Texas death records are obtained for various purposes. Many people use the records in helping recreate their genealogy tree. For legal purposes, it can be used by heirs to help strengthen their inheritance claims. For others, they can prove their widow/widower status by providing a record of their deceased spouse.
If you're looking for documents of infants who died, you will be presented with documents that contain "Inf of" instead of the first name of the baby. This signifies that the infant died before he or she was given a name and it means "infant of". Some records may also list wives under the name of their husband.
The records are kept in the Texas department state of health services. They are kept in a special manner. For deaths prior to 1903, you will find them in the county clerk instead. For certificates 1904 to 1940, you will find one big index for those years. The same goes for the years 1941 to 1945 and 1946 to 1955. The vital records department of Texas started a yearly index after 1956. Death certificates are usually kept at the place of death and not at the place of birth.
Certificates for deaths that occurred in the past 25 years or those who were born the past 75 years are considered as protected documents. Only those who are immediate relatives of the deceased can make the request. If a request is made outside of the state of Texas, the person requesting said document must be the living spouse or parent of the deceased. Certain people can request the documents even if they are not related. The funeral director of the funeral home that housed or took care of the corpse can request the document for record keeping purposes.
Requesting for the record will require a government issued ID card or a state-issued driver's license. Fill out the request form found in the website of the vital records department. You'll need to provide the full names of the parents of the deceased (mother's maiden name is also important), the reason why you're getting the document and your relationship to the deceased. The cost for one request is $20 and you can pay by check or money order addressed to the bureau of vital statistics. The mail order service will take almost three to four weeks at most.
There is a faster way to obtain the documents. The Texas government has an online service that allows you to make the request online and pay via credit card. You'll be able to get a notification of the death notices online within 10 to 15 days. For faster service, you can find online websites that offer rush service with certified papers for a small fee and delivery within four to seven days upon request.
If you're looking for documents of infants who died, you will be presented with documents that contain "Inf of" instead of the first name of the baby. This signifies that the infant died before he or she was given a name and it means "infant of". Some records may also list wives under the name of their husband.
The records are kept in the Texas department state of health services. They are kept in a special manner. For deaths prior to 1903, you will find them in the county clerk instead. For certificates 1904 to 1940, you will find one big index for those years. The same goes for the years 1941 to 1945 and 1946 to 1955. The vital records department of Texas started a yearly index after 1956. Death certificates are usually kept at the place of death and not at the place of birth.
Certificates for deaths that occurred in the past 25 years or those who were born the past 75 years are considered as protected documents. Only those who are immediate relatives of the deceased can make the request. If a request is made outside of the state of Texas, the person requesting said document must be the living spouse or parent of the deceased. Certain people can request the documents even if they are not related. The funeral director of the funeral home that housed or took care of the corpse can request the document for record keeping purposes.
Requesting for the record will require a government issued ID card or a state-issued driver's license. Fill out the request form found in the website of the vital records department. You'll need to provide the full names of the parents of the deceased (mother's maiden name is also important), the reason why you're getting the document and your relationship to the deceased. The cost for one request is $20 and you can pay by check or money order addressed to the bureau of vital statistics. The mail order service will take almost three to four weeks at most.
There is a faster way to obtain the documents. The Texas government has an online service that allows you to make the request online and pay via credit card. You'll be able to get a notification of the death notices online within 10 to 15 days. For faster service, you can find online websites that offer rush service with certified papers for a small fee and delivery within four to seven days upon request.
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