How to get a death certificate in Texas

Fees and where to order in Texas

• Fees (DSHS): first death certificate $20.00; each additional copy ordered at the same time $3.00; a death verification letter, which is not a certified copy, $20.00. Fees are not refunded, even if the record is not found.
• Local registrars and county clerks who issue certified death certificates charge the same fees as DSHS (Tex. Health and Safety Code 191.0045(d)).
• Online: through Texas.gov at https://txapps.texas.gov/tolapp/ovra/index.htm, paid by credit or debit card. A Texas resident can order for an immediate family member. A resident of another state can order online only if they are the surviving spouse, surviving parent, or funeral director listed on the record. Identity is checked with a state driver's license or ID number, Social Security number, and relationship.
• Mail: the application (form VS-142) must be complete with no cross-outs, signed in front of a notary with a notary seal, with a photocopy of acceptable ID and a check or money order payable to DSHS Vital Statistics. Regular mail: Texas Vital Statistics, Department of State Health Services, P.O. Box 12040, Austin, TX 78711-2040.
• Expedited: a $25 expedited processing fee plus overnight return shipping ($16, or $22.95 for USPS Express to a PO box). The application must be sent by overnight mail to Texas Vital Statistics, MC 2096, Department of State Health Services, 1100 W. 49th Street, Austin, TX 78756.
• In person: at a local vital records office or the DSHS central office in Austin during business hours, with original ID. DSHS says walk-in requests are usually processed the same day. Paying by credit card in person at DSHS in Austin adds a $2.25 processing fee.
• Processing times (average business days, not counting shipping): Texas.gov orders 20 to 25 days; mail orders 25 to 30 days.
• Phone orders are not accepted. DSHS Vital Statistics phone: 888-963-7111, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Who can order: the person named on the record, immediate family (child, parent or guardian, brother or sister, grandparent, spouse), a guardian, or a legal agent or representative. Others must send legal documents showing a direct, tangible interest, such as an insurance policy naming them as beneficiary. Access is restricted for 25 years from the date of death.
• A qualified person can authorize someone else to pick up the certificate with a notarized statement and copies of both people's ID.
• Filing: the funeral director or other person in charge of the disposition files the death certificate electronically (193.002), no later than the 10th day after death (193.003).
• Official ordering page: https://www.dshs.texas.gov/vital-statistics/death-records

Sources: DSHS Vital Statistics, Costs and Fees; DSHS Vital Statistics, Death Record FAQs; DSHS Vital Statistics, Requirements for Online Orders; DSHS Vital Statistics, Requirements for Mail/In-Person Orders; DSHS Vital Statistics, Processing Times; Tex. Health and Safety Code 191.0045(d); DSHS Vital Statistics, Death Records

How the death certificate fits the cremation timeline

Before cremating, a Texas crematory must have a signed cremation authorization form and a death certificate or other death record showing the body may be cremated. In counties with a medical examiner, the medical examiner must also sign a certificate before any cremation, and counties may charge a fee for this approval. Your funeral home usually arranges these papers.

• Tex. Health and Safety Code 716.051: a crematory needs (1) a cremation authorization form signed by an authorizing agent and (2) a death certificate or other death record that indicates the remains may be cremated.
• A burial-transit permit is required for cremation. The funeral director gets it from the local registrar where the death certificate is or will be filed, or electronically from the state registrar, and it is not issued until a death certificate completed as far as possible is presented (25 TAC 181.2(b)). TFSC rule 22 TAC 205.11(b) says this permit may serve as the other death record.
• Counties with a medical examiner: before any body can be cremated, the crematory must demand and receive a certificate signed by the medical examiner of the county of death, showing that an autopsy was done or was not necessary (Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 49.25, Sec. 10).
• Counties without a medical examiner: for a death that requires an inquest by the justice of the peace, the body may not be cremated until it is identified and the justice signs a certificate that an autopsy was done or was not needed (Art. 49.09(b)). Cremating without it is a Class B misdemeanor. Inquests are required, for example, for deaths not attended by a physician, unnatural deaths, suicides, deaths in jail or prison, and deaths a physician cannot certify (Art. 49.04).
• Fee: a medical examiner may charge reasonable fees for cremation approvals, set by the commissioners court (Art. 49.25, Sec. 13A). Examples: Travis County's medical examiner charges $25.00 for cremation approvals (fees effective January 1, 2025). Tarrant County's medical examiner issues cremation permits for deaths in Tarrant, Denton, Parker and Johnson counties and lists its fee on a separate schedule (not opened). Collin County takes funeral home requests through an online application.
• Contracting directly with a crematory: a family may contract directly for cremation if the crematory is also licensed as a funeral establishment, or if the family has written authorization from the justice of the peace or medical examiner of the county of death (22 TAC 205.6).
• Pacemakers and other hazardous implants must be removed before cremation. The authorizing agent must tell the funeral director and crematory about any known implant (716.154).
• A Texas crematory may not cremate unidentified remains, except on an order of the county commissioners court or a court in the county (716.101).
• The authorization form must list, among other things, the deceased and time of death, the authorizing agent and relationship, a statement about implants, who will receive the ashes, the planned final disposition if known, and any valuables (716.052). A funeral director or funeral home that arranges the cremation must also sign it.

Sources: Tex. Health and Safety Code 716.051; Tex. Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 49.25, Sec. 10; Tex. Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 49.09(b); Travis County Medical Examiner, Fee Schedule; Tarrant County Medical Examiner, Information for Funeral Homes; 25 TAC 181.2(b), in TFSC 2024 Compilation of Relevant Texas State Laws

What to use the certified copies for

Social Security pays a one-time $255 death payment to a surviving spouse. If there is no spouse, some children may get it. You must apply within 2 years of the death, by phone or online after signing in.

Banks, insurers, pension plans, the VA and the county recorder each usually want their own certified copy, so ask the funeral home how many to order at the start. Extra copies ordered at the same time often cost less.

• A spouse who lived with the person may qualify. A spouse living apart may qualify if they can get benefits on the deceased's record.
• If there is no spouse, eligible children include those 17 or younger, 18 to 19 in school (K to 12) full time, or any age if disabled before age 22 ("at age 21 or younger").
• Apply within 2 years of the death.
• Phone: 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), weekdays 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; tell the representative you want to apply for a lump-sum death payment. The page also offers an online application after signing in to an account.

Source: SSA, Lump-sum death payment