Frequently Asked Questions

A constable is a licensed peace officer and performs various law enforcement functions. They also serve legal documents and perform other duties.

A county constable in Texas has the following duties:

• Serves as a licensed peace officer and performs various law enforcement functions, including issuing traffic citations
• Serves warrants and civil papers such as subpoenas and temporary restraining orders
• Serves as bailiff for Justice of the Peace Court

For more complete information about the responsibilities of a constable and other county officials, see the 2023 Guide to Texas Laws for County Officials (PDF).

Please note: Some duties performed by officials may vary within individual counties.

Constables are required to attain 40 hours of continuing education biannually, 20 hours of which must be in civil process. Per 2013 Texas Senate Bill No. 686, Texas Eighty-Third Legislature.

See the full continuing education requirements and more.

Legal source: V.T.C.A., Tex. Occ. Code, Sec. 1701.3545.

The Texas Agriculture code defines estray as stray livestock, stray exotic livestock, or stray exotic fowl.

State law requires the person in possession of the estray, or stray livestock to report the presence of the estray to the sheriff of the county in which the estray is discovered.

No, that would be considered stealing. The finder of a stray (estray) livestock may be arrested and charged with Theft of Livestock if he or she disposed of the estray outside of the estray procedure.

A hotel … lodging facility … owner, operator, or manager must collect hotel occupancy taxes from its guests. For the purposes of the tax, a hotel is considered to be any building in which members of the public rent sleeping accommodations. County hotel occupancy taxes apply to sleeping rooms costing $2 or more per day.

The tax covers hotels, motels, and bed and breakfasts, as well as condominiums, apartments, and houses rented for less than 30 consecutive days. Hotel occupancy tax does not apply to hospitals, sanitariums, nursing homes, student dormitories operated by colleges and universities, or condominiums, apartments, and houses leased for more than 30 consecutive days.

Beginning January 1, 2007, the County hotel occupancy tax became effective in all areas of Gillespie County which are outside the City of Fredericksburg and its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). The collection of this occupancy tax was authorized by House Bill 214, which was approved by the State Legislature in 2005. The authorization was updated by the 82nd Legislative Regular Session with HB1234 in 2011.

On August 14, 2006, the Gillespie County Commissioners Court by resolution (PDF) approved implementation of the local occupancy tax to be effective January 1, 2007.

Lodging operators and reservation services are requested to provide contact information to the Gillespie County Treasurers Office. This can be done by completing a Lodging Operator or Reservation Service Information form and submitting it to the Treasurer's Office.

The hotel occupancy tax rate in Gillespie County is 13% … 6% is assessed by the State of Texas and due and payable to the State … 7% is assessed by the County and due and payable to the County for any establishment not in the City of Fredericksburg or the City's ETJ (extra-territorial jurisdiction). For those establishments in the City or its ETJ, the City assesses 7% which is due and payable to the City of Fredericksburg.

Payments for County hotel occupancy tax should be mailed to:

Gillespie County Treasurer
101 W Main St.
Mail Unit #5
Fredericksburg, TX 78624-3700

You also have the option of making payments by credit card, via online payment (visit the Payments page), or telephone, or in person at the County Treasurer's Office.

The County does not mail out quarterly notices to all hotel occupancy tax responders. If you would like to be included in a quarterly email reminder for HOT payments with the current form attached, please send your request to the County Treasurer by email.

Find the forms and additional information here:

• Remittance Form with Instructions, Version 2025 (PDF)
• Registration Form to Submit Contact Information (PDF)
• County Resolution (PDF)
• State Comptroller website

Pursuant to the Texas Tax Code, the funds generated from this tax may only be used for very limited purposes related to the tourism industry in Gillespie County.

For further information and assistance, you may contact the State Comptroller's Office. You may call a hotel tax specialist toll-free at 800-252-1385.

Each year, the County accepts grant applications for the allocation of the County Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) funds from organizations and entities who feel they qualify for such funding. The purpose of the HOT funding is to assist and support qualified events/projects/programs in promoting tourism to Gillespie County, which increases business for our local overnight accommodation venues.

The grant process usually begins early in the year with allocations approved and distributed by the end of March. Notices of the process will be published in the local newspaper, the County website, and various County offices. 

Please provide information of the exact location of the driveway (or the planned future permanent driveway) – where you are turning off of the named road to get onto your property/habitable structure. The address point measurement must be made within 35 feet of the center of the driveway.

1. Provide the GPS (x,y longitude, latitude) coordinates of the center of the driveway intersection with the named road. 
2. Or: Provide an aerial such as Google Map with a pin drop showing exactly where the driveway is. 
3. Or: Provide a full parcel site design plan from the builder showing where the new driveway is.

1. Contact the post office, appraisal district, all of your service providers, any subscriptions, personal and business interests, i.e. financial and insurance offices, and report the correct information. 
2. Keep your official notification letter in your files to be able to provide a copy of it to any of the previously listed information.  

The problem is in the mapping software used by the devices/apps that comes from the private sector (e.g., Google, Apple), not from the GPS satellites. GPS satellites are simply beacons, like lighthouses, that a device uses to calculate its own latitude and longitude, and they do not transmit any mapping information.

1. Contact the map provider and report the correct information.
2. Contact GPS.gov and report the correct information.

1. Contact your law enforcement agency and report the theft.
2. Post your house number again and stay vigilant of your neighborhood happenings.

Please bring your official address notification letter with you.

A blue 6-inch-high by 12-inch-wide reflective 911 house number plate with white numbers can be purchased at the Gillespie County Rural Addressing Office between 10 am to 4:45 pm.

The cost is $15 [effective Monday, September 12, 2022], and you must present your official notification letter. One double-sided plate is available per assigned house number.

Only check or cash payment methods are accepted. The $15 check must be made payable to Gillespie County and must include your DL # / Phone # / Birthdate information on it.

If you need an address verification letter and live in City of Fredericksburg limits, then contact City of Fredericksburg Development Services Coordinator/Senior Planner Shelby Collier at 830-990-2013 or Planner January Musgrove at 830-990-2079 for your needed documentation.