Rule 25 — Perfecting Appeal

25.1.  Civil Cases
(a) Notice of Appeal. An appeal is perfected
when a written notice of appeal is filed with
the trial court clerk. If a notice of appeal is
mistakenly filed with the appellate court, the
notice is deemed to have been filed the same
day with the trial court clerk, and the
appellate clerk must immediately send the
trial court clerk a copy of the notice.
(b) Jurisdiction of Appellate Court.   The filing
of a notice of appeal by any party invokes the
appellate court’s jurisdiction over all parties
to the trial court’s judgment or order appealed
from.   Any party’s failure to take any other
step required by these rules, including the
failure of another party to perfect an appeal
under (c), does not deprive the appellate court
of jurisdiction but is ground only for the
appellate court to act appropriately, including
dismissing the appeal.
(c) Who Must File Notice.  A party who seeks to
alter the trial court’s judgment or other
appealable order must file a notice of appeal.
Parties whose interests are aligned may file a
joint notice of appeal.  The appellate court
may not grant a party who does not file a
notice of appeal more favorable relief than
did the trial court except for just cause.
(d) Contents of Notice. The notice of appeal
must:
(1) identify the trial court and state the
case’s trial court number and style;
(2) state the date of the judgment or order
appealed from;
(3) state that the party desires to appeal;
(4) state the court to which the appeal is
taken unless the appeal is to either the
First or Fourteenth Court of Appeals, in
which case the notice must state that the
appeal is to either of those courts;
(5) state the name of each party filing the
notice;
(6) in an accelerated appeal, state that the
appeal is accelerated and state whether it
is a parental termination or child
protection case or an appeal from an
order certifying a child to stand trial as
an adult, as defined in Rule 28.4;
(7) in a restricted appeal:
(A) state that the appellant is a party
affected
by
the
trial
court’s
judgment but did not participate—
either
in
person
or
through
counsel—in
the
hearing
that
resulted in the judgment complained
of;
(B) state that the appellant did not
timely file either a postjudgment
motion, request for findings of fact
and conclusions of law, or notice of
appeal; and
(C) be verified by the appellant if the
appellant does not have counsel.
(8) state, if applicable, that the appellant is
presumed indigent and may proceed
without paying costs under Rule 20.1;
and
(9) state whether the appeal involves a
matter:
(A)  brought by or against the state or a
board, commission, department,
office, or other agency in the
executive branch of the state
government, including a university
system or institution of higher
education;
(B) brought by or against an officer or
employee of the state or a board,
commission, department, office, or
other agency in the executive branch
of the state government arising out
of that officer’s or employee’s
official conduct; or
(C) in which a party to the proceeding
challenges the constitutionality or
validity of a state statute or rule and
the attorney general is a party to the
case.
(e) Notice of Notice. The notice of appeal must
be served on all parties to the trial court's final
judgment or, in an interlocutory appeal, on all
parties to the trial court proceeding. At or
before the time of the notice of appeal’s
filing, the filing party must also deliver a
copy of the notice of appeal to each court
reporter responsible for preparing the
reporter’s record.
(f) Trial Court Clerk’s Duties.  The   trial   court
clerk   must immediately deliver a copy of the
notice of appeal to the appellate court clerk,
to the trial judge, and to each court reporter
responsible for preparing the reporter’s
record.
(g) Amending the Notice. An amended notice of
appeal correcting a defect or omission in an
earlier filed notice may be filed in the
appellate court at any time before the
appellant's brief is filed. The amended notice
is subject to being struck for cause on the
motion of any party affected by the amended
notice. After the appellant's brief is filed, the
notice may be amended only on leave of the
appellate court and on such terms as the court
may prescribe.
(h) Enforcement of Judgment Not Suspended by
Appeal. The filing of a notice of appeal does
not suspend enforcement of the judgment.
Enforcement of the judgment may proceed
unless:
(1)   the
judgment
is
superseded
in
accordance with Rule 24, or
(2) the appellant  is  entitled  to  supersede
the judgment without security by filing a
notice of appeal.
25.2.  Criminal Cases
(a) Rights to Appeal.
(1) Of the State.  The State is entitled to
appeal a court’s order in a criminal case
as provided by Code of Criminal
Procedure article 44.01.
(2) Of the Defendant.  A defendant in a
criminal case has the right of appeal
under Code of Criminal Procedure
article 44.02 and these rules. The trial
court shall enter a certification of the
defendant’s right of appeal each time it
enters a judgment of guilt or other
appealable order other than an order
appealable under Code of Criminal
Procedure 64. In a plea bargain case –
that is, a case in which a defendant’s plea
was guilty or nolo contendere and the
punishment
did
not
exceed
the
punishment
recommended
by
the
prosecutor and agreed to by the
defendant – a defendant may appeal
only:
(A) those matters  that  were  raised  by
written motion filed and ruled on
before trial,
(B) after getting the trial court’s
permission to appeal, or
(C) where
the
specific
appeal
is
expressly authorized by statute.
(b) Perfection of Appeal.  In a criminal case,
appeal is perfected by timely filing a
sufficient notice of appeal. In a death-penalty
case it is unnecessary to file a notice of
appeal, but, in every death-penalty case, the
clerk of the trial court shall file a notice of
conviction with the Court of Criminal
Appeals within thirty days after the defendant
is sentenced to death.
(c) Form and Sufficiency of Notice.
(1) Notice must be given in writing and filed
with the trial court clerk.  If the notice of
appeal is received in the court of appeals,
the clerk of that court shall immediately
record on the notice the date that it was
received and send the notice to the trial
court clerk.
(2) Notice is sufficient if it shows the party's
desire to appeal from the judgment or
other appealable order, and, if the State
is the appellant, the notice complies with
Code of Criminal Procedure article
44.01.
(d) Certification of Defendant’s Right of Appeal.
If the defendant is the appellant, the record
must include the trial court’s certification of
the defendant’s right of appeal under Rule
25.2(a)(2).  The certification shall include a
notice that the defendant has been informed
of his rights concerning an appeal, as well as
any right to file a pro se petition for
discretionary review.   This notification shall
be signed by the defendant,  with  a  copy
given  to  him.
The certification should be
part of the record when notice is filed, but
may be added by timely amendment or
supplementation under this rule or Rule
34.5(c)(1) or Rule 37.1 or by order of the
appellate court under Rule 34.5(c)(2). The
appeal must be dismissed if a certification
that shows the defendant has the right of
appeal has not been made part of the record
under these rules.
(e) Trial Court Clerk's Duties. The trial court
clerk must note on the copies of the notice of
appeal and the trial court’s certification of the
defendant’s right of appeal the case number
and the date when each was filed. The clerk
must then immediately deliver one copy of
each to the clerk of the appropriate court of
appeals, to the trial judge, to each court
reporter responsible for preparing the
reporter’s record, and, if the defendant is the
appellant, one copy of each to the State's
attorney.
(f) Amending the Notice or Certification. An
amended notice of appeal or trial court’s
certification of the defendant’s right of
appeal correcting a defect or omission in an
earlier filed notice or certification, including
a defect in the notification of the defendant’s
appellate rights, may be filed in the appellate
court in accordance with Rule 37.1, or at any
time before the appealing party's brief is filed
if the court of appeals has not used Rule 37.1.
The amended notice or certification is subject
to being struck for cause on the motion of any
party affected by the amended notice or
certification. After the appealing party’s brief
is filed, the notice or certification may be
amended only on leave of the appellate court
and on such terms as the court may prescribe.
(g) Effect of Appeal. Once the record has been
filed in the appellate court, all further
proceedings in the trial court – except as
provided otherwise by law or by these rules -
will be suspended until the trial court receives
the appellate – court mandate.
(h) Advice of Right of Appeal.  When a court
enters a judgment or other appealable order
and the defendant has a right of appeal, the
court (orally or in writing) shall advise the
defendant of his right of appeal and of the
requirements for timely filing a sufficient
notice of appeal.

Comment to 2019 change: Subdivision 25.1(e) is
revised to implement section 51.017 of the Texas Civil
Practice and Remedies Code.
Comment to 2023 change: Rule 25.1 is amended
to implement Texas Family Code section 56.01(h-1).
Comment to 2024 change: Rule 25.1(d)(9) is
adopted to implement Texas Government Code
Section 22.220(d), which describes matters within the
Fifteenth Court of Appeals’ exclusive intermediate
appellate jurisdiction. The addition is designed to
assist the courts of appeals in the orderly transfer of
cases and to assist parties in determining which court
should hear their appeal.
Comment on 1997 change: This is former Rule
40. In civil cases, the requirement of an appeal bond is
repealed. Appeal is perfected by filing a notice of
appeal. A notice must be filed by any party seeking to
alter the trial court’s judgment.  The restricted appeal
— formerly the appeal by writ of error — is perfected
by filing a notice of appeal in the trial court as in other
appeals. The contents of the notice of appeal is
prescribed. The notice of limitation of appeal is
repealed. In criminal cases, the rule is amended to
apply to notices by the State, and to refer to additional
statutory requirements for the State’s notice. In felony
cases in which the defendant waived trial by jury,
pleaded guilty or nolo contendere, and received a
punishment that did not exceed what the defendant
agreed to in a plea bargain, the rule is amended to
make clear that regardless of when the alleged error
occurred, an appeal must be based on a jurisdictional
defect or a written motion ruled on before trial, or be
with the permission of the trial court.
Comment to 2002 change: Rule 25.2, for criminal
cases, is amended.   Subdivision 25.2(a) states the
parties’ rights of appeal that are established by Code
of Criminal Procedure article 44.01 and by article
44.02, the proviso of which was repealed when
rulemaking power was given to the Court of Criminal
Appeals.  Subdivision 25.2(b) is given the requirement
that a notice of appeal be in “sufficient” form, which
codifies the decisional  law.     The  requirement  in
former  subdivision 25.2(b)(3) that a plea-bargaining
appellant’s notice of appeal specify the right of appeal
is replaced by a requirement in subdivision 25.2(d)
that the trial court certify the defendant’s right of
appeal in every case in which a judgment or other
appealable order is entered. The certificate should be
signed at the time the judgment or other appealable
order is pronounced. The form of certification of the
defendant’s right of appeal is provided in an appendix
to these rules.  If the record does not include the trial
court’s certification that the defendant has the right of
appeal, the appeal must be dismissed.  If a sufficient
notice of appeal or certification is not filed after the
appellate court deals with the defect (see Rules 34.5(c)
and 37.1), preparation of an appellate record and
representation by an appointed attorney may cease.