Search Texas Genealogy Records

Texas genealogy records span centuries and sit in dozens of offices across 254 counties. Birth and death certificates, land grants, probate files, marriage licenses, and court records all live in different places depending on where and when an event took place. This guide covers the main sources for Texas family history research, walks you through what each office keeps, and points you to the right place to start your search whether you are looking online or planning a courthouse visit.

How to Find Texas Genealogy Records

Texas genealogy research starts with knowing which office keeps what. County Clerks hold birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, land deeds, and probate files. District Clerks maintain court records including civil case files. The Texas Department of State Health Services runs the statewide vital records index. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission holds the largest collection of historical state documents available to researchers in one place.

Most records created after 1903 sit at the county level. The County Clerk in each of the 254 counties keeps the original documents. For older records, the Texas State Archives and the Texas General Land Office are the best bets. The GLO holds documents going back to Spanish land grants from the 1720s. Birth records are protected for 75 years. Death records stay restricted for 25 years. After those periods, both types become public under Texas law.

Start your search online when possible. Many counties have digitized records or provide searchable indexes. The volunteer-run TXGenWeb Project offers free county-level databases across all 254 Texas counties. From there you can narrow your search to the county where your ancestor lived and contact the clerk directly for copies. When you know the county but not the exact office, call the County Clerk first. They can point you in the right direction or transfer you to the District Clerk if a court record is what you need.

Texas State Library and Archives Commission

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) is the primary state-level repository for genealogical research in Texas. It holds published family and county histories, vital statistics indexes, city directories, newspapers, and federal census records dating back to the 1700s. The State Archives keeps original government records, newspapers, journals, manuscripts, photographs, and historical maps. Staff genealogists can help in-person visitors and answer some mail and phone inquiries. Access to the collection is free. The address is 1201 Brazos St, Austin, TX 78701, and the phone is (512) 463-5485.

Key collections at TSLAC include Confederate pension applications, Adjutant General Service Records from 1836 to 1935, Republic Claims, the Confederate Indigent Families Lists from 1863 to 1865, the 1867 Voters Registration, Texas Convict Record Ledgers, and Republic of Texas Passports. The commission also runs the Regional Historical Resource Depository System, which sends microfilm copies of county and local records to 23 repositories across the state. Those copies are available through interlibrary loan, which means you may be able to access them through a library near you without traveling to Austin.

The Texas Digital Archive puts digitized TSLAC records online at no charge. Texas residents can also get free access to Ancestry.com Texas records through a TSLAC account, a significant benefit for researchers who prefer to work from home.

Texas Vital Records for Genealogy Research

The Texas Department of State Health Services Vital Statistics Unit maintains a statewide index covering births from 1903, deaths from 1903, marriage applications from 1966, and divorce records from 1968. After the confidentiality periods end, birth and death records move into the public domain. Under Texas law the state does not issue certified copies of marriage or divorce records. For marriages, contact the County Clerk in the county where the license was issued. For divorces, contact the District Clerk in the county where the case was filed. The state can confirm an event took place and provide the county, but not a copy of the document itself.

Standard Texas vital records fees: birth certificates cost $22.00 per copy, death certificates cost $20.00 for the first copy and $3.00 for each additional copy ordered at the same time. Marriage and divorce verification letters each cost $20.00. You can order online through Texas.gov, by mail to P.O. Box 12040, Austin, TX 78711-2040, or in person at the Austin office. For births and deaths before 1903 or in counties with their own records offices, contact the County Clerk directly. Many clerks also issue birth and death certificates for events in their county, sometimes faster than the state office.

Delayed and probate birth registrations from 1939 to 1975 cover people born before 1903 or those who never had a birth certificate filed. These records fill a common gap in Texas genealogy research and are worth checking if you can't find a standard birth record for an ancestor born in the late 1800s.

Texas Land Records and the General Land Office

The Texas General Land Office (GLO) holds one of the largest collections of historical land records available to the public in the United States. The archives contain roughly 35 million records dating back to the 1720s, including 80,000 maps, sketches, and plat maps. Original Spanish and Mexican land grants, Republic of Texas headright grants, and rare documents bearing the signatures of Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin are all part of the collection. The GLO offers online land grant searches and digital images of original documents at no cost, making this a strong starting point for Texas genealogy research.

Republic of Texas headright grants covered 36.8 million acres total. First-class grants gave 4,605.5 acres to heads of families who were living in Texas as of March 4, 1836. Later classes gave smaller acreage to immigrants who arrived through 1842. If your ancestor settled in Texas during the Republic period, a GLO land grant search is often one of the first places to look. Colonization contracts covered another 4.5 million acres, and pre-emption and homestead grants accounted for nearly 5 million more. The first draft of the Texas Constitution and rare 1836 muster rolls are also in the GLO archives.

For land records after statehood, the County Clerk in each county keeps deed records and plat maps. These are public records. Some counties have put older deed indexes online. Others require an in-person visit. TexasFile at texasfile.com provides access to deed and lien records for many Texas counties if you need to search across multiple counties at once.

County Genealogy Records in Texas

Each of the 254 Texas counties has a County Clerk who handles the core genealogy records at the local level. County Clerks keep birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, land deeds, plat maps, and probate files. Most County Clerk offices also have older records on microfilm. Some have digitized their collections and provide online search portals. Contact info, fees, and online access vary widely by county. Use this site to find the specific clerk's office for the county you need.

Record coverage dates differ across counties. Marriage records in some counties go back to the mid-1800s. Land records in older counties predate statehood. Some counties lost records to courthouse fires, which is a common problem in Texas history. When records are missing at the county level, check the Texas State Archives for microfilm copies or look for transcriptions in the TXGenWeb database for that county. Volunteers there have transcribed many hard-to-find records and made them searchable online at no charge.

County clerks also maintain probate files, which are among the most useful genealogy documents you can find. A probate file often contains a will, an inventory of the deceased's property, a list of heirs with their relationships spelled out, and court orders showing how the estate was divided. These files can confirm family connections that no vital record ever will. Historical probate records over 100 years old are often at TSLAC on microfilm if the county clerk no longer has them.

Harris County is the largest county in Texas by population and a good example of how county clerk portals work statewide. Many counties offer similar online indexes for deeds and marriage records.

Texas Court Records and Probate Research

The Texas court system produces genealogy records through multiple court levels. District Courts handle civil and criminal cases, divorce, and felony matters. County Courts take probate cases and minor civil claims. Justice Courts handle small local matters. Each level produces records useful for family research. District Clerks keep the court files for district-level cases. County Clerks keep probate records. Contact the right office based on the type of case you are researching.

Adoption records in Texas are sealed and require a court order to access. Guardianship records are public and can help trace family relationships when other records are missing. Some counties have digitized older court records and made them searchable online, but most require an in-person visit or written request. Sensitive details like Social Security numbers and bank account information are redacted from public versions of court filings. Financial documents like detailed asset statements may be sealed in estate cases when a party requests it and the court agrees.

Online Texas Genealogy Databases and Resources

Several online resources make Texas genealogy research much easier without a courthouse trip. The Portal to Texas History provides free access to newspapers, photographs, maps, books, and manuscripts from Texas museums and archives. It draws more than 2 million users monthly and holds materials going back to the 1800s. The Texas Digital Newspaper Program within the portal gives access to early Texas newspapers that are invaluable for obituaries, legal notices, and social columns that mention specific individuals and families.

The Texas State Genealogical Society (TxSGS) publishes the quarterly journal "Stirpes" and provides research guidance and networking for Texas family historians. Annual conferences and partner societies across the state make it a good community resource. The Texas Historical Commission maintains a searchable database of historical markers statewide. These markers often commemorate homes, burial sites, and significant events tied to specific families, and they can point researchers to the places where ancestors lived and worked.

Travis County, home to the state capital Austin, sits near both the Texas State Library and Archives Commission and the General Land Office, making it a key hub for statewide genealogy research.

The National Archives at Fort Worth holds federal records for Texas and surrounding states. Located at 1400 John Burgess Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76140, the facility keeps census records, military and pension records, court records, naturalization records, and immigration files. Access is free, and appointments can be scheduled for specific collections. The Dawes Rolls for the Five Civilized Tribes are also held here, which is important for researchers with Indigenous ancestry in Texas or Oklahoma.

The Texas Secretary of State at sos.state.tx.us keeps business entity records that can be helpful for ancestors who owned businesses or filed assumed names. Searches on the SOSDirect system cost $1.00 per query and give access to corporation filings, UCC records, and trademark registrations. The Texas State Historical Association publishes the Handbook of Texas Online, a free encyclopedia of Texas history with detailed entries on people, places, and events that often include genealogically useful information about families and communities.

Access Rules and Texas Records Law

Access to genealogy records in Texas is shaped by several statutes. The Texas Public Information Act, at Texas Government Code Chapter 552, gives the public the right to request government records. Most county and state records are open. You don't need to provide a reason or prove a family connection for most requests. Records involving living minors, sealed court files, and certain financial documents carry restricted access. Anyone can walk into a County Clerk's office and ask for a deed record, a probate file, or a historical marriage record for a deceased person.

Birth records are protected for 75 years from filing under the Texas Health and Safety Code. Death records are restricted for 25 years. After those periods, the records become public. Criminal history records fall under Texas Government Code Section 411.083, which makes them confidential except as specifically provided by law. The Texas DPS public criminal history site provides name-based searches for conviction data, which can help researchers trace ancestors through the justice system. Arrest-only records have more restricted access than conviction records.

Texas Genealogy Records by County

Texas keeps genealogy records at the county level. Each of the 254 counties has its own County Clerk and District Clerk. Pick a county below to find local contact info, record coverage dates, and research resources for that area.

View All 254 Texas Counties

Find Texas Genealogy Records by City

Major Texas cities often have their own vital records offices and library genealogy collections in addition to county resources. Select a city below to find resources for that area.

View Major Texas Cities