a record on which strangers rely. A chain of title and a court judgment both bind people who were never parties to the transaction, and each is proved by the public record rather than by anyone's memory. When the record disappears, private arrangements cannot fill the gap.
Texas counties have lost record rooms to fire, flood, and theft repeatedly, and the chapter is the standing answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What records can be replaced under this chapter?
Recorded conveyancing instruments — deeds, bonds, bills of sale, mortgages, deeds of trust, powers of attorney, and conveyances — that were acknowledged or recorded, and judgments, orders, and decrees of Texas courts of record.
Does it cover an unrecorded deed?
No. The instrument must have been acknowledged or recorded. There is no public record to supply.
Why does this chapter exist?
Because title chains and judgments bind people who were not parties, and are proved by the public record. When the record is destroyed, private evidence cannot substitute without a procedure.
Amendment History
- Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.