Hood County, Texas: CPS Courts, Court Records, DFPS Offices and Free Legal Help

This page is for families in Hood County, Texas. The county's courts and clerks are in Granbury Hood County, Texas, District Clerk, and so is the county's DFPS office Texas DFPS, Region 3 Office Locations. This page gives you official local contacts for CPS cases: the courts, the clerks who keep court records, the DFPS office, and free or low-cost legal help. This is legal information, not legal advice.

The short answer

State law says the 355th Judicial District is made up of Hood County Tex. Gov't Code §24.501. State law also gives the county's County Court at Law No. 1 the power to hear family law cases alongside the district court Tex. Gov't Code §§25.1131–25.1132. The District Clerk keeps the records for both courts' family cases Hood County, Texas, District Clerk Responsibilities, and the County Clerk sends CPS questions to the District Clerk at 817-579-3236 Hood County, Texas, County Clerk Courts. DFPS (the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Texas DFPS, Contact Us, the state agency whose programs include Child Protective Services Texas DFPS, Office of Consumer Affairs) lists Hood County in its Region 3 and has a Granbury office at 2175 Ruth Smith Dr., (817) 573-8612 Texas DFPS, Region 3 Office Locations.

Courts that handle CPS cases in Hood County

State law says the 355th Judicial District is made up of Hood County Tex. Gov't Code §24.501. The county calls the 355th District Court a court of general jurisdiction and lists divorce among the matters it hears Hood County, Texas, 355th District Court. Jurisdiction means the kinds of cases a court has the power to decide. The county also says the 355th has jurisdiction over juvenile cases Hood County, Texas, 355th District Court.

Hood County has one County Court at Law (a county-level court set up by state law), called County Court at Law No. 1 Tex. Gov't Code §§25.1131–25.1132. State law says it shares jurisdiction with the district court in family law cases and related proceedings Tex. Gov't Code §§25.1131–25.1132. The county's page for this court says it hears family law matters, along with misdemeanor criminal cases, family violence protective order applications and some civil cases Hood County, Texas, County Court at Law.

Where the courts are (addresses and phone numbers as the county publishes them):

• 355th District Court: 1200 W. Pearl Street, Granbury, TX 76048. Phone: 817-579-3233. Office hours: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday Hood County, Texas, 355th District Court.
• County Court at Law: 1200 W. Pearl St, Granbury, TX 76048. Phone: 817-408-3480. Office hours: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, closed for lunch from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. Hood County, Texas, County Court at Law.

Who sets hearing dates? Not the clerk. The District Clerk says court dates are set by the court administrators for the 355th District Court and County Court at Law No. 1, so ask the court's office about scheduling Hood County, Texas, District Clerk Self-Help & FAQ.

Getting court records

In Hood County, the District Clerk is the clerk to call about CPS cases. The County Clerk's court page says to call the District Clerk's Office at 817-579-3236 about CPS cases Hood County, Texas, County Clerk Courts. A clerk is the office that files court papers and keeps the official record of each case.

The District Clerk keeps all court documents for the 355th Judicial District Hood County, Texas, District Clerk. It also handles the papers in family cases in the County Court at Law Hood County, Texas, District Clerk Responsibilities. The cases filed with it include domestic cases from both the County Court at Law and the District Court Hood County, Texas, District Clerk.

Hood County District Clerk

• Address: 1200 W. Pearl Street, Granbury, TX 76048. Phone: 817-579-3236 Hood County, Texas, District Clerk.
• Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Hours can differ on holidays and jury selection days, so call ahead Hood County, Texas, District Clerk.
• How to get copies: If you are not a lawyer on the case, you can ask for copies in person or by mail. If you mail your request, include a self-addressed, stamped envelope with your payment. Non-certified copies are $1.00 per page. Certifying costs $5.00 more per document. There is a $5.00 record search fee if the clerk has to find the cause number (the case number) or check whether a document exists Hood County, Texas, District Clerk Self-Help & FAQ.
• Sealed cases: If a court seals a case, the District Clerk's office is not allowed by law to give out any information about it Hood County, Texas, District Clerk Self-Help & FAQ.
• The District Clerk's office cannot give legal advice or forms Hood County, Texas, District Clerk Self-Help & FAQ. Ask a lawyer instead (see below).

Court records are different from DFPS's own case records. To ask DFPS for its records, see How to Get Your CPS Case Records in Texas.

DFPS in Hood County

DFPS lists Hood County in DFPS Region 3 Texas DFPS, Counties in DFPS Regions and Districts. The Region 3 headquarters is at 1200 E. Copeland Road, Arlington, TX 76011 Texas DFPS, Region 3.

DFPS's office list shows one location in Hood County Texas DFPS, Region 3 Office Locations:

• 2175 Ruth Smith Dr., Granbury, Texas 76048. Phone: (817) 573-8612. The programs listed here are APS, CCI, CCL, CPI, CPS and MS Texas DFPS, Region 3 Office Locations.

In DFPS's list, APS means Adult Protective Services, CCI means Child Care Investigations, CCL means Child Care Licensing, CPI means Child Protective Investigations, CPS means Child Protective Services and MS means Management Services Texas DFPS, Region 3 Office Locations.

If you have a question or complaint about your own case, DFPS says to contact its Office of Consumer Affairs Texas DFPS, Questions and Complaints. Its contact details are under "Statewide numbers" below.

Free and low-cost legal help

TexasLawHelp.org lists four free legal aid groups for Hood County under Child Protective Services (CPS) TexasLawHelp.org, Legal Help Directory (Hood County, Child Protective Services). Here are three of them:

• Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas gives free civil legal help to people with low incomes TexasLawHelp.org, Legal Help Directory (Hood County, Child Protective Services). Call its Legal Aid Line at (888) 529-5277. TexasLawHelp.org lists CPS among its areas of work TexasLawHelp.org, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas.
• Its Weatherford office lists Hood among the counties it serves. Address: 100 Austin Ave., Ste. 201, Weatherford, TX 76086. Phone: 817-594-6332, toll-free 800-967-6708. To apply, call Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, Weatherford Office.
• Its Fort Worth office also lists Hood among the counties it serves. Address: 600 East Weatherford St., Fort Worth, TX 76102. Phone: 817-336-3943, toll-free 800-955-3959. To apply, call Monday through Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, Fort Worth Office.
• Texas Foster Youth Justice Project gives free legal help to current and former foster youth in Texas. Phone: (877) 313-3688 TexasLawHelp.org, Legal Help Directory (Hood County, Child Protective Services).
• Texas Free Legal Answers lets Texans with low or modest incomes work online with a volunteer lawyer for free TexasLawHelp.org, Legal Help Directory (Hood County, Child Protective Services).

Can the court give you a lawyer? In some CPS cases, yes. If DFPS sues to end your parental rights or to be named your child's conservator (the person or agency the court gives legal custody), the court must appoint a lawyer for a parent who is indigent (can't afford a lawyer) and who opposes the case Tex. Fam. Code §107.013(a). If you don't have a lawyer the first time you appear in court in that kind of case, the court must tell you about your right to a lawyer and, if you are indigent and oppose the case, your right to a court-appointed one Tex. Fam. Code §107.013(a-1). Learn more in Your Right to a Lawyer in a Texas CPS Case.

State Bar of Texas Lawyer Referral & Information Service (LRIS): For Hood County, call (800) 252-9690 (toll free), Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central Time. That number serves every county except Bexar, Dallas, Harris, Jefferson, Travis and Tarrant State Bar of Texas, Lawyer Referral & Information Service. A lawyer the LRIS refers you to will give you a consultation of up to 30 minutes for no more than $20. The LRIS has no lawyers who offer free or reduced-fee help State Bar of Texas, Lawyer Referral & Information Service.

Statewide numbers

• Emergency: DFPS says to call 9-1-1 Texas DFPS, Contact Us.
• Texas Abuse/Neglect Hotline: 1-800-252-5400, or report online at www.txabusehotline.org. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week Texas DFPS, Hotlines.
• DFPS Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA): (800) 720-7777, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Texas DFPS, Office of Consumer Affairs. DFPS's hotline list gives the same hours in Central Time Texas DFPS, Hotlines. The OCA handles complaints about specific cases that involve DFPS program policy Texas DFPS, Office of Consumer Affairs. You can also use its online question and complaint form, or write to OCA/DFPS, PO Box 149030, MC: Y946, Austin TX 78714-9030 Texas DFPS, Office of Consumer Affairs.
• The OCA also does formal reviews when a CPS investigation concludes that a person abused or neglected a child. DFPS used to call this the OCR review process Texas DFPS, Office of Consumer Affairs. See How to Ask for an ARIF (Administrative Review of CPS Findings) in Texas and CPS Investigation Findings in Texas: Reason to Believe, Ruled Out and More.
• The OCA does not review what courts or law enforcement do or order Texas DFPS, Office of Consumer Affairs.
• Texas Parent Helpline: 1-833-680-0611. Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Texas DFPS, Hotlines.
• DFPS Records Management Group (to ask for a DFPS record): 1-877-764-7230. Open 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central Time, Monday through Friday Texas DFPS, Hotlines.

Guides that apply in Hood County

• The Texas CPS Investigation Process, Step by Step (Family Code §§261.301–261.302)
• Your Rights When Texas CPS Contacts You (Family Code §261.307)
• CPS Investigation Findings in Texas: Reason to Believe, Ruled Out and More
• Family-Based Safety Services (FBSS) in Texas: What Families Should Know
• Court-Ordered Services in Texas CPS Cases (Family Code §264.203)
• CPS Drug Testing in Texas: What DFPS Policy Says
• Your Right to a Lawyer in a Texas CPS Case
• How to Get Your CPS Case Records in Texas

Information verified against official sources on 2026-10-02. Call ahead; hours and locations can change.