Texas is the most form-disciplined real estate market in the US. The Texas Real Estate Commission promulgates every standard form agents and TCs use, from the primary residential contract (TREC 20-18) through the amendment forms (TREC 39, 38). TREC forms aren't optional; they're mandatory unless the client uses an attorney-drafted alternative. This guide walks through the main residential TREC forms, the Texas-specific option period mechanics, and what a TC can (and can't) handle on a Texas file.
Key takeaways
- TREC promulgates every Texas real estate form. Using the wrong form or outdated version creates downstream issues.
- Main forms: TREC 20-18 (resale), TREC 23-19 (new home incomplete), TREC 24-17 (new home completed), TREC 25-15 (farm/ranch), TREC 30-17 (condo).
- Texas option period: buyer pays option fee directly to seller for unrestricted right to terminate during the option window. Deadline is 5:00 PM clock-time.
- Earnest money goes to title company in most Texas transactions, due within 3 days of execution.
- TCs in Texas can draft and route TREC forms under agent direction; cannot negotiate or advise on terms.
What TREC forms does Texas require?
The Texas Real Estate Commission licenses Texas real estate agents and brokers and publishes the standard contract forms every residential and commercial real estate transaction in Texas uses. Unlike most states where associations of realtors publish forms, Texas's regulator itself sets the form language.
Main residential TREC forms:
- TREC 20-18: One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale). The most common Texas residential form.
- TREC 23-19: New Home Contract (Incomplete Construction)
- TREC 24-17: New Home Contract (Completed Construction)
- TREC 25-15: Farm and Ranch Contract
- TREC 30-17: Residential Condominium Contract
Addenda and amendments:
- TREC 39-10: Amendment to Contract (repair negotiations, price changes, other modifications)
- TREC 38-7: Termination of Contract (option period termination)
- TREC 11-7: Addendum for Back-Up Contract
| Form | Number | Deal type | TC check at intake |
|---|---|---|---|
| One to Four Family Residential (Resale) | TREC 20-18 | Standard resale | Most common; verify it's not used on new construction |
| New Home (Incomplete Construction) | TREC 23-19 | New build, not finished | Confirm construction timeline in contract |
| New Home (Completed Construction) | TREC 24-17 | New build, finished | Different warranty provisions than resale |
| Farm and Ranch | TREC 25-15 | Rural/agricultural | Additional water rights and mineral clauses |
| Residential Condominium | TREC 30-17 | Condo units | HOA document requirements differ |
| Amendment to Contract | TREC 39-10 | Any (repair negotiations, price changes) | Route for countersigning promptly |
| Termination of Contract | TREC 38-7 | Option period termination | Must be delivered before 5:00 PM deadline |
| Back-Up Contract Addendum | TREC 11-7 | Back-up offer positions | Track primary contract status |
Using the wrong form is a source of silent errors. A resale contract (TREC 20) signed on a new-construction deal creates problems that only surface at closing or at inspection. The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that real estate professionals must stay current with state-specific regulatory requirements, and in Texas that starts with form selection at contract intake. For the end-to-end deadline sequence that sits on top of TREC form work, see the real estate closing process.
How does the Texas option period work on TREC forms?
The Termination Option is the Texas-specific mechanism that distinguishes Texas from most other states. In exchange for the buyer paying a negotiated option fee directly to the seller (not the title company), the buyer has an unrestricted right to terminate the contract for any reason during the option period.
The option period is typically 3 to 7 days, negotiated at offer time. The deadline is 5:00 PM local time on the last day of the option window. This is a clock time, not an end-of-day. A termination notice time-stamped 5:01 PM is void.
Inside the option period, the buyer typically conducts the inspection, reviews HOA documents, and makes their final go/no-go decision. If they terminate using TREC 38-7 before 5:00 PM on the deadline, the earnest money is released to the buyer (the option fee stays with the seller). If the option period expires without termination, the buyer is locked into the broader contract terms.
On the Texas transactions we've handled, the 5:00 PM clock-time cutoff is what trips up agents moving from other states. We've had more than one file where a buyer's agent emailed TREC 38-7 at 5:03 PM on the last day, thinking the deadline ran to midnight, and the seller's side was in their rights to enforce the forfeiture.
Where does earnest money go on Texas TREC forms?
The title company handling closing, typically. The TREC contract allows the parties to designate the escrow agent, but in most Texas residential transactions that's the title company. Earnest money is due within three days of contract execution.
Option fee routing is different and important: the option fee goes directly to the seller, not the title company. Agents and TCs who route the option fee to the title company out of habit delay receipt, which can jeopardize the option period itself if the fee isn't in the seller's hands by the delivery window.
In our Texas files we verify option fee routing separately from earnest money on every intake. They travel to different recipients and they're governed by different clocks; treating them as one line item is how files drift into trouble.
What can a Texas TC actually do?
Per TREC's own guidance, a TC in Texas can:
- Draft and route TREC and TXR forms under agent direction
- Track deadlines
- Coordinate inspections, appraisals, lender and title communication
- Collect and organize documents
- Assemble the broker file
- Communicate factual information (not opinions or advice) to parties
A TC cannot negotiate, provide opinions on contract terms, or give clients advice on what to sign. Those activities require a real estate license.
What are the common Texas TREC compliance mistakes?
Four errors repeat:
-
Using the wrong form. TREC 20 (resale) on a new-construction deal is the most common. The correct form depends on the property type: resale vs new-home-incomplete vs new-home-completed vs farm/ranch vs condo.
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Treating the 5:00 PM option deadline as end-of-day. It's clock-time. A notice at 5:01 PM is void.
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Routing the option fee to title. Goes directly to the seller, not title.
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Counting option-period days from the wrong date. The option period runs from the Effective Date, which is a specific field on the TREC form and is not necessarily the contract signing date.
How does Quill handle Texas files?
Quill's Texas coordinators verify the correct TREC form is used at intake (resale vs new-construction vs other deal types), track the option period by the hour with 48-hour and 24-hour reminders, confirm option fee routing to the seller, track earnest money receipt at the title company within 3 days of execution, and run the full TREC deadline calendar from the contract's Effective Date.
For the full TC scope applied to Texas, see what does a transaction coordinator do. For Quill's Texas-specific service details and market coverage, see the Texas transaction coordination hub. For the state-specific Utah comparison, see the Utah REPC timeline guide. For California's disclosure stack, see California transaction coordinator compliance.
How Texas TC volume affects the hiring decision
Texas is one of the highest-volume real estate markets in the country. The NAR 2025 Member Profile shows that the typical US agent closes 10 transaction sides per year, but Texas agents working in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio metros often exceed that. Higher volume magnifies the impact of every TREC-specific compliance requirement.
At 5 files per year, an agent can probably track the option period and verify correct form selection themselves. At 10-15 files, the repetitive nature of TREC form verification, option-period tracking, and earnest-money confirmation starts absorbing hours that compete directly with prospecting and client work. Above 15 files, the risk of a missed 5:00 PM option deadline or a wrong-form intake error grows with each concurrent file.
The economics are straightforward. A TC at $350 per file on 15 Texas transactions costs $5,250 annually. Against the NAR median gross income of $58,100 for all agents (and likely higher for Texas agents at that volume), the TC cost represents roughly 9% of GCI while eliminating the form-compliance and deadline-tracking workload entirely. The time returned (15-30 hours per file, or 225-450 hours annually at 15 files) is where the real ROI sits. For the standard closing checklist this workflow feeds, see the real estate closing checklist.
Texas TC work is form-literacy plus deadline-by-the-hour
Most Texas TC errors trace back to two causes: wrong form for the deal type, or missed option deadline. Both are preventable with disciplined intake (verify form) and hour-aware tracking (5:00 PM isn't negotiable). A TC who's internalized the TREC form library and runs option period on a clock-not-date basis handles Texas files cleanly; one who hasn't creates compounding issues on every file.
First file free.
Try Quill free on your first Texas file to see state-specialist TREC coordination on a real transaction.