Texas Marriage & Divorce Records: How to Get a Copy (2026)

Texas's state vital records office never issues a certified marriage certificate or divorce decree. The state's Vital Statistics Section says so directly: our office cannot issue a certified copy of a marriage license or divorce decree. What it sells instead is a $20 verification letter, and the state is equally clear that those letters are not legal substitutes. Certified copies do exist in Texas, but they come from the county clerk or the district clerk rather than from the state.

Information last verified on 2026-08-04. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

This page is part of our guide to marriage and divorce records by state, and it covers the verification-letter model, which office actually issues certified documents, and what the state index can do for you.

The State of Texas Does Not Issue Certified Copies, but Counties Do

This is the fact that sends the most Texans to the wrong office, so it is worth stating in the state's own words. On its marriage and divorce FAQ, the Department of State Health Services says that its office cannot issue a certified copy of a marriage license or divorce decree. On its main marriage and divorce records page it identifies who can: certified copies of marriage licenses are only available from the county clerk, and certified copies of divorce decrees are only available from the district clerk.

So Texas runs the two-layer model in an unusual configuration. The state's layer exists, but it produces only a letter confirming that the event is in the state index. The document layer sits entirely at the county level, split between two different clerks depending on whether you need the marriage or the divorce.

DSHS is careful about what its letter is worth, saying that verification letters are not considered legal substitutes for marriage licenses or divorce decrees. Treat that as a practical warning, not boilerplate. If an agency asked for a certified copy, a verification letter will not clear the requirement.

When a Verification Letter Is Enough

A verification letter has real uses despite its limits.

It confirms that a marriage or divorce is recorded in the state index, with the basic identifying details, which is often enough for a genealogical question, for narrowing down which county to contact, or for an internal check where no certified document is demanded. It also costs $20 per verification, which is a fixed and predictable price.

Its most valuable use is diagnostic. If you do not know which Texas county issued a marriage license or granted a divorce, a verification letter identifies the event and points you to the right clerk, which is exactly the information you need before requesting a certified copy. Paying $20 to avoid guessing among 254 counties is often the efficient move.

Where the letter is not enough: remarriage license applications that require proof of a prior divorce, immigration filings, pension and retirement-plan divisions, property transfers, name changes at some agencies, and any proceeding where the terms of the divorce matter. Those need the county-issued certified document.

Getting the Certified Document From the County

For a marriage, the county clerk in the county that issued the license holds the record and issues certified copies. Texas Family Code 2.209(a) puts that in mandatory terms: on request, the county clerk shall issue a certified copy of a recorded marriage license. For a divorce, the district clerk in the county where the divorce was granted holds the case file and issues certified copies of the decree.

Texas county practice on these records tends to be name-and-date based rather than relationship-gated. Harris County's clerk, for example, tells requesters that all it needs to know is both parties' names at the time the marriage took place and the date of the marriage. Many Texas counties also publish searchable online indexes of their own, and some make uncertified or watermarked images viewable at no charge for more recent filings, which is a useful way to confirm a record before ordering.

Fees are set county by county rather than by the state, so we do not publish a Texas figure. Check the schedule published by the specific county clerk or district clerk you are dealing with, because quoting one county's price as if it were statewide would be wrong more often than right.

For how Texas divorce law works rather than how to obtain the record, see Texas divorce laws.

What the State Index Covers, and How to Use It

DSHS maintains public indexes of Texas marriages since 1966 and Texas divorces since 1968, and it will not issue verifications for events before those years. Anything older is county material from the start.

There is an important detail about how those indexes are published. They are not an interactive lookup. The state makes marriage license application indexes and report of divorce and annulment indexes available for download by year, which means you retrieve a file for a given year and search it yourself rather than typing a name into a search box.

That format is workable but it rewards knowing the approximate year. If you are hunting across a decade, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission is often the better starting point. Its collection includes marriage indexes from 1966 through 2005, indexed year by year, and divorce indexes from 1968 through 2005, with one cumulative index covering 1968 through 1972 and separate annual indexes beginning in 1973.

Used together, the index tells you the county and approximate date, and the county clerk or district clerk then produces the certified document.

Checking Whether Someone Is Married or Divorced

Texas is more workable than most states for this question, because the index exists and county records are broadly accessible. It still has limits worth being honest about.

An index entry confirms a filing, not a current status. A divorce petition is not a granted divorce, and a marriage recorded in 1998 says nothing about what happened afterward. The state index also lags, so a very recent event may not appear yet even though the county has it.

And the legal boundary matters. Personal-purpose lookups are fine; using record checks as part of screening someone for a job or a tenancy pulls you into Fair Credit Reporting Act obligations, and consumer background-check products are unreliable for this particular data point regardless. Our guide to finding out if someone is married or divorced covers the lawful routes.

One Texas-specific caveat: Texas recognizes informal marriage, which can be valid without a license ever being issued. When that is the situation, there may be no county marriage record to find at all, and the question is proven a different way. See Texas common law marriage.

A registered informal marriage carries a second limit that applies to the state index itself. The declaration and registration form for an informal marriage includes a box either party can check to keep the identifying information on the form confidential, at Texas Family Code 2.402(b)(5). Where a party has checked that box, Texas Health and Safety Code 194.004(c) bars the vital statistics unit from furnishing any personally identifying information on record about that marriage, other than the names of the parties, to anyone other than a party to the marriage or that party's legal representative. So a registered informal marriage can sit in the state's records with almost nothing about it releasable to a third party asking.

Older Texas Records and Genealogy

Before 1966 for marriages and 1968 for divorces, the state has nothing, and county custody is not a fallback but the original arrangement. County clerks have recorded Texas marriages since the counties themselves were organized, and district clerks hold the divorce case files.

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission is the reference point for what indexes exist and for what its own collection covers, and its vital records guidance is worth reading before assuming a statewide index exists for a given period. For events before the state index years, expect to work county by county, which for a family that moved around Texas can mean several courthouses.

Related Texas Records

Death certificates, unlike marriage and divorce, are issued by DSHS as certified documents with their own eligibility rules, covered in Texas death records. For the state's public-information framework, see Texas public records laws.

If you are still deciding which document you need, see our guide to getting a copy of a marriage certificate.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about obtaining Texas marriage and divorce records. It is not legal advice. State and county fees, index coverage, and request procedures change without notice, so confirm current details with DSHS Vital Statistics, the county clerk, or the district clerk before relying on them. Consult a licensed Texas attorney for advice about your specific situation.

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Last updated: 2026-08-04. Fees and index coverage reflect their published status as of 2026-08-04.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get a certified Texas marriage certificate from the state?

No. DSHS states that its office cannot issue a certified copy of a marriage license or divorce decree. Certified marriage license copies come only from the county clerk that issued the license.

What is a Texas verification letter?

A $20 letter from the state's Vital Statistics Section confirming that a marriage or divorce appears in the state index. DSHS says verification letters are not considered legal substitutes for marriage licenses or divorce decrees.

Where do I get a certified Texas divorce decree?

From the district clerk in the county where the divorce was granted. The state cannot issue one.

How far back do Texas state records go?

The state maintains public indexes of Texas marriages since 1966 and Texas divorces since 1968, and it cannot issue verifications for events before those years. Older records are held by county clerks and district clerks.

Is the Texas marriage index searchable online?

Not as an interactive search. The state publishes marriage license application indexes and divorce and annulment report indexes as files available for download by year, which you then search yourself.

How much does a Texas county copy cost?

County clerks and district clerks set their own fees, so there is no statewide figure. Check the current schedule published by the specific county office before sending payment.

Do I have to prove a relationship to get a Texas marriage record?

County practice is generally name-and-date based rather than relationship-gated. Harris County, for example, asks only for both parties' names at the time of the marriage and the date. Requirements can differ by county, so confirm with the clerk you are contacting.

What if my marriage was informal and no license was issued?

Texas recognizes informal marriage, so a valid marriage can exist without a license on file. In that case there may be no county marriage record to obtain, and the marriage is established through other proof.

Can the state release details of a confidentially registered informal marriage?

Only in a limited way. If a party checked the confidentiality box on the declaration of informal marriage under Texas Family Code 2.402(b)(5), Health and Safety Code 194.004(c) allows the vital statistics unit to release only the parties' names to anyone other than a party to the marriage or that party's legal representative.

Which index should I use if I do not know the year?

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission holds marriage indexes from 1966 through 2005 and divorce indexes from 1968 through 2005, where the divorce series begins with one cumulative volume for 1968 through 1972 and continues year by year from 1973. That is easier to work across a range of years than the state's year-by-year download files.