Verification letters are not considered legal substitutes for marriage licenses or divorce decrees. It is strongly recommended that you make sure a verification letter will satisfy your intended use before ordering.

Certified copies of marriage licenses or divorce decrees are only available from the county clerk (marriage) or district clerk (divorce) in the county or district in which the event occurred.

Indexes (lists) of marriage or divorce records by year may be purchased or downloaded for free from our website.

The Texas Vital Statistics provides letters verifying whether or not a marriage or divorce was recorded with the State of Texas based on the application for marriage or divorce sent to our office by the county clerk or district clerk. If no record of a marriage is found, the verification letter itself can be considered a "single-status letter," which some foreign countries accept as legal proof of single status.

Verification letters of marriage are available for marriages that occurred from 1966 to 2005.
Verification letters of divorce are available for divorces that occurred from 1968 to mid-2006.

Ordering marriage verification or divorce verification letters through TexasOnline
Marriage verification or divorce verification letters can now be ordered through TexasOnline, the official eGovernment website for the State of Texas. The current estimated processing time for TexasOnline orders is 10-15 business days.

Anyone who orders from TexasOnline 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).
have a valid credit card.

If you do not meet these criteria, you cannot use TexasOnline, but you can make the request by following the instructions below.

Go to TexasOnline

Go to table showing offline application methods

Offline instructions for ordering a marriage or divorce verification

Obtain and fill out an application for a marriage or divorce verification letter. You can either download one or pick one up in person. See the table below for details.

Send in the application with the correct fee ($20 per verification). The fee for a verification is non-refundable and non-transferable, even if a record is not found.

The processing times in the table below are estimates. Please make checks or money orders payable to DSHS.

Offline application methods	Instructions	Payment methods accepted	Processing time for most requests
In person at the Texas Vital Statistics Office in Austin	Come to our office at 1100 W. 49th Street Austin, TX 78756 Monday-Friday 8 am - 5 pm	Cash Check Money order	A half-hour to 2 hours. If longer is needed, you will be given a pickup time for 3:30 that afternoon or 10:30 the following morning.
U.S. Postal Service regular mail	Application–Word (48K) or Application–pdf (27K)	Check Money order	6-8 weeks

Click here for information on viewing files.

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.

Last Updated September 19, 2007