Rule 278.Submission of Questions, Definitions, and Instructions
Last amended January 1, 1988 · Last verified June 28, 2026
In one sentenceRule 278 requires the court to submit the questions, definitions, and instructions raised by the written pleadings and the evidence, and preserves a complaint about an omitted one only if a substantially correct version was requested in writing.
Full Text of Rule 278
Text size
The court shall submit the questions, instructions and definitions in the form provided by Rule 277, which are raised by the written pleadings and the evidence. Except in trespass to try title, statutory partition proceedings, and other special proceedings in which the pleadings are specially defined by statutes or procedural rules, a party shall not be entitled to any submission of any question raised only by a general denial and not raised by affirmative written pleading by that party. Nothing herein shall change the burden of proof from what it would have been under a general denial. A judgment shall not be reversed because of the failure to submit other and various phases or different shades of the same question. Failure to submit a question shall not be deemed a ground for reversal of the judgment, unless its submission, in substantially correct wording, has been requested in writing and tendered by the party complaining of the judgment; provided, however, that objection to such failure shall suffice in such respect if the question is one relied upon by the opposing party. Failure to submit a definition or instruction shall not be deemed a ground for reversal of the judgment unless a substantially correct definition or instruction has been requested in writing and tendered by the party complaining of the judgment.
End
Plain-English Summary
Rule 278 sets what the charge must include and how to preserve a gap in it. The court submits the questions, instructions, and definitions, in the form Rule 277 provides, that are raised by the written pleadings and the evidence. A party generally cannot get submission of a matter raised only by a general denial and not by affirmative pleading, and the rule does not shift the burden of proof.
For preservation, failing to submit a question is not a ground for reversal unless the complaining party requested it in substantially correct wording, in writing — though an objection suffices where the question is one the opposing party relied on. The same substantially-correct-request rule applies to an omitted definition or instruction.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must be included in a Texas jury charge?
Under Rule 278, the questions, definitions, and instructions raised by the written pleadings and the evidence. A matter raised only by a general denial generally cannot be submitted.
How do you preserve error for an omitted jury question in Texas?
By tendering a substantially correct version of the question in writing. Rule 278 makes that a condition of reversal, except where the question is one the opposing party relied on.
Source & verification. Rule text and the official Notes and Comments are reproduced verbatim from the
Texas Rules of Civil Procedure (Tex. R. Civ. P. 278), 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:submission of questionsraised by the pleadings and evidencesubstantially correct wordingTRCP 278