Are you a newbie to genealogy?  To find out about these records and what they can do for you, you'll want to read this page first.  Be informed... help your research along.

Texas began statewide vital records registration in 1903, though some fragmented recordings are available for earlier time periods. Master indexes are available for those recorded after 1903. For earlier records, refer to the Texas State Archives.

How to Obtain Texas Vital Record (birth, marriage and death) Certificates

For births and deaths after 1903, and marriages after 1966, write:

For prior records contact the Wilbarger County Clerk.

Copies of birth and death certificates are confidential under Texas law for 75 years for birth certificates and 25 years for death certificates from the date of the event. If the death was less than 25 years ago or the birth was less than 75 years ago, the certified copies can only be obtained by qualified applicants. If you are a qualified applicant, you may request a certified copy of a birth or death in Texas. If you do not meet the definition of a qualified applicant, you may request a Verification of Birth or Death Facts .

Verification of a birth or death record consists of a letter, which includes the person's name, date of event, county in which the event occurred, and state file number. Texas Vital Statistics has 4 ways for you to verify a birth or death in the State of Texas: by mail, by express mail, by fax, and in-person at Texas Vital Statistics in Austin. Verifications are available from 1903 to the present. However, the fee for a verification is non-refundable or non-transferable if a record is not found.

Cost per copy is $11.00. Additional copies of the birth record ordered at the same time are $11.00 each.

Personal check or money order should be made payable to Bureau of Vital Statistics. To verify current fees, the telephone number is (512) 458-7111. This is a recorded message. Information on how to obtain certified copies is also available via the internet at http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/bvs

• VitalChek - Request vital records certificates online.  NOTE: Prices are significantly higher than those shown on this page.

Recommended Genealogy Websites

• Social Security Death Index with over 81 million recorded deaths.  A national database that you can look up deaths from the 1940s to today.
• Texas Death Records - a database of 3,963,456 records from 1964 thru 1998 from the Texas Department of Health
• Interment.net - publisher of online burial records.  Many of the transcriptions published at this site are of cemeteries that no longer exist.
• Texas State Cemetery