Members of the Texas House of Representatives serve two-year terms of office, with no term limits. The House is in session from January to June each year and is located in downtown Austin. There is a process for running for office in Texas that must be completed, in addition to securing funds for campaign costs and support within your party and from your constituents. The Texas Secretary of State requires certain steps and qualifications be met to include your name on the electoral ballot.

Meet the minimum qualifications to hold the office. You must be at least 21 years old and a United States citizen. You must have lived in Texas for at least two years, including at least one year in the district that you will be seeking to represent.

Choose your district. Texas has 150 districts, and each district holds one seat in the Texas House of Representatives. If you do not want to run in your district, you will need to move to a new district at least one year before seeking office. Choose a district that traditionally votes for your political party.

Download the application for a place on the ballot from the Texas Secretary of State website (sos.state.tx.us). Select the application with a filing fee if you will be paying a fee. Select the application with petition if you will be collecting signatures instead of paying a filing fee.

Type the information into the form. Fill out your full name, address, length of residency, phone number and position you are running for.

Pay the filing fee. As of the time of publication, the fee for running for state representative is $750. If you will be collecting signatures instead of paying a filing fee, you must collect 5,000 signatures from eligible Texas voters.

File the completed form and fee by 6 p.m. on Jan. 2 of the election year. File the form with the office of the State Party Chair. Find your state party chair on the Texas Secretary of State website, under “Election Information.”