Legal Help in Fort Worth and Tarrant County
Fact-checked against primary sources
Downtown Fort Worth holds most of Tarrant County's civil legal offices. The 1895 Courthouse at 100 W Weatherford Street houses Justice of the Peace Precinct 1, and the county law library has its own room at that same street address. Tarrant County Dispute Resolution, the county's mediation department, is listed further east on Weatherford Street.
The city reaches past one county line. Fort Worth's annual financial report describes the city as "located in Tarrant, Denton, Parker, Wise, and Johnson Counties." Tarrant County counts Fort Worth among its 41 incorporated areas, and Denton County lists it as well. This page covers the Tarrant County offices. Denton County's justice courts, law library and mediation options are on our Denton page, and the other city guides are collected under North Texas.
Justice courts with Fort Worth addresses
Tarrant County has eight justice courts, each led by a justice of the peace. The county describes the justice court as a trial court for civil cases with a jurisdictional limit of $20,000, along with many kinds of misdemeanor criminal cases. Four of the eight list a street address inside Fort Worth:
| Court | Judge | Location | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Precinct 1 | Ralph Swearingin Jr. | 1895 Courthouse, 100 W Weatherford Street, Room 450, Fort Worth 76196 | 817-884-1395 |
| Precinct 5 | Sergio L. De Leon | Tarrant County Criminal Justice Annex, 350 W. Belknap St., First Floor, Fort Worth 76102 | 817-884-1438 |
| Precinct 6 | Jason Charbonnet | Southwest Subcourthouse, 6551 Granbury Road, Fort Worth 76133 | 817-370-4525 |
| Precinct 8 | Lisa R. Woodard | Poly Subcourthouse, 3500 Miller Avenue, Fort Worth 76119 | 817-531-5625 |
The rest sit in Arlington, Hurst (plus Southlake), Lake Worth and Mansfield. A court's street address does not tell you which precinct covers your own address, and Tarrant County does not publish a list matching cities or neighborhoods to precincts. What it publishes instead is a map finder: the "What is my precinct" lookup, where you search by address, and a Justice Precincts Map PDF titled "Tarrant County Justice of the Peace / Constable Precincts," which shows boundaries but carries no city table.
Small claims, debt claims, evictions and repair cases
The county's Forms Online page defines the four civil case types heard in its justice courts: eviction, small claims, debt claim, and repair and remedy. For each one it sets the same ceiling: "no more than $20,000, excluding statutory interest and court costs but including attorney fees, if any." Our guides to small claims in Texas, the eviction process and a tenant's repair rights walk through how each kind of case moves.
Paper filing is described plainly on that page: print the form, then mail it or bring it in person to the justice court. Some forms must be sworn, and the county says you can use a notary or sign in front of a court clerk who verifies your signature. An eviction complaint has to be filed in triplicate, meaning three identical copies.
The 2024 filing fee schedule, effective January 1, 2024, lists these charges among others:
- Original justice suit or eviction suit against one defendant: $54
- Electronic filing: $2
- Jury fee: $22
- Writ of possession: $5
- Motion for new trial: $54
The schedule states that its fees "Do Not Include Constable Service Fees," which the Commissioners Court sets separately.
Dell DeHay Law Library
The Dell DeHay Law Library of Tarrant County is in Room 420 at 100 W. Weatherford, Fort Worth 76196, open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (phone 817-884-1481, lawlibrary@tarrantcountytx.gov). The county states that it "is open to the public" and that "Staff cannot provide legal advice."
Inside, computer workstations carry public access subscriptions to Lexis, Westlaw, Bloomberg Law and HeinOnline. Searching costs nothing; printing runs 25 cents a page, and photocopies are 20 cents each. The library does not charge for printing protective order paperwork.
Tarrant County Dispute Resolution
Tarrant County Dispute Resolution (DR) says it serves "residents, businesses, organizations and the courts." Its main line is 817-884-2257 (DR@tarrantcountytx.gov), with hours of Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Texas Judicial Branch's 2025 directory places the office at 200 E Weatherford St, Ste 2112, Fort Worth 76196.
Its caseload spans consumer complaints and unpaid debts, divorce and custody, job conflicts, rental disputes, neighbor nuisances and property damage. The county says its mediators guide the conversation without giving legal advice or deciding anything. They are volunteers, and the county's rules say each one is "not an agent or employee of Tarrant County."
The published fee schedule:
| Program | Fee | Who qualifies |
|---|---|---|
| Community or non-court mediation | $30 per party | No eligibility restrictions |
| Justice court cases | $60 per party | No eligibility restrictions |
| District court, county court at law civil, family and probate cases | $120 per party for four hours, then $30 per party per hour (up to four more hours) | Participants with a family income of $110,000 or less, individual income of $60,000 or less, or under financial hardship |
| Juvenile services mediation | None | Juvenile Services referral only |
Fees go straight to the mediator "in cash or via a cash app prior to the start of the mediation." For district court family or civil cases, the county adds: "Those participants found to be indigent or having financial hardship shall have their fees paid to the mediator by Dispute Resolution." Someone who believes they cannot pay the fees may seek assistance through an Inability to Pay filed with the District Clerk, and the county points to the Dell DeHay Law Library for that form. A case starts with the county's civil or family request form; DR then contacts the other side and schedules a session once both agree or a court orders it. Our explainers on how mediation works and what mediation costs cover the process in general.
The City of Fort Worth's own mediation program is narrower. Its Police Oversight office (OPOM) offers Community-Police Mediation, a dialogue between residents and officers for complaints such as "Rudeness/Discourteousness, Neglect of Duty and Unprofessionalism." It is not a neighbor or tenant program.
Legal aid and lawyer referral
Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas runs its Fort Worth office at 600 East Weatherford St., Fort Worth 76102 (817-336-3943). That office lists Tarrant among the seven counties it serves, together with Erath, Hood, Johnson, Palo Pinto, Parker and Somervell. Applications also go through the Legal Aid Line at 888-529-5277 or the organization's online intake. Requirements include a low income and a civil law matter, which rules out criminal issues and personal injury cases. The find help page quotes the full eligibility list. The organization asks people to call their local office directly when a legal issue "has a specific deadline" or when they "have been served with a lawsuit."
For a paid lawyer, the Tarrant County Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Service says it "has operated as the only certified lawyer referral service in Tarrant County" since 1992, and the State Bar of Texas certified list includes it at (817) 336-4101. The association is at 1315 Calhoun Street, Fort Worth 76102. Its consultation fee was not shown on the pages we could reach. For topics beyond Fort Worth, the full guide library covers settlements, disputes and tenant and worker rights across the region.
Where to start in Fort Worth
- A crash on a Fort Worth road: our settlements hub and car accident claims. TxDOT's 2025 county table counts 30,433 reportable crashes and 190 deaths in Tarrant County, from reports processed as of April 7, 2026.
- Money owed to you under $20,000: the disputes hub, and how demand letters work.
- A landlord problem: the rights hub, security deposits and evictions.
- A debt collector calling: debt collection rights.
- Free and low-cost help across all six counties: find help.
- ArlingtonTarrant County
- DallasDallas County
- DentonDenton County
- PlanoCollin County
- All six countiesFree and low-cost help
Sources
- Tarrant County, Justice of the Peace Courts
- Tarrant County Justice Courts, Forms Online (case definitions)
- Tarrant County, 2024 Justice of the Peace Filing Fee Schedule
- Dell DeHay Law Library of Tarrant County
- Dell DeHay Law Library, Law Library Services
- Tarrant County Dispute Resolution
- Tarrant County Dispute Resolution, What Is Mediation?
- Tarrant County Dispute Resolution, Request a Mediation (fee schedule)
- Texas Judicial Branch, 2025 Dispute Resolution Centers directory
- City of Fort Worth, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report FY2024 (city profile)
- City of Fort Worth, OPOM Mediation
- State Bar of Texas, Certified Lawyer Referral Services
- TxDOT, Crashes and Injuries by County 2025