After a hearing is held, the court may grant the petition and order the former parent’s parental rights be reinstated if it finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that all of the following are true:

• Reinstatement of parental rights is in the child’s best interest.
• At least two years have passed since the former parent’s parental rights were terminated, and no appeal is pending.
• The child has not been adopted and is not the subject of an adoptive placement agreement.
• If the child is age 12 or older, the child consents to the reinstatement and wants to live with the former parent.
• The former parent has remedied the conditions that were grounds for termination of parental rights.
• The former parent has the capacity, capability, and willingness to perform the parental duties listed in Texas Family Code Section 151.001External Link, including maintaining the child’s health, safety, and welfare. 

If the child is age 11 or younger, the court considers the child’s age, maturity, and ability to express a preference and may consider the child’s preference about reinstatement as a factor in determining whether to reinstate parental rights.

If the court denies the petition for reinstatement of the former parent’s parental rights, a subsequent petition (related to the same former parent and the same child) cannot be filed until a year after the date the court issued the denial.

Texas Family Code §161.302External Link