Find or Order Texas Marriage and Divorce Records

This guide helps you find Texas marriage and divorce records, check whether a record appears in the statewide index, and choose the right office for a verification, license copy, or decree copy.

The main state office for this process is the Texas Department of State Health Services Vital Statistics Section, and online orders go through the Order Vital Records service. This site is independent, does not provide legal advice, and cannot guarantee results.

Order a Texas marriage or divorce verification

Start with the statewide tools that Texas makes public. Check the year you need in the Marriage/Divorce Indexes, then use the Order Vital Records portal to request a verification when the record type and year are available.

Have these details ready before you begin:

• Full name of spouse 1
• Full name of spouse 2, including maiden last name before first marriage when applicable
• Date of the marriage or divorce
• City or town and county where the event occurred in Texas
• Ages or dates of birth for both people
• Social Security numbers, if known

Once you have the details, follow the statewide process in order.

• Confirm that the year you need is covered by the public statewide index.
• Choose the correct record type, such as a marriage verification or divorce verification.
• Complete the order online, or use the state mail application if you cannot order online.
• Submit identification and payment, then monitor the request status if needed.

Important: Texas issues verification letters through Vital Statistics, but those letters are not certified copies of a marriage license or divorce decree.

Know which record you need

• Marriage verification: confirms whether a Texas marriage was recorded with the state and includes the spouses’ names, marriage date, and place of marriage.
• Divorce verification: confirms whether a Texas divorce was recorded with the state and includes the spouses’ names, divorce date, and place of divorce.
• Photocopy of marriage license application: may be ordered from Vital Statistics and will have confidential information redacted.
• Heirloom wedding anniversary certificate: a commemorative document for framing only, not a legal record.

Certified copies follow a different path. For a certified marriage license, contact the county clerk in the county where the marriage license was obtained. For a certified divorce decree, contact the district clerk in the county or district where the divorce was granted.

Use the public indexes

Texas maintains public marriage indexes for marriages since 1966 and public divorce indexes for divorces since 1968. These indexes are aids for locating the county where the original record was filed, not legal documents themselves.

The downloadable yearly index files are not considered comprehensive. DSHS says they may contain data entry errors, misspelled names, incorrect dates, or missing data, and ongoing corrections to original records may not yet appear in the index files.

If you need a marriage before 1966, a divorce before 1968, or you cannot locate a record in the statewide index, contact the county clerk or district clerk where the event occurred. DSHS also notes an applicant-age error affecting marriage indexes for 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Fees and processing times

The table below covers the main statewide request types and standard timelines listed by DSHS.

DSHS says fees are non-refundable and non-transferable, even if the record is not found or the request is identified incorrectly. Processing starts when the application and payment are received, and shipping time is not included.

Watch the expedited fee closely: the current DSHS costs page lists a $25 expedited processing fee, while the mail application shown in the packet lists $5.

Mail and in-person ordering options

If you cannot order online, you can send a mail application or visit a local office or the Austin Vital Statistics headquarters. Mail-in orders use regular processing unless you send the packet by overnight carrier to the expedited address and include the required expedited fees and return shipping choice.

Regular mail orders go to the state mailing address, while expedited packets must go to the Austin street address by overnight service. Walk-in service at the Austin office is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, and same-day service is available in most cases. For a nearby office, use the local records office finder.

For mail applications, DSHS says the packet should include a completed original application, signature, identification, and payment. Incomplete or rejected applications can delay the process, and a corrected resubmission starts the processing time over again.

Vital Statistics contacts

Use these contacts when you need statewide help with marriage or divorce verifications, indexes, status questions, or Austin walk-in service.

• Texas Department of State Health Services Vital Statistics Section, 1100 W. 49th St., Austin, TX 78756
  Phone: (888) 963-7111
  Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:00pm
• Texas Vital Statistics regular mail, P.O. Box 12040, Austin, TX 78711-2040
• Marriage/Divorce Index questions
  Email: [email protected]