Texas · Trust Accounting
What Texas attorneys must do to keep client trust funds compliant — the governing rule, how often you must reconcile, and how long records must be kept.
Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15 (Safekeeping Property), renumbered from Rule 1.14 effective July 1, 2021
Not specified by rule (monthly recommended by the State Bar trust account guide)
5 years
State Bar of Texas, Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel
Texas Access to Justice Foundation
Source: State Bar of Texas, Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel . Rules change — always confirm against the current text before relying on it.
Texas's stated reconciliation requirement is: Not specified by rule (monthly recommended by the State Bar trust account guide). A three-way reconciliation compares three totals that must all agree. If they do not, the difference has to be found and resolved before the reconciliation is complete.
Bank statement balance, adjusted for outstanding checks and deposits in transit.
Your internal trust account register as of the same date.
The total of every individual client ledger balance on that date.
For a full walkthrough of the procedure, common violations, and what examiners look for, see our IOLTA compliance guide.
Texas requires trust account records to be retained for 5 years. In practice that means keeping:
IOLTA Guard automates three-way reconciliation, blocks negative client ledgers, and keeps the audit trail Texas attorneys are expected to maintain.