- Home
- Texas Vital Records
Vital records document life events such as birth, death, marriage, and divorce. To order records online, you’ll need to have a valid ID, complete an online application, and pay a fee.
Our state agencies can help you get the vital
records you need. Only you, your immediate family members, and certain individuals with legal authority can request your vital records. Get copies or change a record A birth
certificate is a certified copy of a birth record. Order a copy by: Providing valid identification, Filling out an application, and Paying a fee. Order birth certificates online Order a copy of a death certificate by providing a valid ID, filling out an application online, by mail or
in-person, and paying a fee. Order death certificates online A verification letter indicates if a birth or death is on file in Texas. The record, if available, will include the name, date of birth or death, and county of birth or
death.
Order birth or death verification letters Payment methods vary based on order request (online, by mail or in-person). Acceptable forms of payment include: Check or cashier's check, Money order, and Credit or debit card. Learn how to order
certificates If a birth happened in Texas and it wasn’t registered within the first year, you can ask for a delayed birth certificate. Register a delayed birth certificateFind vital record services and information
Vital record request and change permissions
Birth certificates
Death certificates
Verification letters
Payments
Delayed birth certificate registration
Vital record request and change permissions
Plus IconBirth certificates
Plus IconDeath certificates
Plus IconVerification letters
Plus Icon
ID requirements
Plus IconDelayed birth certificate registration
Plus IconLearn how our agencies can help you
Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS)
- Birth and death certificates and verifications
- Marriage and divorce verifications
- Disinterment permits and heirloom certificates
Vital records most commonly refer to records such as birth and death certificates, marriage licenses and divorce decrees, wills and the like. These records are created by local authorities, and with possible exceptions for events overseas, in the military, or in the District of Columbia. They are not considered Federal records; therefore they are not held by NARA.
The
CDC's National Center for Health Statistics web site tells how to obtain birth, death, marriage, and divorce records from state and territorial agencies.
NARA Related Resources
Information collected in Census Records may help you to find which jurisdiction you will want to look for vital records in. For instance, if you find your ancestor's state of birth and approximate year of birth are reported in the census, you can then contact that local jurisdiction regarding their birth records. Certain census years (1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880) also had mortality schedules (1890-1900 were unfortunately destroyed), so you may find someone's death reported if it occurred in the year leading up to the census.
Marriage Registers of Freedman, an article from Prologue
This article describes the marriage records available for freed slaves and other records about slave families. These records are an invaluable source for African-American family history. See links to more resources on
African-American Research.
- World War II
Army and Army Air Force
Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Personnel - Korean War
- Vietnam War
- Also Search AAD for War Casualties and POW lists
External Web Sites with Related Information
- 1930 Federal Population Census
This NARA site is dedicated to the release of the 1930 census. It is complete with finding aids and indexes.
- American Battle Monuments Commission: World War II Dead
Arranged by cemetary and memorial, this site displays the burials and missing in action for 172,218 victims.
- American FactFinder
This U.S. Census Bureau site is designed to make finding census information easier. Included are community profiles, reference and thematic maps, and population and housing facts.
- Arizona Birth & Death Certificate Archive
Birth and death certificates for residents of Arizona are now available to the public through this site, provided the birth was more than 75 years ago, and the death more than 50 years ago.
- Deaths of U.S. Citizens in Foreign Countries
Information on reports of American who have died abroad. Guidance is provided for obtaining reports from U.S. consular offices to the Department of State naming U.S. citizens who died within foreign countries.
- Online Searchable Death Indexes for the USA
This site provides databases for genealogists and other researchers.
- Find A Grave
This site helps you search for ancestors' graves, memorials, monuments, burial records, and cemeteries. It also provides links to the graves of thousands of famous people around the world.
- Family History: Clues in Census Records, 1850-1920
This article by Claire Prechtel-Kluskens appeared in the January 1998 issue of NARA's The Record.
- First in the Path of the Fireman: The Fate of the 1890 Census
This article, written by Kellee Blake, was published in the Spring 1996 issue of Prologue.
- Illinois Statewide Death Index (1916-1950)
This database provides listings of death certificates filed with the Illinois Department of Public Health between 1916 and 1950.
- Marriage
Registers of Freedman
Elaine Everly, NARA staff member, wrote this article on Freedmans' marriage registers. It is an invaluable source of family history published in the Fall 1973 issue of Prologue Quarterly.
- Myths and Realities about the 1960 Census
This article by Margaret O. Adams and Thomas E. Brown appeared in the Winter 2000 issue of Prologue.
- National Adoption Information Clearinghouse
The NAIC will assist genealogists seeking modern vital records and gives current information on state laws and procedures.
- National Cemetery Administration: National Gravesite Locator
This site includes a database of over 3,000,000 veterans' cemetery records online, covering VA burials since the Civil War.
- New York City Death Index
Nearly 1.4 million records are included in the database, covering: 1891 to 1894 Manhattan Only, 1895 to 1897 Manhattan and Brooklyn Only, and 1898 to 1911 All Boroughs.
- The Official Land Patent Records Site (BLM)
Maintained by the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) General Land Office, this site currently provides public access to over two million federal land title records, issued between 1820 and 1908, for twelve Eastern Public Land States.
- Obtaining Birth/Death Records in Other States
Compiled by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, this site links to the vital records offices of all 50 states.
- Obituaries and Cemeteries Online
Helpful links on where to search for burial records, tombstone inscriptions, and obituaries online through this LibrarySpot site.
- Online Searchable Death Indexes
Created by Joe Beine, this site lists death indexes by state, and include county indexes, obituaries, death certificate databases, and a vital records database.
- Passengers on the Mayflower: Ages & Occupations, Origins & Connections
This site, The Plymouth Colony Archive Project, lists all the passengers on the Mayflower, and their occupations. Very useful for proving ancestry lines from the original Plymouth Colony settlers.
- Record Searching: Birth, Marriage, Death, Divorce, Land
This Internet Public Librarian site assists in locating public or vital records using the Internet.
- Record of Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Civil War, 1861-1865
This digital version of William S. Stryker's classic work is presented here by the New Jersey State Library.
- Social Security Death Index
Sponsored by FamilyTreeMaker.com, this site indexes all of the death records that have been reported to the Social Security Administration.
- State Archives
Locations of NARA State Archives and historical societies with contact information.
- U.S. Vital Records Information
This site is helpful for beginning researchers, because it is organized by state and then county, and gives instructions on how to make inquiries concerning vital records.
- Where to Write for Vital Records
The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics web site tells how to obtain birth, death, marriage, and divorce records from state and territorial agencies.
- World War I Service Cards Database
Database of over 145,000 service cards of Army and Marine soldiers from Missouri between 1917 and 1919.