(a) The applicant must file the original and a duplicate copy of the vacancy application with the county clerk of each county in which all or part of the land alleged to be vacant is located.
(b) The county clerk shall mark the exact date and hour of filing on the original and a duplicate copy of the vacancy application and shall return a marked copy to the person filing the application. The original shall be recorded in a book kept for that purpose separate from the deed or real property records. The failure to record a vacancy application as provided by this subsection does not affect the validity of the application filing.
(c) Not later than the fifth day after the date an applicant files the vacancy application with the county clerk, the applicant shall file a duplicate copy of the marked copy received from the county clerk with the county surveyor of each county in which all or part of the land alleged to be vacant is located if that county has a county surveyor.
(d) Priority among vacancy applications covering the same land alleged to be vacant is determined by the earliest time of filing indicated by the date and hour marked on the application by the county clerk.

Source Note: The provisions of this §13.35 adopted to be effective February 22, 2011, 36 TexReg 1154