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Step 1
If you are the parent or immediate family member, you can order the person's birth certificate online at the Texas Department of State Health Services. The office of vital statistics will process your order within 1 or 2 weeks. This service is not free; you will have to pay about $20 for a birth certificate.
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Step 2
If you are not immediate family, or you are not listed as the parent on the birth certificate, they you cannot use the TexasOnline system described in Step 1. Instead, you will have to mail or fax an application to the Texas office of vital statistics. On the application, you will need to state your reason for requesting Texas birth records. The fee is between $20 and $30 for this.
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Step 3
The Texas office of Vital records only provides records for births at most 75 years ago. If you need older records, you should use a genealogy search service. The fees can vary depending on how hard it is to find a person, or the genealogy service may charge a flat fee. If you use one of these record providers to find Texas birth information, pick a service that charges only a flat fee.
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Step 4
Search Texas newspaper archives if you know the approximate date and location of birth If you live in Texas, you can access these at a library on microfiche of microfilm. If you live outside of Texas, you can request an inter-library loan at your local branch.
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Step 5
Use an online people searching service. Search by the name of the birth mother or father if the person you are looking for is under 18.
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Step 6
If your search for Texas birth records is related to a closed adoption case, you may have trouble finding vital records from public sources. In this case, use a people search service that specializes in finding birth parents or adoptees. Theses searches are more expensive, but you can reduce the overall cost by researching as much as you can on your own.
