§ 30.015.Provision of Current Address of Party in Civil Action

The companion to the pleading identification requirement, and this one is about staying reachable.

Each party or the party's attorney must provide the clerk with written notice of the party's name, the current residence or business address, and for an individual, the last three digits of the social security number or of the Texas driver's license.

Note the "or" here. The pleading provision requires both numbers; this one accepts either.

Subsection (b) exempts a party who has not appeared or answered — unless the party is the defendant in a tax suit. A defendant who has not appeared cannot sensibly be required to file anything; the tax suit exception exists because those judgments run against property and the owner's address is what the taxing authority needs.

The timing is at the filing of the initial pleading, or not later than the seventh day after the clerk requests the information.

Subsection (d) makes it a continuing duty: if the address changes during the action, the party or attorney must provide written notice of the new address.

Subsections (e) and (f): the trial court may assess a fine of not more than $50 for a failure, and it is a defense that the party or attorney could not reasonably obtain and provide the information. Subsection (g) was repealed in 1999.

The purpose is that the clerk can reach a party with notices and settings. A case in which nobody can be found stalls, and the modest fine reflects that this is an administrative requirement rather than a substantive one.