Texas (Bexar County, Civil District Courts only): Bexar County Civil District Courts Loca…

What the rule requires

Local Rule 4(O)(1) of the Bexar County Civil District Courts’ Local Rules (updated effective July 1, 2026) is one of the general policies the Presiding Judge “will adhere to” on the Presiding Civil District Court’s nonjury docket. It reads:

“A.I. Certification. All pleadings shall include a certificate on the form approved by the Civil District Court Judges and available on the Presiding Court website, signed by counsel or self-represented litigant, attesting that:

a. all drafted language, quotations, sources, citations, arguments, and legal analyses produced by generative A.I. will”, before submission, “be verified by counsel licensed in Texas (or admitted to appear in the cause) or a self-represented litigant as accurate through traditional (non-A.I.) legal sources, and

b. that counsel of record and/or self-represented litigant understands and acknowledges that they are responsible for any failure to comply with this order.”

What changed in July 2026

The certification was first adopted as Local Rule 3(H)(1) in the rules updated effective January 9, 2024. That version was signed by “the attorney” and required verification by “an attorney licensed in Texas.” The July 2026 rules place it at 4(O)(1) and extend it to self-represented litigants, who sign the certificate and verify A.I. output themselves. Verification may also now be by counsel “admitted to appear in the cause,” which covers attorneys appearing pro hac vice.

The certification language follows the template used in other Texas state district courts: verification through traditional legal sources, with the signer’s acknowledged responsibility as the enforcement mechanism. The Bexar provision is a policy of the Presiding Civil District Court, which hears nonjury matters of two days or less and pretrial matters in jury cases; the 225th District Court has its own A.I. certification in its section of the rules.

Practitioner workflow

The certification goes on pleadings, not once per case. Firms with matters on the Presiding Court’s docket, and in the 225th District Court under its own provision, may wish to build the approved form (on the Presiding Court website) into their pleading templates.

Primary sources

• Bexar County Civil District Courts Local Rules, updated effective July 1, 2026 (PDF)
• The same rules on the OCA local-rules portal (PDF)