Vital Records


Certified Copy of a Birth Certificate

The Department of State Health Services Vital Statistics Unit does not publish searchable birth indexes on our website. If you are interested in finding out if a record is on file in our office you must request a birth verification in writing. More information on record verification can be found on our Birth and Death Verification request page.

Ordering Birth Certificates through Texas.gov

For fast, affordable service, order Texas birth certificates through Texas.gov, the official eGovernment site for the State of Texas. The current estimated processing time for Texas.gov orders is 10-15 business days.Birth certificates for births within the past 75 years are considered protected records, and Texas.gov has the following requirements for requesting these records:

  • If you reside in Texas, you can order your own record or the records of your immediate family members. If you live outside of Texas, you can order your own record or the record of your child, if you are listed as a parent on the record.
  • You must have a valid state-issued driver’s license or government-issued ID card.
  • You must be ordering a record that is to be delivered within the United States, to U.S. territories or U.S. commonwealths, or to U.S. military addresses (APO, FPO).
  • You must have a valid credit card.

If you do not meet these criteria, you cannot use Texas.gov to request a birth certificate from the past 75 years, but you can make the request by following the instructions below.

Go to Texas.gov

Offline instructions for ordering a birth certificate

  1. Obtain and fill out an application for a certified copy of a birth certificate. You can either download one or pick one up in person. See the tablebelow for details.For births that occurred within the past 75 years, copies can be requested only by the immediate family of the person whose name is on the birth certificate. If you are not an immediate family member, you must provide legal documentation, such as a court order establishing guardianship that documents a direct and tangible interest in the birth certificate.
  2. Send in the completed application with payment using one of the methods listed in the table below. If the birth occurred within the past 75 years, you must include a photocopy of your valid photo ID issued by a governmental entity.The following are acceptable forms of ID:
    • State-issued driver’s license
    • State/city/county ID card
    • Student ID
    • Government employment badge or card
    • Prison ID
    • Military ID

If you do not have a photo ID, you can instead send a copy of the photo ID of an immediate family member, or you can send copies of two documents showing your name, such as a utility bill and your Social Security card. One of the documents must have your signature.

We will not be able to process applications for birth certificates if the application is received without a photo ID or the alternate IDs listed above and signature of applicant.


Request a Certified Copy of a Death Certificate

Please note: If you are ordering a death certificate for a death that occurred within the last 90 days, the death certificate may not yet be available. Please expect that these orders will take longer than the estimated processing times.

The Department of State Health Services Vital Statistics Unit does not publish searchable death indexes on our website.  If you are interested in finding out if a record is on file in our office you must request a death verification in writing.  More information on record verification can be found on our Birth and Death Verification request page.

Ordering Death Certificates through Texas.gov

For fast, affordable service, order Texas death certificates through TexasOnline, the official eGovernment site for the State of Texas. The current estimated processing time for TexasOnline orders is 10-15 business days.Death certificates for deaths within the past 25 years are considered protected records, and TexasOnline has the following requirements for requesting these records:

  • If you live in Texas, you can order the records of your immediate family members. If you live outside Texas, you must be the surviving spouse of the deceased, a parent of the deceased or the funeral director of the funeral home on the record.
  • You must have a valid state-issued driver’s license or government-issued ID card.
  • You must be ordering a record that is to be delivered within the United States, to U.S. territories or U.S. commonwealths, or to U.S. military addresses (APO, FPO).
  • You must have a valid credit card.

If you do not meet these criteria, you cannot use TexasOnline to request a death certificate from the past 25 years, but you can make the request by following the instructions below.

Go to Texas.gov

Offline instructions for ordering a death certificate

  1. Fill out an application for a certified copy of a birth or death certificate. For deaths that occurred 25 years ago to the present, only the immediate family members to the name on the death certificate are eligible to request a copy. If you are not an immediate family member, you must provide legal documentation, such as an insurance policy listing you as a beneficiary that documents a direct and tangible interest in the record.
  2. Send in the application with payment using one of the methods listed in the table below. If the death occurred within the last 25 years, you must include a photocopy of your valid photo government-issued ID. The following are acceptable forms of ID:
  • State-issued driver’s license
  • State/city/county ID card
  • Student ID
  • Government employment badge or card
  • Prison ID
  • Military ID

If you do not have photo ID, an alternative would be to send a copy of the photo ID of an immediate family member or copies of two documents with your name, such as a utility bill and your Social Security card. One of the documents must have your signature.

Applications where the death on the death certificate was within the last 25 years received without photo ID or the alternatives listed above will not be processed.


Click here for information on viewing files.

Verification of a Marriage or Divorce

Verification letters are not considered legal substitutes for marriage licenses or divorce decrees. It is strongly recommended that you make sure a verification letter will satisfy your intended use before ordering.

Certified copies of marriage licenses or divorce decrees are only available from the county clerk (marriage) or district clerk (divorce) in the county or district in which it was obtained.

Indexes (lists) of marriage or divorce records by year may be purchased or downloaded for free from our website.

The Texas Vital Statistics provides letters verifying whether or not a marriage or divorce was recorded with the State of Texas based on the application for marriage or divorce sent to our office by the county clerk or district clerk. If no record of a marriage is found, the verification letter itself can be considered a “single-status letter,” which some foreign countries accept as legal proof of single status.

Verification letters of marriage are available for marriages that occurred from 1966 to the present.
Verification letters of divorce are available for divorces that occurred from 1968 to the present.

Ordering marriage verification or divorce verification letters through Texas.gov

For fast, affordable service, order marriage verification or divorce verification letters through Texas.gov, the official eGovernment site for the State of Texas. The current estimated processing time for Texas.gov orders is 10-15 business days.Anyone who orders from Texas.gov must:

  • be ordering a record that is to be delivered within the United States, to U.S. territories or U.S. commonwealths, or to U.S. military addresses (APO, FPO).
  • have a valid credit card.

If you do not meet these criteria, you cannot use Texas.gov, but you can make the request by following the instructions below.

Go to Texas.gov

Offline Instructions for Ordering a Marriage or Divorce Verification

  1. Obtain and fill out an application for a marriage or divorce verification letter. You can either download one or pick one up in person. See the table below for details.
  2. Send in the application with the correct fee ($20 per verification). The fee for a verification is non-refundable and non-transferable, even if a record is not found.
  3. Send in the completed application with payment using one of the methods listed in the table below. The following are acceptable forms of ID:
  • US Government Issued driver’s license
  • US Government Issued State/city/county ID card
  • Student ID
  • Government employment badge or card
  • Prison ID
  • US Military ID

If you do not have a photo ID, you can instead send a copy of the photo ID of an immediate family member, or you can send copies of two documents showing your name, such as a utility bill and your Social Security card. One of the documents must have your signature.

We will not be able to process applications if the application is received without a photo ID or the alternate IDs listed above.

The processing times in the table below are estimates.  Please make checks or money orders payable to DSHS.