Sec. 52.006.  DURATION OF LIEN.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b), a judgment lien continues for 10 years following the date of recording and indexing the abstract, except that if the judgment becomes dormant during that period the lien ceases to exist.
(b)  Notwithstanding Section 34.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, a judgment in favor of the state or a state agency, as that term is defined by Section 403.055, Government Code, does not become dormant.  A properly filed abstract of the judgment continues to constitute a lien under Section 52.001 until the earlier of the 20th anniversary of the date the abstract is recorded and indexed or the date the judgment is satisfied or the lien is released.  The judgment lien may be renewed for one additional 20-year period by filing, before the expiration of the initial 20-year period, a renewed abstract of judgment in the same manner as the original abstract of judgment is filed.  The renewed judgment lien relates back to the date the original abstract of judgment was filed.
Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 3528, ch. 576, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1984.
Amended by: 
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 11 (S.B. 300), Sec. 1, eff. April 23, 2007.