How to Search Civil Dockets
Civil work in Dawson County is divided by court. District civil, family, and land cases start with the District Clerk and the 106th Judicial District Court. County Court and probate records start instead with the County Clerk. Smaller civil claims and forcible-detainer cases go to the Justice Court. Municipal courts do not handle the general civil route.
Bring the cause number if you have it. A name alone works better with the case type, an approximate filing date, and the likely court. re:SearchTX covers integrated Texas cases, filings, documents, and hearings. Its Dawson County coverage and access can be partial.
- Identify district, county, probate, or justice jurisdiction.
- Search the full cause number before trying a party name.
- Filter Dawson County results by court, case type, and date.
- Compare parties, filing date, events, and current settings.
- Ask the custodian for a named document or certified copy.
Dawson Civil Court Routes
Civil cases are sorted by subject and jurisdiction. The county label alone will not tell you where a file sits. Because Dawson County's district court also serves more than one county, the court and county filters matter when you run a docket search.
| Civil matter | Court route | Custodian |
|---|---|---|
| Divorce, family, land title, general district civil | 106th District Court | District Clerk |
| County-level civil or probate | Dawson County Court | County Clerk |
| Small civil claim or forcible detainer | Dawson County Justice Court | JP clerk |
| Federal civil case | Northern District of Texas | PACER or federal clerk |
Texas sorts its trial courts into layers, and the statewide trial-court overview spells out how that structure works. For a close jurisdiction question in Dawson County, ask the clerk to confirm which local route your civil filing must take.
What a Civil Docket Shows
A Dawson County civil docket lists what has happened in a case, in order. You can expect the caption, cause number, and parties. You will also see the date the petition was filed. Answers, motions, service events, settings, orders, and the judgment round it out. One caution: an entry and the document behind it are not the same thing. An online court record may describe a filing without showing its image.
| Cause number | The court-assigned identifier. Local 106th forms use “Cause No.” |
|---|---|
| Parties | The named people or entities on each side of the matter. |
| Filings | Petitions, answers, notices, exhibits, and other submitted papers. |
| Settings | Requested or granted hearings, submissions, trials, or deadlines. |
| Orders and judgment | Court actions, including a final judgment or dismissal when entered. |
Dawson County publishes no official list of case-number prefixes, so treat a sample like YYYY-CV-##### as an illustration only. It is not the county's real format, and the clerk can tell you what the actual numbering looks like on a civil docket.
Dawson Civil Setting Details
The official 106th Request for Setting spells out what the court wants before a civil hearing is set. The filer must choose Civil, Criminal, Jury, or Non-Jury. It also asks for the assigned judge and any current hearing date. It wants the matter to be heard, estimated time, legal and factual issues, mediation details, interpreter needs, notice contacts, and proof the other parties were contacted.
The Pro Se Request for Setting narrows things further. It names divorce, name-change, and parent-child matters. It also wants the original petition date, agreed or contested status, party contact details, and delivery information. Those fields can help you match a docket event to the right filing.
Setting requests need confirmation: Mailing, faxing, or emailing a request does not prove that the 106th District Court granted the date.
Types of Civil Cases on the Docket
Dawson County civil records span more than one court level. District jurisdiction covers divorce and family matters. It also takes title-to-land disputes and other civil claims assigned by Texas law. Probate and some county-level civil matters route through County Court. Justice Court takes the smaller claims and possession cases within its statutory limits.
- General civil claims filed in district court
- Divorce and parent-child relationship matters
- Land-title and property disputes
- Probate and county-level proceedings
- Justice-court claims and forcible-detainer cases
A protected family filing may appear in the docket only in part. Ask the clerk whether the docket, a specific order, or another public portion can be released.
Dawson Justice Civil Limit
The Dawson County Justice Court does more than traffic tickets. Under Texas Government Code Chapter 27, including Section 27.031, its civil jurisdiction runs to $20,000, exclusive of interest. It also covers forcible-entry-and-detainer matters. That dollar figure is a routing line worth remembering.
A justice-court docket is not the same thing as a 106th District Court file. If a party-name search returns nothing at the district level, look at the petition, citation, or judgment for the court name. Then call the Dawson County Justice office at 806-329-3324 for its record route. The Justice Court offers no general public JP docket download.
Settings and Hearings on Civil Dockets
A Dawson County civil docket can hold several kinds of date entries. A hearing request is not a granted setting. A reset, a trial, and a submission date each mean something different too. To verify an imminent 106th setting, the court coordinator is the route to use. The official court number is 806-872-3740, and local forms list djudge@co.dawson.tx.us for setting submissions.
The 106th summary-judgment standing order adds a local trap. Summary-judgment pleadings are heard by submission. That applies unless the court enters a written exception. So a date on the docket may be a submission deadline, not a courtroom appearance. For broader date help, see the Dawson County court calendar information.
Dawson Civil Pretrial Steps
The 106th Pretrial Order shows why a calendar entry is only part of the picture. For contested final divorce and parent-child matters, it addresses mediation attendance. It also asks for requested relief lists. Current and prior-year income information is required in specified cases, along with identification of expert, police, and child-protection witnesses, and organized, marked exhibits.
Those preparation items can generate docket filings, notices, or later orders. They do not prove a party complied. They also do not prove that the court ruled one way or another. Read each entry by its filed title and date. When the entry alone is not enough, request the public paper.
Dawson Civil Clerk Channels
The District Clerk lists 400 S. 1st Street, fourth floor, Lamesa, Texas 79331, P.O. Box 1268, and 806-329-3315. A 2026 OCA directory names a different clerk and phone number. Both sources are official, so confirm the live contact before you rely on a person's name or publish it anywhere.
The County Clerk's details are steadier. The office sits at 400 South 1st Street, P.O. Box 1268, and answers 806-329-3311 and clare.christy@co.dawson.tx.us. Counter hours run Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Friday closes at 4 p.m. Mail customers should enclose a prepaid FedEx, UPS, or Priority Mail envelope with any request.
Pick the channel that fits. Counter, phone, mail, or County Clerk email all work. The 106th setting email and fax serve settings only, not general copy orders. The clerk posts no public-terminal instructions. There is no county civil copy form either.
Dawson Civil Search Gaps
Dawson County publishes no daily civil calendar and no county-specific general civil docket feed. A blank re:SearchTX result can mean several things. The court could be wrong, the record older or nonintegrated, the material restricted, or the name spelled differently. The case may simply sit at another level. A blank screen proves nothing about whether the matter exists.
Start with the cause number. Check the caption on any court paper too. If the record stays missing, call the proper clerk. For a setting, ask the 106th coordinator whether the date is current. For a filed record, request the docket sheet or a named petition, order, judgment, or notice. Note the court, the date you called, and the identifier you used.
Public Access to Civil Dockets
Public access to Dawson County civil dockets turns on the record's type and its custodian. Rule 12 covers most judicial records. It generally grants inspection and copying unless an exclusion applies. Not everything is open, though. Court orders, statutes, sealed material, juvenile rules, protected family data, and sensitive exhibits can all block access. Courts also fall outside the Texas Public Information Act in a way that county administrative offices do not.
Access framework: Read the Texas Judicial Branch open-records policy with Rule 12. Use Government Code Chapter 552 for the administrative public-information backdrop, not as a blanket label for filed court records.
A custodian may redact protected data or withhold one document while the rest of the docket information stays public. Ask which portion you can inspect or copy.
Dawson Sensitive Civil Exhibits
The 106th District Court's exhibits and attachments order tells filers not to e-file sensitive images. Exhibits and attachments go through a court email process instead. Children and injuries draw specific mention, along with the risk of sensitive data and photographs.
That rule explains a gap you may notice. An electronic civil docket will not hold every exhibit. Keep private exhibits out of a first records inquiry. State the cause number and the public document you want, then let the court or clerk set the approved method and decide what can be released.
Dawson Civil Copy Requests
Be specific. Ask for a named document rather than "all records." A good request names the Dawson County court, the cause number, the party caption, the document title, and the approximate filing date. Say whether you want inspection, a noncertified copy, or a certified copy. Ask the recipient to flag restrictions and redirect you to another custodian when needed.
The fee schedules set certified papers at a $5 certification charge plus $1 per page or part. Noncertified papers run $1 per page or part. Those PDFs carry dates. They cannot prove the current rate. Confirm fees, payment method, postage, research charges, and delivery terms with the clerk before ordering. Portal document fees may differ from clerk-copy charges.