The official court reminder provider for the Texas court system
Authorized by HB4293 in the 87th Texas Legislature, the Texas Court Reminder Program is provided at no cost to counties. Municipalities are invited to join at cost.
How a county joins
Counties join through the Office of Court Administration, one county at a time. The Clerk of the Court is the custodian of the record and is recommended as the county\u2019s representative during onboarding, so the decision and the record stay with the office that holds them. Program details and participation steps are on the Texas Judicial Branch\u2019s own page.
Benefits to your court
The service is designed to help your court increase appearance rates, accept payments faster, and communicate clearly with the public.
- Decrease failure to appear (FTA) rates
- Improve access to justice
- Reduce the number of warrants issued
- Accept payments faster
- Reduce the number of phone calls to the court
- Save on paper and postage
- Improve communication with the public
Included features
The Court Reminders use case must be used in conjunction with the other use cases, which are available at no charge under the program.
- Multilingual text and email notifications
- Web-based portals for defendants, jurors, and attorneys
- Integration with case management systems
- Tailored reminders and notifications
- Send and receive encrypted files
- Reporting and analytics
Eligible jurisdictions
- Supreme Court
- Court of Criminal Appeals
- Courts of Appeals
- District Courts
- Statutory County Courts
- Statutory Probate Courts
- Constitutional County Courts
- Justice Courts
- Municipal Courts (provided at cost)
Program documents
- Texas Judicial Branch Court Reminder Program
- HB4293, 87th Texas Legislature (bill text)
- SFTP guide for Tyler Technologies Odyssey
- API guide for Tyler Technologies Odyssey
- Texas OCA Security FAQs
- Sample "Events" file
- Sample "Payments" file
Onboarding. Our team works with your court to onboard your staff and configure the software to meet your needs. Start the Texas onboarding questionnaire.
Texas Court Reminder Program FAQ
How do we sign up?
Get a demo and you will receive an email with a link to schedule your initial onboarding meeting. The initial meeting is a virtual demo and discovery session scheduled for one hour. We recommend inviting any business and IT users who are stakeholders in your department.
Which department or official should onboard the county for the service?
The Clerk of the Court is the custodian of the record and is recommended as the representative for the county during onboarding. If other departments are identified as the contact, exceptions will be reviewed for approval.
What types of reminders can we send?
This program was created to decrease failure to appear (FTA) rates across Texas. In addition to court date reminders, your court can send payment reminders, forms, jury information, victim notifications, emergency alerts, scheduling reminders, and more. Probation, pre-trial diversion, and community supervision hearings and appointments for defendants are not currently covered under the court reminder program.
What kinds of recipients can we notify?
OCA authorizes notifications to defendants, plaintiffs, jurors, victims, attorneys, bail agents, officers, court staff and liaisons, and judges.
Do we have to integrate with our existing case management system?
No. For the most efficient use of the court reminder program, integration lets you use the data already established in the case management system. However, eCourtDate can be used entirely standalone. Authorized users can manually manage messaging and bulk upload events, and recipients can self-enroll directly through a web portal.
What is the minimum data we need to provide?
The court reminder system can send reminders via phone, text, or email, so each case needs at least one of those contact methods. If you plan to bulk upload or integrate with your case management system, provide recipient type, first and last name, phone and/or email, and person ID if available. For event reminders, we recommend providing event date, time, type, and status, plus location name, case number, and assigned judge.
Which languages does the system support?
eCourtDate supports sending in up to 100 languages with English as the default. The system allows auto-translation of templates, and we strongly recommend reviewing any messaging with a licensed court interpreter.
Is geolocation tracking available with the Texas Court Reminder Program?
No. Geolocation tracking is not available to jurisdictions under the Texas Court Reminder Program.
How soon can we go live?
You can go live with eCourtDate in as little as one month. Onboarding includes integration, training, and configuration to meet your court’s specific needs.
Is there a cost to use eCourtDate?
Authorized and mandated by HB4293 in the 87th Texas Legislature, the Texas Court Reminder Program is provided at no cost to counties. Municipalities are invited to join at cost.
Is there a cost to integrate with our existing case management system?
In some cases, the case management system provider may charge fees for integration. These fees, if applicable, are set by the CMS vendor and are not included in the scope of the OCA contract. eCourtDate does not charge any fees for integration.
Join the Texas Court Reminder Program
Get a demo and our team will help your court register and onboard.