Legal Help Across North Texas
Fact-checked against primary sources
Your county decides which justice court hears a small claim or eviction, which mediation program is open to you, and which law library is nearest. Six counties come up most often for readers here: Tarrant, Dallas, Denton, Collin, Parker and Johnson.
None of the five counties we could reach matches cities to justice of the peace precincts in a table; each offers a map or address search instead.
Six counties side by side
| County | Find your JP precinct | County mediation program | Certified bar referral on State Bar list | Law library |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tarrant | "What is my precinct" address lookup, plus a precinct map PDF | Tarrant County Dispute Resolution: $30 per party outside court, $60 per party in a justice court case | Yes, Tarrant County Bar Association | Dell DeHay Law Library, Fort Worth |
| Dallas | ArcGIS district locator | Dallas County Dispute Resolution Center: court referral only, no fee so far | Yes, Dallas Bar Association | Dallas County Law Library, downtown Dallas |
| Denton | Precincts Search on the Landmark GIS site | Online Resolution Center for JP cases, no added cost; DCAP cost not published | No county bar service listed | Denton County Law Library, Denton |
| Collin | Interactive precinct map, plus a PDF | CCAP, court-ordered cases only; cost not published | No county bar service listed | Curt B. Henderson Law Library, McKinney |
| Parker | Precinct map PDF | None found | No county bar service listed | None found |
| Johnson | Not verified | Not verified | No county bar service listed | Not verified |
Finding your justice of the peace precinct
Tarrant has eight justice courts. Its justice court page links an address lookup and a countywide precinct map PDF that carries no city table. Dallas County runs ten courts across five precincts, two places apiece, and sends visitors to an ArcGIS locator. Denton County's six precincts are searchable through Precincts Search on its Landmark map site. Collin's four courts share an interactive map at maps.collincountytx.gov along with a PDF copy. Parker County elects JPs from four precincts and points residents to a 2026 precinct map in PDF form.
Johnson County's website returned an "Access Denied" error to every request, so nothing about its courts appears here.
County mediation programs and what they charge
Only Tarrant posts a full price list. Its county-run Dispute Resolution department charges $30 per party for a community mediation with no case on file and $60 per party when a justice court case is pending, with no eligibility limits on either, according to its request page.
The Dallas County Dispute Resolution Center takes only cases a court sends it, for parties who cannot afford a mediator. Its FAQ says no fee has been charged to date because the mediators volunteer. In Denton County, a judge can send a justice court civil case to the Online Resolution Center. Court costs fund it, so the parties owe nothing more.
Two programs leave the price unstated. Denton's DCAP, tied to the county bar association, appears in the Texas Judicial Branch's 2025 directory of dispute resolution centers, but we found no page of its own describing services or cost. Collin County's CCAP mediates court-ordered cases only, and its FAQ says fees depend on the level written into the court order.
We found no Parker County program, only a posted list of mediators for the 43rd District Court. The state directory shows no center for Parker or Johnson.
Lawyer referral and law libraries
Of local bar groups in these six counties, only the Tarrant County Bar Association and the Dallas Bar Association appear on the State Bar of Texas list of certified lawyer referral services. Dallas Bar's own page says its referrals reach Plano and Collin County. The list also names the statewide Texas Lawyer Referral Service.
Four counties run law libraries: Tarrant's at 100 W. Weatherford in Fort Worth, Dallas County's at 600 Commerce Street, Denton County's at 121 N Woodrow Lane in Denton, and Collin's at 2100 Bloomdale Rd. in McKinney. We found none for Parker, and Johnson could not be checked.
The city guides
Fort Worth spreads into five counties, and its guide covers the Tarrant offices in the city: four justice courts, the law library and the full mediation fee table.
Arlington has its own justice court on East Abram Street. Its page also covers the city's barking dog complaint steps, which point to county mediation.
Dallas covers all ten Dallas County justice courts, one court's 2026 filing fees, the referral-only mediation center and the Dallas Bar referral fee.
Denton lays out the six Denton County courts, e-filing rules that vary by precinct, and online resolution.
Plano centers on Collin County, where Precinct 3 sits on East Park Boulevard, and notes that Denton County lists Plano too.
Legal aid offices, law school clinics and state complaint agencies, county by county, are on find help. Crashes, deposits and wages are covered in the North Texas disputes and settlements guides.
- Fort WorthTarrant County
- ArlingtonTarrant County
- DallasDallas County
- DentonDenton County
- PlanoCollin County
- All six countiesFree and low-cost help
North Texas
Sources
- Tarrant County, Justice of the Peace Courts
- Tarrant County Dispute Resolution, Request a Mediation (fee schedule)
- Dallas County, Justice of the Peace and Justice Courts
- Dallas County Alternative Dispute Resolution, FAQs
- Denton County, Justice of the Peace / Constable Precinct Search
- Collin County, Justices of the Peace
- Parker County, Justice of the Peace Precinct One
- Texas Judicial Branch, 2025 Dispute Resolution Centers directory
- State Bar of Texas, Certified Lawyer Referral Services