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It depends on the kind of claim you bring. Texas gives a statutory right to sue under a pseudonym for intimate-image claims, trafficking claims and some claims by plaintiffs under 18. Other survivors have no statutory right and have to ask the judge.
This is one of the first questions survivors ask, and it deserves a clear answer rather than a reassuring one. Texas has no general statute or rule that gives every survivor a right to sue anonymously. What cannot wait is the decision about your name, because a petition is a public record once it is filed. Call 713-521-0059.
The first is a claim under Chapter 98B, which covers intimate images and may reach AI-generated images. Section 98B.008, effective 1 September 2025, provides that the court shall make it known to the claimant as early as possible that a confidential identity is available. The court shall allow its use in all petitions, filings and other documents. It shall use it in all court proceedings and records, including on appeal, and shall maintain the records so as to protect confidentiality.
A confidential identity means a pseudonym and the absence of other identifying information, such as address, telephone number and social security number. Only the judge, a party, a party’s attorney and a person authorized by written court order may know the true information. Divulging it without a written order is punishable by contempt. This right belongs to any claimant under the chapter, adult or minor.
The second is a trafficking claim under Chapter 98. Section 98.007, added effective 1 September 2021, provides a substantially identical confidential identity right for claimants in trafficking actions.
The third is a claim by a plaintiff under 18 arising from sexual assault or aggravated sexual assault. Section 30.013 provides a confidential identity where the plaintiff is an individual younger than eighteen and the suit is based on conduct described as a felony under Penal Code Section 22.011 or 22.021. Read that age limit carefully, because the section is written for a plaintiff who is a minor at the time, together with that plaintiff’s parents or legal guardian.
In all three situations, using a confidential identity is your choice as the claimant, and none of the statutes requires it.
Suppose you are an adult survivor of sexual assault, you were not trafficked, and your claim is not a Chapter 98B intimate-images claim. In that situation, there is no Texas statute that gives you the right to sue under a pseudonym. That is the state of Texas law, and it surprises people. Section 30.013 stops at eighteen, Section 98.007 is limited to trafficking, and Section 98B.008 is limited to that chapter, which leaves a gap between them.
Two rules are often confused with a right that does not exist. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 76a is often cited in this conversation, but it governs sealing court records, not party anonymity. It is a different question with a different standard, and it does not let you file under a false name.
The Code of Criminal Procedure, Articles 58.101 and 58.102, does let a victim of a sex offense choose a pseudonym. The pseudonym is used in the public files and records concerning the offense, including police summary reports, press releases, and records of judicial proceedings. You choose it by returning a form to the investigating law enforcement agency or the office of the prosecuting attorney. That is the criminal justice system’s records track, and it does not authorize filing a civil petition under a pseudonym.
The request is committed to the trial court’s discretion, and the Texas appellate authority on it is thin. In J.G. v. Jones, No. 05-22-00215-CV (Tex. App.—Dallas Feb. 27, 2023, pet. denied), the Dallas Court of Appeals noted: “Use of a pseudonym is permitted in state court under certain circumstances.” It collected two cases for that point but expressly did not decide the question, because it was not squarely presented.
The first case it collected is Topheavy Studios, Inc. v. Doe, No. 03-05-00022-CV (Tex. App.—Austin Aug. 11, 2005, no pet.) (mem. op.). The second is Mother & Unborn Baby Care of North Texas, Inc. v. Doe, 689 S.W.2d 336 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 1985, writ dism’d).
Topheavy is sometimes cited as though it settled the question. The Austin court treated the order allowing the plaintiff to proceed under a pseudonym as interlocutory and not appealable at that time. J.G. described Topheavy as holding that the order did not hinder the defendant’s ability to prepare an adequate defense. The order allowed full discovery and stated that the plaintiff’s true name could be used in depositions and in the investigation of the case.
J.G. addressed the point in a footnote, and Topheavy is a memorandum opinion. Neither states a test. Texas has no state-court equivalent of the multi-factor federal standard.
Usually, yes, because even where a pseudonym is allowed, it does not make you invisible inside the case. The defendant usually learns who you are, and discovery still happens. What the statutes protect is the public record: the petition, the docket, the filings, the appellate opinion and the things a person can find by searching your name.
For many survivors, that is the distinction that matters. The person who hurt you already knows your name, so the real question is whether an employer, a landlord or a stranger will find it years from now.
Every statute and case linked above was read at its primary source. Texas statutes change every legislative session and case law is constantly changing.
This page is general information about Texas law. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
The protection is real but conditional. The answer depends on facts a lawyer needs to hear before giving you one, starting with the kind of claim you have and whether you are under 18.
If you are trying to decide whether to bring a claim and the exposure is what is stopping you, that is a conversation worth having before you decide. It costs nothing and it commits you to nothing. We start with the kind of claim you have, because that decides which protection is available, and we raise the question before anything is filed.
Schiffer Law Firm is a Houston personal injury firm with 50 plus years of combined experience representing injured people and survivors across Texas.
If you are a parent, an advocate or a counselor asking on someone’s behalf, you are welcome to call with a general question. We will not ask you for their name.
There is no charge to talk, and no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery.
Written by Jacob Schiffer, Attorney, Schiffer Law Firm. State Bar of Texas No. 24105175.
Call 713-521-0059.
Not as of right, unless the claim falls under Chapter 98 or Chapter 98B. Otherwise it is a request to the trial court, decided case by case.
Only if the plaintiff is currently under 18. It is a minors provision, and it also covers that plaintiff's parents or legal guardian.
No. The Code of Criminal Procedure pseudonym covers the criminal process, and in many cases it can be disclosed to the defendant and defense counsel without a court order, on conditions the statute states. It does not follow you into a civil case.
A petition is a public record. That is why the question is worth resolving before anything is filed rather than after.
Usually, yes. A pseudonym protects the public record, not your identity inside the case, and discovery still happens.
No. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 76a governs sealing court records, not party anonymity. It is a different question with a different standard.