Last amended May 28, 2024 · Last verified June 28, 2026
In one sentenceRule 165a lets a court dismiss a case for want of prosecution when a party fails to appear or misses time standards, and sets a verified reinstatement procedure with a thirty-day deadline and a seventy-five-day cutoff.
1.Failure to Appear. A case may be dismissed for want of prosecution on failure of any party seeking affirmative relief to appear for any hearing or trial of which the party had notice. Notice of the court’s intention to dismiss and the date and place of the dismissal hearing must be sent by the clerk to the parties as provided in Rule 21(f)(10). At the dismissal hearing, the court must dismiss for want of prosecution unless there is good cause for the case to be maintained on the docket. If the court determines to maintain the case on the docket, it must render a pretrial order assigning a trial date for the case and setting deadlines for the joining of new parties, all discovery, filing of all pleadings, the making of a response or supplemental responses to discovery and other pretrial matters. The case may be continued thereafter only for valid and compelling reasons specifically determined by court order. The clerk must send any order to the parties as provided in Rule 21(f)(10). Failure to send notices and orders as required by this rule does not affect any of the periods mentioned in Rule 306a except as provided in that rule.
2.Non-Compliance With Time Standards. Any case not disposed of within time standards promulgated by the Supreme Court under its Administrative Rules may be placed on a dismissal docket.
3.Reinstatement. A motion to reinstate shall set forth the grounds therefor and be verified by the movant or his attorney. It shall be filed with the clerk within 30 days after the order of dismissal is signed or within the period provided by Rule 306a. A copy of the motion to reinstate shall be served on each attorney of record and each party not represented by an attorney whose address is shown on the docket or in the papers on file. The clerk shall deliver a copy of the motion to the judge, who shall set a hearing on the motion as soon as practicable. The court shall notify all parties or their attorneys of record of the date, time and place of the hearing. The court shall reinstate the case upon finding after a hearing that the failure of the party or his attorney was not intentional or the result of conscious indifference but was due to an accident or mistake or that the failure has been otherwise reasonably explained. In the event for any reason a motion for reinstatement is not decided by signed written order within seventy-five days after the judgment is signed, or, within such other time as may be allowed by Rule 306a, the motion shall be deemed overruled by operation of law. If a motion to reinstate is timely filed by any party, the trial court, regardless of whether an appeal has been perfected, has plenary power to reinstate the case until 30 days after all such timely filed motions are overruled, either by a written and signed order or by operation of law, whichever occurs first.
4.Cumulative Remedies. This dismissal and reinstatement procedure shall be cumulative of the rules and laws governing any other procedures available to the parties in such cases. The same reinstatement procedures and timetable are applicable to all dismissals for want of prosecution including cases which are dismissed pursuant to the court's inherent power, whether or not a motion to dismiss has been filed.
End
Plain-English Summary
Rule 165a is the dismissal-for-inaction rule. A court may dismiss a case for want of prosecution when a party seeking affirmative relief fails to appear for a hearing or trial it had notice of, after the clerk sends notice of the court's intention to dismiss. At the dismissal hearing, the court must dismiss unless there is good cause to keep the case, in which event it enters a pretrial order with a trial date and deadlines. A case may also go on a dismissal docket for missing the Supreme Court's time standards.
The rule gives a path back. A motion to reinstate must be verified, state the grounds, and be filed within thirty days after the dismissal order is signed. The court must reinstate if it finds the failure was not intentional or the result of conscious indifference, but was an accident or mistake or is otherwise reasonably explained. If the motion is not decided by signed order within seventy-five days after the judgment, it is overruled by operation of law, and the court keeps plenary power to reinstate until thirty days after the motion is overruled.
This dismissal-and-reinstatement procedure is cumulative of other dismissal powers, including a court's inherent power to dismiss.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is dismissal for want of prosecution in Texas?
Under Rule 165a, a court's dismissal of a case when the party seeking affirmative relief fails to appear for a hearing or trial, or the case misses the Supreme Court's time standards. Notice must be sent before dismissal.
How do you reinstate a case dismissed for want of prosecution?
File a verified motion to reinstate within thirty days of the dismissal order. The court must reinstate if the failure was not intentional or conscious indifference but an accident, mistake, or otherwise reasonably explained.
How long does a court have to rule on a motion to reinstate?
If not decided by signed order within seventy-five days after the judgment, the motion is overruled by operation of law. The court keeps plenary power until thirty days after that.
Source & verification. Rule text and the official Notes and Comments are reproduced verbatim from the
Texas Rules of Civil Procedure (Tex. R. Civ. P. 165a), published by the Texas Judicial Branch (txcourts.gov).
Promulgated by the Supreme Court of Texas. The plain-English summary is original and draws on official sources. Last verified June 28, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:dismissal for want of prosecutionDWOPmotion to reinstateconscious indifferenceTRCP 165a