Please note: If you are ordering a death certificate for a death that occurred within the last 90 days, the death certificate may not yet be available. Please expect that these orders will take longer than the estimated processing times.
The Department of State Health Services Vital Statistics Unit does not publish searchable death indexes on our website. If you are interested in finding out if a record is on file in our office you must request a death verification in writing. More information on record verfication can be found on our Birth and Death Verfication request page.
Ordering Death Certificates through Texas.gov
 For fast, affordable service, order Texas death certificates through TexasOnline, the official eGovernment site for the State of Texas. The current estimated processing time for TexasOnline orders is 10-15 business days. Death certificates for deaths within the past 25 years are considered protected records, and TexasOnline has the following requirements for requesting these records:
- If you live in Texas, you can order the records of your immediate family members. If you live outside Texas, you must be the surviving spouse of the deceased, a parent of the deceased or the funeral director of the funeral home on the record.
- You must have a valid state-issued driver's license or government-issued ID card.
- You must be ordering a record that is to be delivered within the United States, to U.S. territories or U.S. commonwealths, or to U.S. military addresses (APO, FPO).
- You must have a valid credit card.
If you do not meet these criteria, you cannot use TexasOnline to request a death certificate from the past 25 years, but you can make the request by following the instructions below.
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Offline instructions for ordering a death certificate
- Fill out an application for a certified copy of a birth or death certificate. For deaths that occurred 25 years ago to the present, only the immediate family members to the name on the death certificate are eligible to request a copy. If you are not an immediate family member, you must provide legal documentation, such as an insurance policy listing you as a beneficiary, that documents a direct and tangible interest in the record.
- Send in the application with payment using one of the methods listed in the table below. If the death occurred within the last 25 years, you must include a photocopy of your valid photo government-issued ID. The following are acceptable forms of ID:
- State-issued driver's license
- State/city/county ID card
- Student ID
- Government employment badge or card
- Prison ID
- Military ID
If you do not have photo ID, an alternative would be to send a copy of the photo ID of an immediate family member or copies of two documents with your name, such as a utility bill and your Social Security card. One of the documents must have your signature.
Applications where the death on the death certificate was within the last 25 years received without photo ID or the alternatives listed above will not be processed.
The estimated response time is accurate for most requests, but will vary depending on the circumstances. Please note that death certificates for recent deaths may be delayed. If you are paying by check, make checks payable to: DSHS.
| Offline application methods |
Instructions |
Cost |
Payment methods accepted |
Processing time for most requests |
| In person at the Texas Vital Statistics Office (VSU) in Austin |
Come to our office at 1100 West 49th Street
Austin, TX 78756
Monday-Friday
8 am - 5 pm |
$20– 1st Certified copy
$3–each additional copy of the same record |
Cash
Check
Money order |
Certified copies can usually be produced in 30 minutes to 2 hours. In some cases, it may take several days to process. |
If you cannot order online, we offer an Offline Expedited service
Orders must be sent to Texas Vital Statistics via an overnight mail service, such as Fedex, Lone Star, UPS, etc. Do not send via USPS Priority Mail.
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Application–pdf (28K |
$20– 1st Certified copy
$3–each additional copy of the same record
+ $5 expedited processing fee
+ return delivery cost of $8 for UPS or $19.95 express mail* |
Check or Money Order |
10-15 business days
Please note: this estimate applies only to complete and acceptable applications. Incomplete or unacceptable applications will require additional processing time. |
U.S. Postal Service regular mail
Orders may be sent via mail and paid via check or money order (6-8 weeks processing time) |
Application–Word (58K)
Application–pdf (28K) |
$20– 1st Certified copy
$3–each additional copy of the same record
+ return delivery cost of $8 for UPS or $19.95 express mail (optional)* |
Check
Money order |
6-8 weeks |
*The cost of Lonestar overnight to most U.S. locations is $8.00. Additional fees will be added if the certificates need to be mailed outside the continental U.S or if additional services are needed such as Saturday delivery or delivery before 8:00 AM. The cost of express mail delivery to a post office box, Hawaii, Alaska, U.S. territories or U.S. commonwealths is $19.95. The cost of Priority Mail delivery to a military address is $4.95. These delivery methods offer security and tracking capabilities that are not available with regular mail.
External links to other sites are intended to be informational and do not have the endorsement of the Texas Department of State Health Services. These sites may also not be accessible to people with disabilities.