Ordering Birth Certificates through TexasOnline
Texas birth certificates 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.

Birth certificates for births within the past 75 years are considered protected records, and TexasOnline has the following requirements for requesting these records:

If you reside in Texas, you can order your own record or the records of your immediate family members. If you live outside of Texas, you can order your own record or the record of your child, if you are listed as a parent 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 birth certificate from the past 75 years, but you can make the request by following the instructions below.

Go to TexasOnline

Go to table showing alternate application methods

Offline instructions for ordering a birth certificate

Obtain and fill out an application for a certified copy of a birth certificate. You can either download one or pick one up in person. See the table below for details.

For births that occurred within the past 75 years, copies can be requested only by the immediate family of the person whose name is on the birth certificate. If you are not an immediate family member, you must provide legal documentation, such as a court order establishing guardianship, that documents a direct and tangible interest in the birth certificate.

Send in the completed application with payment using one of the methods listed in the table below. If the birth occurred within the past 75 years, you must include a photocopy of your valid photo ID issued by a governmental entity. 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 a photo ID, you can instead send a copy of the photo ID of an immediate family member, or you can send copies of two documents showing your name, such as a utility bill and your Social Security card. One of the documents must have your signature.

We will not be able to process applications for protected-records birth certificates if the application is received without a photo ID or the alternate IDs listed above.

The processing times in the table below are estimates. Please make checks or money orders 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	$22–Certified copy $60–Heirloom	Cash Check Money order	Short form birth certificates can usually be produced in 30 minutes to 2 hours. If you need a long form birth certificate, it may take several days to process.
Expedited service for offline requests Request must be sent to our office via overnight mail service such as UPS, FedEx, or USPS express mail Do NOT use USPS priority or certified mail*	Application–Word (60K) Application–pdf (28K)	$22–Certified copy or $60–Heirloom + $5 expedited processing fee (required) + delivery cost of $8 for UPS overnight or $16.25 express mail**	Check Money order Please note: Orders sent and returned by overnight mail are processed within 10-15 days, not overnight. The overnight mail fee is the shipping fee only.	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	Application–Word (58K) Application–pdf (28K)	$22–Certified copy $60–Heirloom	Check Money order	6-8 weeks

* Please do not send expedited requests via U.S. Postal Service priority or certified mail because such mail can take up to three weeks to be delivered to our office through our routing system.

**The cost of UPS overnight to most U.S. locations is $8.00. Please contact UPS for the shipping cost if the certificates need to be mailed outside the continental U.S. The cost of express mail delivery to a post office box, military address, Hawaii, Alaska, U.S. territories or U.S. commonwealths is $16.25. These delivery methods offer security and tracking capabilities that are not available with regular mail.

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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 June 20, 2007