Foard County Court Record Requests
Jurisdiction comes first. The District Clerk side of the combined office holds 46th District Court files. Those cover district civil, felony, family, juvenile, and related matters. The County Clerk side handles the constitutional County Court, with its criminal, civil, probate, juvenile, and mental-health files. Foard County Justice of the Peace records stay with that court. Crowell Municipal Court keeps city ordinance and Class C citation files. A broad request aimed at "the county" can land with the wrong custodian.
The official Foard County website posts no trial-court search link and no court-copy order form. Instead, call the County and District Clerk at (940) 684-1365. Or stop at the courthouse counter at 101 S. Main Street in Crowell. You can mail details to P.O. Box 539, Crowell, TX 79227. Another option is clerk@foardcounty.texas.gov, an address listed in the state directory. The county contact forms can open an inquiry. But they lack case-number, delivery, certification, and payment fields.
- Identify the court, party names, and cause number if known.
- Name the exact docket sheet, filing, judgment, order, or transcript sought.
- Choose inspection, phone, mail, email, fax, or the proper official online search.
- Ask whether a plain or certified copy is available and request a full fee quote.
- Confirm payment instructions, delivery, and likely completion time before sending funds.
Foard County Clerk File Split
The local office identifies Paula Moore as both County Clerk and 46th District Clerk. Official county minutes from July 2025 also call her County and District Clerk. Older state verification lists another officeholder, so current county pages are the better starting point. The combined counter does not merge the files. Staff still retrieve each request under the court that owns the case.
The official County Clerk profile shows the local office route. It also says that the clerk and staff cannot give legal advice. Ask for an existing record, not an opinion on which paper proves a claim. The office image below points to the right local starting place, while the records remain divided by court.
The District Clerk's published duties cover custody, document security, docketing, indexing, recording, fee collection, courtroom support, and docket management help. Those duties explain the limits. The clerk can hand you an index or a filed item, but the office cannot tell a party what to file next.
Kinds of Foard County Court Records
Think of the docket as the chronological index. Behind it sits the file, which may hold the papers that created each entry. Asking for "everything" invites delay or a bigger copy quote. A focused request helps the clerk find the useful item and decide whether public access applies.
- Docket sheets and event registers showing filed or scheduled activity.
- Petitions, complaints, indictments, answers, motions, affidavits, and notices.
- Orders, judgments, writs, bonds, and public disposition records.
- Public exhibits and attachments, subject to sealing and redaction.
- Reporter’s records or transcripts, which may require the court reporter’s route.
- Appellate filings held by the Seventh Court of Appeals.
Real-property instruments and birth, death, or marriage records also pass through the County Clerk. They are not Foard County court case records, though. Their posted fees are not a court-copy price. Federal files work differently too. Those run through PACER and a federal clerk, not the Foard office.
Foard County Docket or Case File
A docket can show that a pleading was filed, a hearing was set, or an order was signed. It may do all this without displaying the document image. re:SearchTX offers Cases, Filings, Text, and Hearings search modes. Its official guide says a case result can open details and filings. But the state's 2024 report says the collection excludes criminal case records. Current Foard coverage is not confirmed. Account access and document charges may also apply.
| Source | Best use | Important limit |
|---|---|---|
| Docket sheet | Trace dates and case events | An entry is not the filed document |
| Case file | Read available pleadings and orders | Some pages may be sealed or redacted |
| re:SearchTX | Search available cases, filings, and hearings | Foard coverage is unconfirmed; criminal records are excluded |
| Clerk request | Seek a named local file or certified copy | Fees and timing require confirmation |
An online result may give you a cause number and no image. Put that number in the clerk request. The Foard County docket search explains how the county, state, municipal, and appellate paths differ.
Foard County Court Records: Contents
Labels vary by court. No public Foard sample offers a local code list. A clerk-produced record may still use common Texas court terms. Do not guess that a short code means reset, dismissal, bond, or warrant. When asking what the record reflects, give the clerk the exact entry text.
| Case or Cause Number | The court identifier used to retrieve the file. |
|---|---|
| Style or Parties | Names identifying the matter, subject to confidentiality rules. |
| Docket Sheet | A dated list of filings, events, settings, and rulings. |
| Pleadings | Petitions, answers, motions, notices, and other filed papers. |
| Orders and Judgments | Signed rulings or the final outcome, when public. |
| Document Image | The scanned or electronic filing, which may need a separate request or fee. |
A public record can omit private data. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21c covers redaction of Social Security numbers, financial-account data, birth dates, home addresses, and minor children's names. The clerk supplies the version that may lawfully be inspected.
Foard County Courthouse Records Desk
The courthouse anchors county and district requests in person. Call ahead. Foard County publishes no records-counter hours, floor plan, public-terminal location, or copy turnaround. Ask whether in-office inspection or a public terminal is available. The one specific accessibility direction says to use the west basement door.
The Texas Historical Commission marker records the courthouse's history. The building was completed in 1910 in Classical Revival form. It once had a domed cupola and a Lady Justice statue. A 1942 tornado took those features off, though the basic building form survived.
Official sources point to this historic courthouse itself, not a separate records annex. Bring the cause number. Ask for the right clerk function, and confirm counter access before making the trip.
Foard County Copy Fees and Certification
A plain copy just shows what the file says. A certified copy carries the clerk's formal attestation, and some offices will only accept that version as proof. Foard County publishes no fee schedule for court docket copies, searches, certifications, authentication, or electronic access. It makes no promise of same-day service either. Before any work begins, get the full price and ask which payment methods the clerk takes.
| Item | Published Foard fee | Request step |
|---|---|---|
| Plain court copy | Not published | Ask about per-page and delivery costs |
| Certified court copy | Not published | Specify certification when ordering |
| Search or authentication | Not published | Ask whether a separate charge applies |
| District transcript | Not published | Ask the coordinator or reporter for the route |
The Seventh Court of Appeals sets its own appellate fees. Those numbers are not Foard County clerk rates. Do not rely on the county's deed or vital-record fee schedule for court copies, and confirm cash, check, money order, card, or electronic payment before mailing anything.
Foard County and District Clerk
101 South Main
P.O. Box 539, Crowell, TX 79227
(940) 684-1365
Foard County District Transcripts
A transcript and a docket sheet answer different questions. The docket lists events and filings in a case. A reporter's record captures what was said in proceedings the court reporter prepared. For the 46th District Court, the state directory lists Leslie Ryan-Hash as the reporter, and the district court telephone is (940) 552-7051. That office sits in Vernon. The reason is simple: the 46th District Court serves several counties, not just Foard.
Before requesting anything, call. Ask whether a record exists, which dates you need, how the request must be made, and how the cost is figured. Do not assume the Vernon office means every Foard County hearing happened there. It did not. A good request names the Foard County cause number, the hearing date, the court, and the parties, so the clerk never confuses it with a Hardeman or Wilbarger County matter.
Rule 12 and Foard Court Records
The Texas Public Information Act will not unlock every court file. Judicial records are handled differently. Government Code section 552.0035 keeps information held by or for the judiciary under Supreme Court rules instead. Other applicable law can govern too. That means an ordinary pleading, order, or judgment sits with the responsible clerk, where standard court-record access rules apply.
Rule 12 of the Texas Rules of Judicial Administration is a different door. It covers qualifying judicial records that do not pertain to a court's adjudicative function. Papers in a Foard County case do not become administrative records just because someone wants them. A proper Rule 12 request must be written. It must describe the item well. The rule also carries its own response and appeal steps, and its general 14-day response framework applies to qualifying items only. Do not count on Rule 12 for an ordinary Foard County case file at the clerk's office.
Access Rules for Foard Court Records
Public access has limits. Juvenile law, a sealing order, sensitive-data rules, or a case-specific statute can close part or all of a file. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 76a presumes civil court records are open. Sealing is allowed only under the rule's stated test and process. The parties agreeing among themselves is not enough.
Texas access rules: Government Code chapter 552 distinguishes judiciary material from ordinary agency records. Texas Rule of Judicial Administration 12 governs qualifying non-adjudicative judicial records. Civil Rules 21c and 76a address sensitive data and civil sealing.
If a clerk denies access to Foard County court records, press gently. Ask which statute, rule, or order applies. Also ask whether a redacted copy could be released instead. Rule 12 denials carry their own remedy: an appeal to the OCA Administrative Director. That path is narrow, though. It does not settle every court-file dispute. A fight over a sealing order is different still. That one calls for a lawyer, not for clerk staff asked to interpret the law.