To get a copy of your divorce decree in Texas, contact the District Clerk in the county where the divorce was granted. That office is the legal custodian of the signed order and can provide a certified or plain copy in person, by mail, or, in many counties, online. Fees are set by statute and modest: about $1 per page plus $5 to certify.
Start With the Right Office
Only the District Clerk holds the actual decree, meaning the judge-signed order that ended the marriage and set out property division, custody, support, and any name change.1United States Probation and Pretrial Services. Marriage/Divorce Records If you don’t remember which county finalized your case, that is the first thing to pin down, because no other office can hand you the decree.
People often confuse the decree with a divorce verification letter. Those are different documents. The verification letter is a one-page confirmation from the Texas Department of State Health Services that a divorce was recorded in the state’s vital statistics system, and you can order it through the state’s online vital records portal.2Texas.gov. Divorce Verification Letter – DSHS Official Application It carries none of the case terms. For anything that requires the actual terms, such as enforcing custody, transferring real estate, or restoring a name, you need the decree from the District Clerk.
What to Have Ready
Before you contact the clerk, gather the full legal names of both former spouses and the date the divorce was finalized. The most useful piece of information is the cause number assigned to the case. With that number in hand, the clerk can pull the file right away.
If you don’t have the cause number, many county District Clerk websites let you search records by party name. Texas also runs a statewide portal called re:SearchTX through the Office of Court Administration, where you can look up case information across all 254 counties using an eFileTexas account.3Texas Courts. re:SearchTX Or you can call the clerk’s office and ask staff to run a name search, though most offices charge a $5 search fee for that.
Decide whether you want a certified copy or a plain copy. A certified copy carries the clerk’s official seal and signature and is what banks, government agencies, and courts will require for filings, real estate transactions, and name changes. A plain copy is a photocopy suitable only for personal reference. If in doubt, request certified.
Three Ways to Request It
In Person
Walking into the District Clerk’s office is the fastest option. Bring a valid government-issued photo ID and whatever case information you have. You can usually leave with the copy the same day. Credit and debit card payments typically add a convenience fee.
By Mail
Write to the District Clerk’s office and include the full names of both parties, the approximate date of the divorce, the cause number if you know it, and whether you want a certified or plain copy. Enclose payment by money order or cashier’s check, since most offices do not accept personal checks, and include a self-addressed stamped envelope for the return.4Bexar County, TX – Official Website. Fee Schedule Mail turnaround runs from a week to several weeks depending on the office.
Online
A growing number of counties let you order copies through the District Clerk’s website, and some deliver certified electronic copies by email that carry the same legal weight as paper. Tarrant County, for example, offers both certified and non-certified electronic copies at rates comparable to paper.5Tarrant County. Copies Check the website for the specific county that granted your divorce to see what it offers.
Fees
Texas sets District Clerk copy fees by statute, so base rates are consistent across counties:
- Plain paper copy: $1.00 per page.6Travis County. Fees
- Certification: $5.00 per document, on top of the per-page charge.6Travis County. Fees
- Name or records search: $5.00 if you cannot supply the cause number.6Travis County. Fees
A 10-page certified decree, then, runs about $15: $10 in page charges plus the $5 certification fee. Most offices accept cash, money orders, cashier’s checks, and major credit cards, though card payments often carry a convenience fee around 3%.6Travis County. Fees Personal checks are usually not accepted.4Bexar County, TX – Official Website. Fee Schedule
Who Is Allowed to Request One
Divorce cases are civil court proceedings, and civil records in Texas are generally public. You do not have to be one of the former spouses. A family member, attorney, or any member of the public can request a copy, unless a judge has sealed the file.
Some sensitive information is kept out of the public file by rule. Under standards adopted by the Texas Supreme Court, social security numbers and financial account numbers appearing in filed documents are abbreviated to the last four digits, with the full numbers submitted on a separate sensitive data form that is not part of the public record.7Texas Courts. Rules of Judicial Administration Rule 14 – Sensitive Data in Court Case Records For older decrees filed before those protections, or if sensitive data slipped in by mistake, ask the court about restricting access to specific documents.
If You Need to Use It Overseas
A Texas decree used in another country generally needs an apostille, which is a certificate authenticating the clerk’s signature and seal for international use under the Hague Convention. Get the certified copy from the District Clerk first, then submit it to the Texas Secretary of State for apostille processing. The fee is $15 per document, and you can submit by mail or in person at the Secretary of State’s office in Austin. In-person card payments carry a 2.7% convenience fee.8Texas Secretary of State. How to Request a Universal Apostille
Check the Copy for Errors
Read the copy when you receive it. Typos and clerical mistakes in decrees are more common than most people expect, and catching them early avoids trouble later. If you find an incorrect date, a misspelled name, or a math error in the property division, the fix is a motion for judgment nunc pro tunc, which asks the judge to issue a corrected decree reflecting what the court actually intended.
Nunc pro tunc only covers clerical errors, not disagreements with what the judge decided. Objections to the substance of a property split or custody order require an appeal or a modification, which are separate processes. Texas law does not set a hard deadline for a nunc pro tunc filing, but acting sooner is easier because you’ll need evidence of what the court originally intended. If the court still has plenary power, typically 30 days after the judge signs the decree, a simpler motion may work without going the nunc pro tunc route.
Older and Archived Cases
For an older divorce, still start with the District Clerk, since that office is the legal custodian. If the file has been microfilmed or transferred, the clerk will direct you to where it lives now. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission microfilmed county records extensively from the 1970s through the early 1990s, and those films are available at 23 depositories across the state, including the TSLAC Genealogy Collection in Austin. Each county also has a designated Regional Historical Records Depository that may hold paper records no longer kept at the courthouse.9Texas State Library and Archives Commission. County Records Available on Microfilm Local libraries, historical societies, and genealogy databases can be worth checking for digitized versions.