Taken In For An Evaluation
Health & Safety 573.001 — emergency detention without a warrant, and a 48 hour limit
In Texas, a peace officer may take a person of any age into custody without a warrant when the officer has reason to believe and does believe that the person has a mental illness and, because of it, there is a substantial risk of serious harm to the person or others, or the person shows severe emotional distress and deterioration, or cannot recognize symptoms or appreciate the risks and benefits of treatment. The officer also has to believe the person is likely to suffer or inflict serious harm without immediate detention, and that there is not time to get a warrant first.
- The officer may form that belief from what a credible person reports, or from the person's own conduct and the circumstances where they are found.
- The officer immediately transports the person to the nearest appropriate inpatient mental health facility, or a suitable one the local mental health authority names, or hands them to emergency medical services for that transport.
- A jail is not deemed suitable except in an extreme emergency, and a person held in a jail or nonmedical facility is kept apart from anyone charged with or convicted of a crime.
- The officer immediately tells the person, orally and in plain terms, the reason for the detention, and that facility staff will explain their rights within 24 hours after admission.
- The officer may immediately seize any firearm the person has.
| Stage | What the Code allows |
|---|---|
| StageExamination by a physician | What the Code allowsAs soon as possible within 12 hours after the person is apprehended |
| StageDetention for the preliminary examination | What the Code allowsNot longer than 48 hours after the person is presented to the facility, unless a written protective custody order is obtained |
| StageWaiting time before the examination | What the Code allowsCounts inside the 48 hours |
| StageWhen the 48 hours end on a weekend, a holiday, or before 4 p.m. on the next business day | What the Code allowsUntil 4 p.m. on the first following business day |
| StageWhen the 48 hours end at any other time | What the Code allowsOnly until 4 p.m. on the day the period ends |
A judge or magistrate may extend the period by 24 hours at a time, by written order made each day, for extremely hazardous weather or a disaster. A private mental health facility may not hold a person without its administrator's consent. Protective custody, commitment hearings and the rights the facility explains are in other sections of the subtitle and are not reproduced here. Whether a detention met the statute is a question for a court and for a licensed Texas attorney.
Sources for this section (2)
- Health & Safety 573.001 — Apprehension by peace officer without warrant
- Health & Safety 573.021 — Preliminary examination
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Texas attorney.