Texas birth, death, marriage and divorce records: where to look
Texas issues certified birth and death records from 1903. For marriage and divorce it issues only verification letters (from 1966 and 1968); the certified copy of a marriage license or divorce decree has to come from the county or district clerk.
At a glance
| Record | Years at the state | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Birth | Births filed in Texas from 1903 to the present. [10] | $22 for a certified long-form or short-form copy. A birth verification letter (not a certified copy) is also $22. [5] |
| Death | Deaths filed in Texas from 1903 to the present. [11] | $20 for the first certified copy and $3 for each additional copy ordered at the same time. A death verification letter is $20. [5] |
| Marriage | The state keeps a public index of marriages since 1966 and cannot verify earlier ones. [4] | $20 per verification letter. The marriage index downloads for 1966 to 2011 are listed at $10 for the first year and $5 for each additional year. [5] |
| Divorce | The state keeps a public index of divorces since 1968 and cannot verify earlier ones. [4] | $20 per verification letter; index downloads priced like the marriage indexes. [5] |
Superscript numbers point to the official page each fact came from, listed at the bottom of this page.
Birth records
- Where it is kept
- The state Vital Statistics Section, or a local vital record office (the state page has an Order Records Locally list). [2]
- Years covered
- Births filed in Texas from 1903 to the present. [10]
- Who can get a certified copy
- The person named, an immediate family member (child, parent or guardian, sibling, grandparent, spouse), a guardian, or a legal agent. Anyone else must document a direct, tangible interest, for example with a court order. [6]
- Fee
- $22 for a certified long-form or short-form copy. A birth verification letter (not a certified copy) is also $22. [5]
- Processing time
- Averages of 20 to 25 business days for Texas.gov orders and 25 to 30 for mail, not counting shipping. [7]
Order online through Texas.gov (linked from DSHS) DSHS birth records page
Death records
- Where it is kept
- The state Vital Statistics Section, or a local vital record office. [3]
- Years covered
- Deaths filed in Texas from 1903 to the present. [11]
- Who can get a certified copy
- Same rule as birth: the person named, immediate family, a guardian or legal agent; others need documented direct, tangible interest. [6]
- Fee
- $20 for the first certified copy and $3 for each additional copy ordered at the same time. A death verification letter is $20. [5]
- Processing time
- Averages of 20 to 25 business days online and 25 to 30 by mail, not counting shipping. [7]
Order online through Texas.gov (linked from DSHS) DSHS death records page
Marriage records
- Where it is kept
- DSHS issues only a verification letter. A certified copy of a marriage license comes only from the county clerk in the county where the license was obtained. [4][12]
- Years covered
- The state keeps a public index of marriages since 1966 and cannot verify earlier ones. [4]
- Who can get a certified copy
- Not confirmed on the official pages we read.
- Fee
- $20 per verification letter. The marriage index downloads for 1966 to 2011 are listed at $10 for the first year and $5 for each additional year. [5]
- Processing time
- Verification letters: 20 to 25 business days online, 25 to 30 by mail. [7]
DSHS marriage and divorce page DSHS marriage and divorce indexes
Divorce records
- Where it is kept
- DSHS issues only a verification letter. A certified copy of a divorce decree comes only from the district clerk in the district where it was granted. [4][12]
- Years covered
- The state keeps a public index of divorces since 1968 and cannot verify earlier ones. [4]
- Who can get a certified copy
- Not confirmed on the official pages we read.
- Fee
- $20 per verification letter; index downloads priced like the marriage indexes. [5]
- Processing time
- Verification letters: 20 to 25 business days online, 25 to 30 by mail. [7]
DSHS warns that the indexes are compiled from county and district clerk reports, may contain errors and cannot be considered comprehensive.
Indexes at the State Library
The Texas State Library holds print and microform indexes (not certificates) in its Reading Room: births and deaths 1903 to 2010, marriages 1966 to 2005, divorces 1968 to 2005. Staff cannot search them by phone or email. Marriages before 1966 were kept only by the county clerk, and divorces before 1968 by the district clerk. The Library says FamilySearch does not charge users but requires a free account, and lists Texas collections there (for example births 1903 to 1935 and county marriage records 1837 to 1965). Ancestry requires a subscription or a library's Ancestry Library Edition. The Texas Digital Archive needs no login. [13]
About ordering online
The state's expedited fee is $25, and expedited applications must be mailed by an overnight service. For in-person orders at the Austin office, paying by credit card adds a $2.25 processing fee. [5]
Archives and other places to look
- DSHS sells digital birth indexes (1925 and later) and death indexes (1965 and later) at $10 per year, with microfiche for earlier years starting in 1903 at a fee available on request. These are not free. [8] DSHS birth and death indexes
- The Texas State Library's Reading Room has the state's birth and death indexes (1903 to 2010) and marriage and divorce indexes to 2005, and the Library says FamilySearch is free with an account. The page gives no Reading Room fee. [13] Texas State Library: vital statistics indexes
The National Archives describes FamilySearch.org as free with account creation (see our census page), but we could not open FamilySearch's own pages, so we do not describe what it holds for Texas.
Historical newspapers
The Library of Congress's Chronicling America lists 83 digitized newspaper titles published in Texas, with issues dated from May 26, 1849 to July 24, 1942. Coverage is uneven inside that span: it is a list of titles, not a promise that every town or year is there. Chronicling America includes select digitized newspapers through 1963.
Browse Texas titles at the Library of Congress
New to newspaper research? See our guide to finding old newspapers (obituaries, marriage notices, birth announcements).
Counts come from the Library of Congress's "All Digitized Titles" list, read October 27, 2026. The Library of Congress says it believes these newspapers are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions.
How we verified this page
Last verified October 27, 2026. Offices change fees and rules without notice. If something here no longer matches the official page, trust the official page.
Confirmed on official pages
- Certified birth and death records exist from 1903.
- Marriage verification starts at 1966 and divorce verification at 1968.
- Fees: birth $22, death $20 first copy and $3 additional, verification letters $20 (birth verification $22).
- Certified marriage and divorce copies come only from the county or district clerk.
Could not verify
- Whether the State Library's FamilySearch collections still match its list. We rely on the Library's page and did not open FamilySearch.
- Eligibility to order marriage or divorce verification letters (the page does not list it).
- How to reach each county clerk. The county clerks' own sites were not read.
Sources
- DSHS Vital Statistics home Official state page read 2026-10-27
- DSHS: Birth records Official state page read 2026-10-27
- DSHS: Death records Official state page read 2026-10-27
- DSHS: Marriage and divorce records Official state page read 2026-10-27
- DSHS: Costs and fees Official state page read 2026-10-27
- DSHS: Persons qualified to request records Official state page read 2026-10-27
- DSHS: Processing times Official state page read 2026-10-27
- DSHS: Birth and death indexes Official state page read 2026-10-27
- DSHS: Marriage and divorce indexes Official state page read 2026-10-27
- DSHS: Birth record FAQs Official state page read 2026-10-27
- DSHS: Death record FAQs Official state page read 2026-10-27
- DSHS: Marriage and divorce FAQs Official state page read 2026-10-27
- Texas State Library and Archives: vital statistics indexes Official state page read 2026-10-27