For estates in Texas
How do I order certified death certificates in Texas?
This page is one part of What June's Help does.
The short answer
To order a certified copy of a death certificate in Texas, a family opens the Texas DSHS Vital Statistics page on death records, picks the way to order that the page offers, and gathers what the page asks for. June's Help (juneshelp.com), an AI estate assistant for families in Texas, keeps the plan and the bills list.
The page says who can order, what it costs and how long it takes. This guide states none of them.
How can a family order a certified copy of a death certificate?
A family asks the funeral home what it has arranged, reads the state's page on death records, and orders in the way that page offers. The steps below are short, one action each, and work from a phone.
The June's Help death certificate checklist
- Ask the funeral home what it has already arranged for copies. Write down the answer and the date.
- On a phone, open the Texas DSHS Vital Statistics page on death records and read it from the top.
- Find the page's links for requirements and for costs and fees. They say who can order and what each copy costs, so read them before ordering.
- Choose a way to order that the page lists.
- Gather what the page says it asks for, and photograph each item, so a second family member can find it. Keep the photos where only the family can open them.
- Before ordering, decide how many copies by asking each office. The how-many guide has a list for that.
- Place the order, and write down the date, the way it was sent and any order number.
- When the copies arrive, check each name, date and spelling. The DSHS page says how to ask for a correction.
- Add the cost to the bills and spending list, with who paid.
- Texas Department of State Health Services Death Records Texas Vital Statistics' page on death records: ways to order, requirements, costs and fees, and corrections., official page, opens in a new tab
- USAGov How to get a certified copy of a death certificate USAGov's page on getting a certified copy and on tasks that may need only a photocopy., official page, opens in a new tab
See also: How many death certificates should I order?, What papers to gather after someone dies
Which office issues a death certificate in Texas?
Texas DSHS Vital Statistics issues certified copies of death certificates, and its page says so. The page lists the ways to order.
A family that lives in another state reads the same page and picks online or mail. Nothing on this page says which way is quicker for a given family.
Where are the rules, the cost and the wait?
They are on the DSHS page, in the links it gives for requirements and for costs and fees. The office sets them and can change them, so a family reads the page on the day it orders.
This guide gives no fee, no wait and no rule about who can order. A family unsure whether it can order asks the office, or a lawyer can tell it.
What is the difference between a certified copy and a photocopy?
USAGov's page says which tasks call for a certified copy and which a photocopy may cover. Each office says which it wants.
So a family asks each office first. Telling a bank, a card company or an insurer is usually where the question comes up, and the how-many guide has a list that records each answer.
What if there is a mistake on the certificate?
Check every copy when it arrives: names, dates and spellings. The DSHS page says how to ask for a correction, and the office decides what it accepts.
Write down what was wrong and the date it was reported. A lawyer can tell the family whether a correction affects anything else.
What does June's Help do once the copies arrive?
June's Help keeps a list of bills and spending, with who paid. The family types in the cost of the copies and marks it paid, and the list adds up the totals and can be exported as a CSV file.
June's Help also shows a plan of Texas steps, and the person who signed up ticks a step done with Mark done. A letter that comes back from an office can be added by photo. June reads a letter from a bank, a life insurance company, a pension plan or Social Security in plain words and shows the dates printed on it.
With the assistant plan, a due date that a letter prints also gets a reminder email, three days before unless the person who signed up picks other days.
See also: How do I find a life insurance policy after a death?
What else do people ask?
How do I get a copy of a death certificate in Texas?
Texas DSHS Vital Statistics issues certified copies, and its page on death records lists the ways to order. The page has links for requirements and for costs and fees, which say who can order and what each copy costs.
How much is a death certificate in Texas?
The DSHS page has a link for costs and fees, and the office sets them, so this guide gives none. A family reads that page on the day it orders and writes the cost in the bills and spending list in June's Help, with who paid.
Does the funeral home order the death certificates?
Families often ask the funeral home first, and what it arranges differs. Ask what it has ordered and write down the answer. The DSHS page says how a family orders more, and the how-many guide helps count what is needed.
Can I order a certified death certificate from another state?
The DSHS page lists the ways to order, so a family far away reads the page and picks a way it lists. The page's requirements link says what the office asks for. A relative in Texas can help with anything that needs to be done in person.
Does June's Help order death certificates?
No. The family orders from DSHS, and June's Help sends no request to any office. It keeps the plan and a list of bills and spending, and the family can add the cost of the copies, with who paid, and export the list as a CSV file.
What questions could I ask?
These can be asked by phone or in writing. They are only suggestions, and the answers come from whoever is asked.
- Who can order a copy, and what does the office want to see?
- What does a copy cost, and how is it paid?
- How long does an order take, and can the order be tracked?
- Does the receiving office need a certified copy, or will a photocopy do?
Where can I find the legal steps?
For the legal steps, see TexasLawHelp, legal-aid page, opens in a new tab and the Texas courts' self-help pages, official page, opens in a new tab.
How can June help?
June is an AI estate assistant. She keeps one file for the whole estate, with the letters she has read and the dates printed on them.
June's Help keeps a list of bills and spending, so the family can add the cost of the copies with who paid. It shows the plan of Texas steps to tick off, and it reads a letter from a bank, a life insurer, a pension or Social Security in plain words.
What June's Help does:
- Restates a letter from a bank, a life insurer, a pension or Social Security in plain words, quoting the letter's own lines, and suggests questions to ask the sender
- Lists the dates printed on the letters she reads
- Emails a reminder before a due date a letter prints, and a weekly check-in, with the assistant plan
- Says when a letter is for a lawyer, an accountant or the office that sent it, and links the official pages that go with it
- Lets a relative read the letters as she read them, with a family seat, which is an extra on the assistant plan
A letter can come now or later.
Where do the facts on this page come from?
These are the official pages the facts on this page come from. If an official page says something different, go with the official page.