Criminal defense ad rules in Texas

What are the key facts for criminal defense ads in Texas?

• Ad filing. File each non-exempt ad with the State Bar of Texas Advertising Review Committee within 10 days after first use, with a $100 fee. An unfiled non-exempt ad can draw a $250 fine plus the $100 fee. Optional pre-approval at least 30 days ahead; a finding of compliance binds in the lawyer’s favor (Rule 7.04).
• What each ad must include. The name of a responsible lawyer and that lawyer’s primary practice location (Rule 7.02(a)).
• Results and “specialist” claims. Saying a lawyer “practices”, “focuses” or “concentrates” in an area is fine if objectively true.

Criminal defense is a named sensitive category, so audience tools are limited and no ad should hint that the viewer is accused.

How does Texas sit on the basics a criminal defense firm runs into?

• Ad filing in Texas: Filed after first use
• Call recording in Texas: One-party consent
• Texting law in Texas: State law with private suits
• Privacy law in Texas: Comprehensive law in force

Can a criminal defense firm contact people directly in Texas?

• No written, in-person or phone solicitation about a personal injury or accident before the 31st day; early contact is a Class A misdemeanor, and paying someone to solicit is a third-degree felony (Penal Code §38.12).

What have Texas’s ethics opinions said?

• State Bar of Texas, Professional Ethics Committee, opinion 702 (2024-08), on paid educational presentations marketed by a private company; later contact by viewers: A lawyer may be paid for general legal education videos a company sells; the talk is not solicitation, so the lawyer may represent viewers who later call. What to do: Give educational talks with a not-legal-advice warning, and let viewers contact you rather than pitching them during the talk.
• State Bar of Texas, Professional Ethics Committee, opinion 689 (2020-09), on using a nonlawyer employee to staff an advertising booth after hail storms: A staffer may run a booth with signs and brochures, but neither lawyer nor staffer may start conversations about hiring the firm, and no bonus per new client. What to do: At events, let people come to you, train staff not to start the pitch, and never pay staff per signed client.
• State Bar of Texas, Professional Ethics Committee, opinion 674 (2018-08), on direct solicitation by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm offering below-market flat fees: A nonprofit law firm may not directly solicit people who are not its members for paid work, even at low flat fees, because any fee is still pecuniary gain. What to do: Do not make in-person or live calls to strangers for paid work, even if you are a nonprofit charging low fees.
• State Bar of Texas, Professional Ethics Committee, opinion 672 (2018-03), on letters to employees suggesting they may have claims like the lawyer's clients: A letter or email to non-clients that claims to seek information is a written solicitation if it is really meant to get hired. What to do: Treat 'fact-finding' letters to possible claimants as solicitations and follow the written-solicitation rules for them.
• State Bar of Texas, Professional Ethics Committee, opinion 654 (2016-03), on offering free bail bond and warrant information to attract visitors to a law office: A lawyer may advertise and give free bail-bond and warrant-check information to office visitors; it is not paying to solicit, but the offer must be honored. What to do: If you advertise free information, give it to everyone who asks, never make it depend on hiring you, and supervise staff who hand it out.

Which Google, Local Services and Meta policies matter for criminal defense ads?

• Google Ads: Other restricted businesses: Bail bond services. Ads for bail bond services are not allowed. Google's examples include immigration bail services and detention bail services.
• Google Ads: Personalized advertising: Commission of a crime. Criminal defense lawyers are a named example of a sensitive interest category. Their ads can't use advertiser-curated audiences: Customer Match, your data segments (remarketing), audience expansion or lookalike segments. Google's own audiences (in-market, affinity, life events) are allowed.
• Local Services Ads: Local Services Ads: service categories (US). Google's US list has 17 lawyer categories: bankruptcy, business, contract, criminal, disability, DUI, estate, family, immigration, IP, labor, litigation, malpractice, personal injury, real estate, traffic, and a general 'Lawyers' category. Unlike some other categories, none of the lawyer categories is limited to certain states.
• Meta: Privacy Violations and Personal Attributes. Meta ads can't assert or imply that the viewer has a personal attribute, including a health condition, disability, vulnerable financial status or criminal record. Meta's own 'not allowed' examples include 'Are you bankrupt?' and 'Are you a convicted felon?'.

The full list for every platform is in the ad platform policy tracker.

What else in Texas touches criminal defense marketing?

• Referral services and lead generators. Anyone who refers potential clients to lawyers is a lawyer referral service and needs a certificate; only a government body or a qualifying nonprofit can be certified (Occupations Code ch.
• Ads in Spanish and other languages. Required statements appear in each language the ad uses.
• Call recording. One-party consent: a person on the call may record it.
• Privacy and health data. The Texas Data Privacy and Security Act covers businesses above the SBA’s small-business size.

How much Spanish-speaking demand is there in Texas?

• Texas: about 7,932,949 (±30,524) people aged 5 and over who speak Spanish at home. ACS 2020-2024 survey estimate.
• Texas: about 3,034,861 (±21,917) Spanish speakers aged 5 and over who speak English less than "very well". ACS 2020-2024 survey estimate.
• Texas: about 271 (±26.3) Spanish speakers with limited English (less than "very well") for every Spanish-speaking lawyer, judge or judicial worker. ACS 2020-2024 survey estimate.

Test Spanish pages and ads next to English ones.

Which Texas metros do we cover?

Each metro page covers how clients there find a lawyer, what AI answers show and the local courts:

• Austin law firm SEO, AI search and Google AdsHow Austin clients and tech workers find a lawyer, Spanish demand, Western District venue and Texas ad filing for firms of any size.
• Dallas-Fort Worth law firm SEO, AI search and adsTwo cities, one metro: search habits, the strongest Spanish-access gap in our data, three federal venues and Texas ad filing for DFW firms.
• Houston law firm SEO, AI search and Google AdsHow Houston clients find a lawyer, what AI answers show, Spanish demand, Southern District venue and Texas ad filing for firms of any size.
• San Antonio law firm SEO, AI search and Google AdsHow San Antonio clients find a lawyer, military and Spanish-speaking clients, Western District venue and Texas ad filing for firms of any size.

What does this mean for your firm?

• Check the Texas filing duty before the first criminal defense ad runs, and ask your attorney to approve each ad.
• Plan each criminal defense campaign around the platform’s own policies, so ads are not disapproved after launch.
• Test Spanish and English side by side where the Spanish-speaking audience is large.

Not legal advice. Probative Growth is a marketing firm, not a law firm. Rules change; your attorney decides what runs.

Questions firms ask about criminal defense ads in Texas

Does a criminal defense firm have to file its ads in Texas?

File each non-exempt ad with the State Bar of Texas Advertising Review Committee within 10 days after first use, with a $100 fee. An unfiled non-exempt ad can draw a $250 fine plus the $100 fee.

Can a criminal defense firm contact people directly in Texas?

No written, in-person or phone solicitation about a personal injury or accident before the 31st day; early contact is a Class A misdemeanor, and paying someone to solicit is a third-degree felony (Penal Code §38.12).

Can a criminal defense firm in Texas run Local Services Ads?

Google's US list has 17 lawyer categories: bankruptcy, business, contract, criminal, disability, DUI, estate, family, immigration, IP, labor, litigation, malpractice, personal injury, real estate, traffic, and a general 'Lawyers' category. Unlike some other categories, none of the lawyer categories is limited to certain states.

How much Spanish-speaking demand should a criminal defense firm plan for in Texas?

Texas: about 7,932,949 (±30,524) people aged 5 and over who speak Spanish at home. ACS 2020-2024 survey estimate.