State office vs. county office
Dallas County sits within Texas, which means birth and death records are held by the state — the Texas Department of State Health Services, Vital Statistics at 1100 W. 49th St, Austin, TX 78756, reachable at (888) 963-7111. The state agency holds the official copies of birth and death events that occurred anywhere in Dallas County since statewide registration began in 1903.
Marriage licenses and divorce decrees, however, are typically handled at the county level: marriage licenses by the Dallas County Clerk, divorces by the trial court (superior, circuit, or district court depending on Texas's naming convention) sitting in Dallas County. Pick a record type below for the specific routing.
Records for Dallas County
Birth Certificates
Birth certificate guide for Dallas County.
Open guide → DallasDeath Records
Death certificate guide for Dallas County.
Open guide → DallasMarriage Licenses
Marriage license guide for Dallas County.
Open guide → DallasDivorce Decrees
Divorce decree guide for Dallas County.
Open guide →Quick reference
| State | Texas (TX) |
|---|---|
| Statewide office | Texas Department of State Health Services, Vital Statistics |
| State office address | 1100 W. 49th St, Austin, TX 78756 |
| State office phone | (888) 963-7111 |
| Statewide registration since | 1903 |
| Standard turnaround | 6-8 weeks by mail |
About Dallas County
Dallas County is one of the larger counties in Texas by population, which means its courthouse handles a high volume of marriage license applications and divorce filings each year. Higher-volume counties typically offer more flexible request channels — in-person, mail, fax, and increasingly online — and frequently maintain a public-facing case search for civil filings, including divorce indexes.
If you are uncertain whether your event was filed in Dallas County rather than a neighboring county, consider both the address listed on the original document (if you have a copy) and where the parties were living at the time of filing. For old marriage licenses in particular, the license was issued in the county where the couple applied — not necessarily where they were married.
If you are out of state and unable to visit the courthouse in person, this remote document-retrieval comparison outlines the trade-offs between mailing a request, using the state's approved online vendor, and hiring an authorized agent.
Tips for working with the county courthouse
- Call before you visit. County clerk and court clerk hours vary, and some windows close earlier than the rest of the courthouse for cash handling.
- Bring exact change or a money order for older records that may not be in the credit-card system.
- For divorces, know the case number if you can — the clerk may charge a per-name search fee on top of the per-page copy fee if a full lookup is required.
- For marriage records older than the county's digital index, expect a longer wait while staff retrieve the physical book.