Exhibit 31(a)


                                CERTIFICATIONS

      I, Mark E. Schwarz, certify that:

      1.   I have reviewed  this report on  Form 10-Q  of Hallmark  Financial
 Services, Inc. (the "Company");

      2.   Based on my  knowledge, this report  does not  contain any  untrue
 statement of a material fact or omit  to state a material fact necessary  to
 make the statements  made, in light  of the circumstances  under which  such
 statements were made, not misleading with  respect to the period covered  by
 this report;

      3.   Based  on  my  knowledge,  the  financial  statements,  and  other
 financial information  included  in  this  report,  fairly  present  in  all
 material respects the  financial condition, results  of operations and  cash
 flows of the Company as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

      4.   The Company's other certifying officers and I are responsible  for
 establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures [as  defined
 in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)] for the Company and have:

           a)   designed such disclosure controls  and procedures, or  caused
 such  disclosure  controls   and  procedures  to   be  designed  under   our
 supervision, to ensure  that material information  relating to the  Company,
 including its  consolidated subsidiaries,  is made  known  to us  by  others
 within those entities, particularly during the  period in which this  report
 is being prepared;

           b)   evaluated  the  effectiveness  of  the  Company's  disclosure
 controls and procedures and presented in  this report our conclusions  about
 the effectiveness of the disclosure controls  and procedures, as of the  end
 of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

           c)   disclosed in this report any change in the Company's internal
 control over financial  reporting that  occurred during  the Company's  most
 recent fiscal quarter (the Company's fourth  fiscal quarter in the case of
 an annual report) that has materially  affected, or is reasonably likely  to
 materially affect, the Company's internal control over financial  reporting;
 and

      5.   The Company's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based
 on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial  reporting,
 to the Company's auditors and the audit committee of the Company's board  of
 directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

           a)   all significant deficiencies and  material weaknesses in  the
 design or operation of internal control  over financial reporting which  are
 reasonably likely  to  adversely affect  the  Company's ability  to  record,
 process, summarize and report financial information; and

           b)   any fraud, whether or not material, that involves  management
 or other employees  who have a  significant role in  the Company's  internal
 control over financial reporting.

 Date:     May 15, 2006

                                  /s/ Mark E. Schwarz
                                  ----------------------------------------
                                  Mark E. Schwarz, Chief Executive Officer
                                  of Hallmark Financial Services, Inc.