The Texas VS-165 form is the Report of Divorce or Annulment that the petitioner fills out and the district clerk forwards to the Vital Statistics Section in Austin whenever a court grants a divorce, annulment, or other suit affecting the parent-child relationship. You complete it, attach it to your Final Decree of Divorce, and submit the package to the district clerk at the time the order is filed for record.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 108.001 Getting the fields right the first time is what keeps the clerk from sending you back to the printer.
What the Form Asks For
Texas Health and Safety Code § 194.002 sets the data the state collects. For each spouse, you provide full legal name, usual residence, age, place of birth, race, and number of children. For the marriage and case, you provide the date and place of the marriage, the date the divorce or annulment was granted, and the court information, including the case style and docket number.2State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code Section 194.002 – Report of Divorce or Annulment
One point worth clearing up: Section 194.002 does not list Social Security numbers among the required fields, despite claims circulating online that missing SSNs cause rejections.2State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code Section 194.002 – Report of Divorce or Annulment
Gather this information before you sit down with the form. Pull the court and docket details straight from your filed petition. Transposing a single digit can cause problems later.
Filling Out the Children’s Section
If minor children are involved, Section 3 needs its own attention. Item 16 asks for the total number of minor children, and that count must match the children you list below it.3Texas Law Help. Information on Suit Affecting the Family Relationship (Excluding Adoptions)
For each child, enter the current full name (first, middle, last, suffix), date of birth, sex, birthplace (city, county, state), and any prior name if the child’s name has changed. The form has space for six children, three on the front and three on the back. If your case involves more than six, complete Section 3 on a second copy of the form, label it “continuation,” and attach it.3Texas Law Help. Information on Suit Affecting the Family Relationship (Excluding Adoptions)
Every child affected by the suit must appear, and every field for each child must be filled. Blank spaces in Section 3 are one of the fastest routes to a rejected form.
Printing the Form Correctly
The Texas Department of State Health Services posts the VS-165 as a downloadable PDF through its Vital Statistics page, and many district clerk offices also link to it or hand out printed copies at the counter.4Texas Department of State Health Services. Reporting Court Cases Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship
The form must be printed double-sided on a single sheet. Printing it on two separate sheets will get it rejected. If you’re printing at home, set your printer to duplex before you hit print.4Texas Department of State Health Services. Reporting Court Cases Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship
Completing the Fields Without Mistakes
Work through the form in order. Section 1 covers the marriage and the divorce, Section 2 covers each spouse, and Section 3 covers the children. Every item needs an answer. When a field genuinely doesn’t apply, such as “prior name of child” when the child’s name hasn’t changed, write “N/A.” Blank looks like an oversight, and clerks treat it that way.
If you make a handwriting mistake, reprinting is usually faster than trying to patch the error. It’s a single double-sided sheet.
Submitting the Form to the District Clerk
Texas Family Code § 108.001 directs the petitioner to complete the VS-165 and submit it to the district clerk when the court’s order is filed for record.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 108.001 In practical terms, you hand it in with the Final Decree of Divorce. Most clerk’s offices expect the two to arrive together, so don’t plan to drop the form off later.
If your county accepts e-filing, check the district clerk’s website for the specific procedure. Some counties note that the double-sided printing rule applies only to paper submissions, but the data fields are identical either way.5Ector County Texas. Ector County District Clerk Forms
Forwarding the report to Austin is the clerk’s responsibility, not yours. Once the judge signs the decree and the clerk accepts the VS-165, the clerk transmits a certified record together with the form to the Vital Statistics Section.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 108.001 Every divorce and annulment must be reported this way, whether or not children are involved.4Texas Department of State Health Services. Reporting Court Cases Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship
What Happens After the State Receives It
The Vital Statistics Section enters the information into a central file indexed by the names, dates, and court details on the form. These records are confidential under Texas Family Code § 108.001.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 108.001
The VS-165 is not your divorce decree, and the state office does not issue certified copies of decrees. What it does maintain is a record of whether the divorce was reported, which you can later request as a divorce verification letter through Texas.gov or directly from the Vital Statistics Section. Online orders currently take roughly 10 to 15 business days.6U.S. Courts Northern District of Texas. Marriage/Divorce Records
If you ever need the decree itself rather than a verification letter, request a certified copy from the district clerk in the county where the divorce was granted.