Texas Marital Records

Choose a certified copy, verification or index

For a certified Texas marriage license copy, order from the county clerk in the county that issued the license. For a certified divorce decree, use the district clerk where the divorce was granted. Texas DSHS cannot issue those certified originals. First ask the organization receiving the document which product it requires, especially for a legal or administrative purpose.

DSHS verification letters report whether a marriage or divorce was recorded with the state. Marriage coverage starts in 1966; divorce coverage starts in 1968. These letters are not certified marriage licenses or divorce decrees. Earlier events require the local clerk, and paying for a verification does not convert it into a certified copy.

Use the annual indexes to identify the county

Download the relevant annual ZIP file from the DSHS Marriage/Divorce Indexes page. Entries include both names, ages and a file number, with event information and the divorce filing county where applicable. Keep the event date and county with the match; similarly named couples can appear in different years.

The indexes are incomplete compilations of reports received from local clerks, not legal documents. As checked October 2, 2026, the table offered marriage downloads through 2023 and still labeled the 2018–2023 divorce files “available in 2026.” That label does not establish that those files can already be downloaded. For a missing year or entry, contact the original county or district clerk.

Prepare a state verification order

Follow DSHS’s Order Online link to Texas.gov for a verification, or use its mail application. Austin in-person service also issues marriage/divorce verifications; it does not issue county marriage licenses or district-court decrees. Local certified-copy identification rules, prices and delivery options are set by the responsible office, so obtain that office’s instructions after locating it.

Mail applicants must supply both spouses’ full names, the event date and Texas city/county, ages or dates of birth, applicant contact and shipping information, relationship and reason for requesting. Include a copy of valid government-issued photo ID and the original signed and dated application; cross-outs or white-out are not accepted. Checks or money orders are payable to DSHS - Vital Statistics.

Standard mail goes to DSHS - VSS, P.O. Box 12040, Austin, TX 78711-2040. The form gives 1100 W. 49th Street, Austin, TX 78756, DSHS - VSS MC 2096 for overnight expedited submissions. Use the service-specific instructions and retain a copy of the packet and payment details.

Use the current fee page when the form disagrees

A marriage or divorce verification costs $20 each. State fees are nonrefundable and nontransferable even if no record is found or the wrong record was identified. Regular USPS First Class return mailing has no extra charge. Do not confuse a paid verification with the downloadable index or a local certified-copy order.

The linked March 2024 application still prints a $5 expedited-processing fee, while the current DSHS fee page explicitly says it has increased to $25. Use the current $25 amount and confirm the packet total before sending. Expedited return shipping is separate: $16 overnight within the USA or $22.95 USPS Express to a PO Box. Austin credit-card payments add a $2.25 processing fee.

Allow processing time as well as delivery

The current DSHS table lists average processing of 20–25 business days for Texas.gov marriage/divorce verifications and 25–30 business days for mail orders. Shipping time is additional. Processing starts upon receipt of the application and payment; a rejected packet that is corrected and resubmitted starts a new processing period.

Austin walk-in orders are often available the same day, but some need 24 hours or longer. These are service estimates, not guaranteed dates. Use the DSHS order-status route or 888-963-7111 with your order details if follow-up is needed.

Resolve a missing entry or error at its source

The public files can contain misspellings or incorrect dates and may lag corrections to the original record. DSHS specifically flags an applicant-age error in the 2019 marriage index. Ask the issuing county clerk about an erroneous marriage license and the filing district clerk about an erroneous decree. Preserve the file number and the exact disputed field.

DSHS issues a not-found letter when the record is absent from its files. It does not establish that the person never married or divorced. Check the names used at the event, the year, the original filing jurisdiction and whether that year is actually available before deciding the search is finished.