Forms & Instructions

Filing Forms and Instructions

Determine what type of filer you are (TEC or local) and then see the links below to find the appropriate Forms and Instructions.

TEC filers: By state law, a PFS filed with the Texas Ethics Commission must be filed electronically. However, a PFS filed with the Texas Ethics Commission by an appointed officer may be filed on a paper Form PFS-TEC. Please read the Benefits of Electronic Filing first. Only an individual appointed to office has the option to file a paper Form PFS. All other state officers and candidates must file the PFS electronically.

Local Filers: A PFS filed with a local filing authority must be done using paper forms in the proper format required by the local filing authority. You may use your computer to enter information on the personal financial statement form using Adobe Reader or Acrobat. You may not, however, submit the form electronically. After entering information on the form, you must print the form to complete the signature, notary, and affidavit section., and then deliver the paper report to the proper filing authority.

County Judicial candidates and officeholders: A county judicial officer or a candidate for office as a county judicial officer (such as a County Court at Law Judge or Statutory County Court Judge), has the option to file their PFS on paper with their county clerk or to file electronically with the Texas Ethics Commission. A county judicial officer or candidate who files a financial statement with the TEC shall file with the county clerk a document stating that the officer or candidate is filing the financial statement with the TEC. The document must be filed by the deadline for filing the financial statement

PFS For Appointed TEC Filers

Only appointees have an exception to file a paper PFS report. See Filing a Personal Financial Statement Report to file an electronic PFS report.

How-To-Use PFS E-Forms

1. Navigating the form: After entering text or selecting a check box, do one of the following:
   • Press [Tab] to accept the form field change and go to the next form field.
   • Press [Shift+Tab] to accept the form field change and go to the previous form field.
   • Press [Enter] (Windows) or [Return] (Mac OS) to accept the form field change and deselect the current form field. In a multiline text form field, [Enter] or [Return] goes to the next line in the same form field.
   • Press [Escape] to reject the form field change and deselect the current form field. If you are in Full Screen mode, pressing [Escape] a second time causes you to exit Full Screen mode.
2. Checking Boxes: Use your mouse to insert or remove a “check” in a check box or [Tab] to the box and press [Enter] to insert a “check.” Press [enter] again to “uncheck” the box.
3. Resetting the Form: To clear a form in a browser window select the Reset Form button or exit the Acrobat viewer without saving the file, and start again. Clicking the Reload button or the Go Back button, or following a link in a World Wide Web browser window, does not clear a form. (Once you clear the form you cannot get the information back–there is no “undo” for the reset form action.) To clear a form in Acrobat, choose File and then Revert.
4. Saving the Form: If you use Acrobat, you may save the form and the data in a form on your computer using the Save or Save As command. Note: You cannot save the data in a form using the Save or Save As command if you are using Adobe Reader. The Save A Copy command will save the form itself, but not the data entered into the form fields.

If you are using Adobe Reader, do not close Reader while you are working on a report. If you close Reader, you will lose all the information you have entered.

For assistance with the online form, please call 512-463-5800 and ask for technical support.