Texas Vital Records Apostille: The Five-Year Rule, the Right Clerk and the $15 Fee
A Texas vital records apostille costs $15 per document at the Secretary of State’s Authentications Unit in Austin, and the certified copy must have been issued within the past five years. Marriage copies come only from the county clerk where the license was issued. Divorce decrees come only from the district clerk. Death certificates come from the state vital statistics office. Mailed files take about two weeks.
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Why your 2018 marriage certificate may already be too old
A couple married in Dallas County in 2018 now lives in Lisbon. They kept the certified copy from the courthouse, and it still looks official. Austin will not apostille it, because the Secretary of State requires Texas-issued certified copies to have been issued within the past five years. The date on the copy decides, not the date of the wedding. The fix is a new certified copy from the county clerk.
The second Texas habit is asking the wrong office. The clerk who holds the marriage record is the one in the county that issued the license, which is not always the county of the ceremony. Divorce is different again. The district clerk of the court that granted the decree is the only source of certified decrees. Neither office is the state health department.
The state health department, DSHS Vital Statistics, issues death certificates and birth certificates. It also issues marriage and divorce verification letters from its index, which the Secretary of State does not accept. A verification letter is a pointer, not a record. Do not pay for one if you want an apostille.
Right clerk, certified copy, issued in the last five years. Miss one and Austin sends it back.
Nine checks before you mail anything to Austin
- The copy is a certified original issued in Texas, not a photocopy and not a scan.
- It was issued within the past five years. Check the issue date printed on it.
- It came from the right office: county clerk for marriage, district clerk for divorce, DSHS or a local registrar for death and birth.
- A notary did not certify it. Texas treats these as recordable documents that a notary cannot copy-certify.
- It is not a verification letter from DSHS.
- For a birth certificate, it is the long form.
- Form 2102 is filled in, with the destination country named.
- Payment is $15 per document, and a prepaid return envelope is inside.
- The receiving authority has told you it will accept this document type.
Where each Texas record comes from
County and district clerk fees are set locally, so there is no single Texas price for a marriage or divorce copy.
| Record | Who issues the certified copy | What the copy must show | Copy fee | Extra step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | DSHS Vital Statistics in Austin or a local registrar. | Long form, issued within the last 5 years. | $22 for the long form by mail. | None |
| Marriage | County clerk of the county that issued the license. DSHS issues only verification letters. | Certified original issued within 5 years, no notary. | Set by each county. Ask the clerk. | None beyond the clerk’s certified copy. |
| Death | DSHS Vital Statistics or a local registrar. Request a certified copy and give “apostille” as the reason. | Certified original issued within 5 years. Long or short form: confirm with the office. | $20 for the first, $3 for each extra ordered together. | DSHS cannot process the apostille fee. |
| Divorce | District clerk of the court that granted the decree. DSHS issues only verification letters. | Certified copy issued within 5 years, no notary. | Set by each district clerk. | None. Exemplification is not required on the pages we read. |
DSHS adds $2.25 for a credit card payment in person, according to its fee page. Our guides to the birth certificate apostille and the death certificate apostille cover the record basics.
Four ways into the Authentications Unit
The Texas Secretary of State’s authentication page describes one office with several doors. Mail goes to the Authentications Unit, P.O. Box 13550, Austin, TX 78711-3550, with Form 2102, $15 per document and a prepaid return envelope. Couriers and walk-ins go to 400 West 15th Street, Austin, TX 78701. The P.O. Box comes from a search listing of the form, so check it on the form itself.
In person, the walk-in desk runs on Monday and Friday, with appointments on Tuesday to Thursday and a limit of 10 documents per visit. A bulk drop-off takes about 72 hours. Mailed requests take about two weeks. The office issues a single universal apostille that works for either an apostille or an authentication, and it offers online appointment booking.
There is no e-apostille. For an overseas reader the mail route is the only practical one. Allow two weeks in Austin on top of the time to get a fresh county copy. The request page shows the current form.
County or district clerk, Austin, courier, consulate
How to apostille a Texas birth certificate from overseas
- 1
Send the document for a free review
We read the issue date and the issuing office. If it is outside five years or from the wrong clerk, we say so before you spend anything.
- 2
Order a fresh certified copy
Ask the right clerk or DSHS for it. Eligibility and ID rules are theirs, so read their pages. Where Texas allows an authorized third party, we can help obtain the copy, and we confirm that in the review.
- 3
Mail it to Austin with Form 2102
Include $15 per document and a prepaid return envelope. We assemble this when you hire us.
- 4
Wait about two weeks for mail
The state lists about two weeks for mailed requests. A walk-in on Monday or Friday is faster, which only helps someone present in Austin.
- 5
Ship the set abroad
Express courier to Europe or Latin America typically takes two to five business days. Choose tracking and a signature.
Austin keeps Central time. Lisbon is usually six hours ahead, and Mexico City is typically on the same clock as Austin, though daylight saving shifts the gap at times.
Six reasons Austin sends a Texas record back
Issued more than five years ago
An old certified copy is the single most common problem. Order a new one from the clerk.
The county of the ceremony
A marriage copy comes from the county that issued the license. A divorce decree comes from the district clerk, not the county clerk.
A DSHS index letter
It states that a record exists. It is not the record, and the state does not accept it.
A notarized photocopy
Texas treats these as recordable documents. A notary cannot copy-certify them.
A short birth abstract
For birth, the long form issued within the last five years is the one that works.
The fee sent to the wrong place
DSHS cannot take the apostille fee for the Secretary of State. Send the $15 per document with Form 2102 to Austin.
Mexico and Spain, the two destinations Texas readers ask about
Mexico
Mexico has been a Hague party since 1995, so a Texas apostille is the US-side step. What a Mexican consulate or immigration office asks for beyond that, including document age and whether a Spanish translation must come from an official translator, we could not confirm from an official page. Get the written checklist from the office that will receive the file before you order.
Spain
Spain has been a Hague party since 1978. The Spanish consulate in Boston’s non-lucrative visa page asks for family documents such as a marriage certificate to be apostilled and, on that page, issued within the last 12 months. That is tighter than Texas’s five years. If your consulate says 12 months, order a fresh copy and plan the apostille around it.
We can provide ATA certified translations that get notarized. We are not a sworn translator and we do not arrange sworn translations, so if a destination requires one, hire a sworn translator there and we ship the apostilled set to them. Check other countries on the HCCH status table.
What we do for you, and what it costs
We check the issue date, the issuing office and the form of the copy, tell you what to order, help obtain it where Texas allows an authorized third party, prepare Form 2102, send the file to Austin, pay the $15 and ship the finished set. Progress shows in ApostilleDesk. Stages are laid out on the how it works page.
Published prices are for Massachusetts: Economy $149.95, Express $199.95, Rush $385.95 per document, state fee and return postage included. Texas is priced on its own. After the free review confirms the state’s fee and the likely speed, you receive one flat-rate quote, before any payment. Rush is fastest, Express is 2 to 5 business days, Economy is 1 to 2 weeks, plus transit. Texas speed depends on the volume at the state office. See apostille pricing.
We are a private document preparation and courier service in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, near Boston. Neither the state of Texas nor any school or consulate is affiliated with us. Call (978) 424-4629, Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm Eastern. Hablamos Español.
Start your orderFrequently asked questions
How do I get a Texas record apostilled from abroad?
Get a certified copy issued within the past five years from the right office, then mail it to the Secretary of State’s Authentications Unit in Austin with Form 2102, $15 per document and a prepaid return envelope. We can handle the order and ship the apostilled set to you.
Which clerk issues a Texas marriage certificate for an apostille?
The county clerk of the county where the license was issued is the only source of certified marriage copies. DSHS issues only verification letters, which the Secretary of State does not accept. The copy must be issued within the past five years and must not be notarized.
Where do I get a Texas divorce decree certified?
Ask the district clerk of the court that granted the divorce. DSHS issues only verification letters, not decrees. The certified copy must be issued within the past five years, and a notary cannot certify it. Fees are set by each district clerk, so ask before you pay.
How long does a Texas apostille take?
The Secretary of State lists about two weeks for mailed requests, walk-in service on Monday and Friday, appointments Tuesday to Thursday, and a 72-hour bulk drop-off. Add the time for the certified copy and the courier days to your country.
Does the five-year rule apply to every Texas record?
The Secretary of State applies it to recordable documents, which include marriage licenses, divorce decrees and death certificates, and a Texas birth certificate must be a long form issued within five years. The rule runs from the issue date on the copy, not the event date.
Does DSHS handle the Texas apostille fee?
No. For death certificates DSHS issues the certified copy and says to request it for an apostille, but it cannot process the apostille fee. Send $15 per document with Form 2102 to the Secretary of State in Austin. We take care of that payment when you order.
What does a Texas apostille cost with your service?
We publish prices for Massachusetts only. A Texas order starts with a free review and ends with one flat-rate quote, which you approve before paying. The state’s own fee is $15 per document. Ask us about a volume discount if you have several records.
Keep reading
Oklahoma vital records
Louisiana vital records
New Mexico vital records
Divorce decree apostille
Vital records by state
Send us the issue date
Tell us the record, the county and the country. We tell you whether your Texas copy will pass, and what to order if it will not.