Rush Notary

Vital records · Texas

Texas birth certificate by mail: the notarized application and sworn statement

Texas Health and Safety Code §191.0031, in force since 1 September 2015, says a registrar may not issue a certified copy to someone who applied by mail unless that person has provided notarized proof of identity. The state office builds this into its application as a notary section; most county clerks and city registrars attach a separate page titled Sworn Statement with a certificate of acknowledgment. Either way you sign in front of a notary and enclose a photocopy of your ID.

A Texas Sworn Statement form with a notary acknowledgment block and seal, next to the outline of Texas

What the mailed application needs

Mailed application needs

Notarized sworn statement

HSC §191.0031 (added by S.B. 200, 84th Leg., eff. 9/1/2015): a registrar 'may not issue a certified copy ... to a person who has applied for the record by mail unless the person has provided notarized proof of identity'. On the DSHS mail forms this is 'Step 4: Affidavit (Notary Section)' – the applicant signs before a notary who completes an ACKNOWLEDGMENT ('This instrument was acknowledged before me on ___ by ___') with a personalized seal; the applicant must ALSO enclose a photocopy of a valid government photo ID (25 TAC §181.28). Only certified-copy requests need notarizing; verification letters do not. Application must be an original with no cross-outs or white-out.

Authority: Health & Safety Code §191.0031 (certified copies by mail – notarized proof of identity); 25 Tex. Admin. Code §181.1 (definitions: immediate family, legal representative, properly qualified applicant) and §181.28 (acceptable ID)

Fees

Birth certificate
$22 (long form or short form)
Death certificate
$20 first copy, $3 each additional copy ordered at the same time
Marriage certificate
$20 marriage verification letter (certified certificate: county clerk, fee varies)

Non-refundable; check/money order payable to 'DSHS – Vital Statistics'; expedited processing $5 on the form (DSHS fee page lists $25 expedited + $16/$22.95 return shipping – confirm); mail to DSHS-VSS, P.O. Box 12040, Austin, TX 78711-2040; 6-8 weeks.

Texas Department of State Health Services – Vital Statistics Section (DSHS-VSS) ↗

Official forms

Who may order a certified copy

  • the registrant (self)
  • immediate family: child, spouse, parent, sibling, grandparent (25 TAC §181.1(13)); for death records the decedent's child, spouse, parent, sibling or grandparent
  • legal guardian (proof required – e.g. court order establishing guardianship)
  • legal representative / legal agent of the registrant or immediate family (proof required)
  • funeral home (death records)
  • any other applicant who provides legal documentation demonstrating a direct, tangible interest (e.g. insurance policy naming the applicant as beneficiary)
  • note: births are restricted for 75 years and deaths for 25 years; after that anyone may order

Why Texas added a notary in 2015

Before Senate Bill 200, Texas mail applications worked like most states: sign, enclose an ID copy, pay. Identity fraud built on mailed birth certificates led the legislature to add §191.0031, which makes notarized proof of identity a condition of issuing any certified copy by mail. The rule covers birth and death certificates from the state office and from every local registrar; verification letters, which are not certified copies, are exempt.

The regulation beneath it, 25 Texas Administrative Code §181.28, still requires the photocopy of a valid government photo ID. Texas therefore asks for both: the notary and the ID copy.

State office and county clerk: two forms, one rule

The Department of State Health Services uses VS-140 for birth and VS-142 for death. Step 4 of each, headed “Affidavit (Notary Section),” is an acknowledgment: the notary records that the instrument was acknowledged before them by the named applicant and applies a seal. The form must be an original with no corrections.

County clerks and local registrars, who hold the same records and are usually faster, publish their own applications. Tarrant, Bexar, Johnson and many others attach a page titled Sworn Statement with Certificate of Acknowledgment: you declare under penalty of perjury that you are a qualified applicant and the notary acknowledges your signature. The county forms we index are listed below.

Marriage certificates are different. The state issues only a marriage verification letter; a certified marriage certificate comes from the county clerk that issued the license, and that clerk's mail-in rules apply.

What goes in the envelope

The original application with the notary section or sworn statement completed, a legible photocopy of your government photo ID, any proof of relationship the form asks for, and a check or money order for the fee. The state quotes six to eight weeks for ordinary mail processing; expedited handling is available for an additional charge.

The notary section on the DSHS mail application

Step 4 of form VS-140 (3/24). The death application VS-142 carries the identical block. County sworn statements add a penalty-of-perjury declaration above the same acknowledgment wording.

Step 4: Affidavit (Notary Section)

Only applications for birth certificates (not birth verifications) submitted by mail need to be notarized.

State of ______   County of ______

This instrument was acknowledged before me on ______ (date) by ______ (printed name of applicant acknowledging).

______ (Notary Public's signature)   (Personalized seal)

Warning: it is a felony to falsify information on this document. The penalty for knowingly making a false statement on this form or signing a form which contains a false statement is 2 to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000. (Health and Safety Code, Chapter 195, Sec. 195.003.)

An acknowledgment, like California's: the notary certifies who signed, and the perjury warning printed on the form carries the weight of an oath.

Applying for someone else in Texas

Power of attorneyNotarized authorization letterCourt orderAttorney representing the registrantLegal guardian (with papers)

VS-140/VS-142 offer the checkboxes 'Legal Guardian (proof required)' and 'Legal Representative (proof required)'. DSHS's 'Persons Qualified to Request or Change Records' page says a certified copy may be requested by the registrant, immediate family, 'their guardian, or their legal agent/representative', citing 25 TAC §181.1(21); 'all other applicants must provide legal documentation'. 25 TAC §181.1(16) defines 'legal representative' as 'an attorney in fact, a funeral director, or any other person designated by affidavit, contract, or court order acting on behalf and for the benefit of the registrant or his or her immediate family', and the registrar 'shall require a designation document or an attested statement' – so an agent under a POA (attorney in fact), a lawyer, or a person named in an affidavit/contract/court order qualifies, and must enclose that document (copy of the POA, letters of guardianship, retainer/affidavit) with the notarized application and their own ID copy. The representative, not the principal, signs the notary section.

Texas defines a “legal representative” in 25 TAC §181.1 as an attorney in fact, a funeral director, or any other person designated by affidavit, contract or court order who acts for the registrant or their immediate family. An attorney in fact is an agent under a power of attorney, so a POA holder qualifies. The registrar must see the designation document: enclose a copy of the power of attorney, the letters of guardianship, the retainer or the affidavit, together with your own ID copy. You, the representative, sign the notary section; the principal does not.

The DSHS forms carry checkboxes for Legal Guardian (proof required) and Legal Representative (proof required). Anyone outside the immediate family and without a designation document must show a direct, tangible interest, for example an insurance policy naming them as beneficiary.

The power of attorney usually has to be notarized as well: see notarizing a power of attorney online. A notarized authorization letter is a short jurat or acknowledgment and takes one online session.

County and city application forms in Texas

Local registrars and county clerks issue the same certificates and publish their own application forms. These are the ones in our index, each with the PDF, the office’s instructions and a one-click path to an online notarization.

Forms with a notary block

Forms without a notary block

More local forms on the Texas page.

Notarize your Texas application online

Upload the completed application, meet a licensed online notary on video, swear and sign. The notarized PDF arrives by email in about 15 minutes, ready to print and mail with your ID copy and fee.

Common questions

Does a Texas birth certificate application have to be notarized?
By mail, yes. Health and Safety Code §191.0031 bars registrars from issuing a certified copy to a mail applicant without notarized proof of identity, so both the DSHS forms and county applications include a notary block. In person you show ID at the counter instead.
Is the Texas sworn statement a jurat or an acknowledgment?
An acknowledgment. The DSHS form reads “this instrument was acknowledged before me,” and county sworn statements attach a certificate of acknowledgment to a penalty-of-perjury declaration. You still appear before the notary and show ID.
Can I order a Texas birth certificate for my mother with a power of attorney?
Yes. Texas counts an attorney in fact as a legal representative. Enclose a copy of the power of attorney and your own ID, tick Legal Representative, and sign the notary section yourself.
Can the Texas application be notarized online?
Yes. Texas authorizes online notarization and its vital-records offices accept the printed, electronically notarized form. Upload the completed application, meet the notary on video, and mail the PDF with your ID copy and fee.

Sources

Checked October 2026. Fees and forms change; confirm with the issuing office before mailing. General guidance, not legal advice.

Other states with a notary step

California

Notarized sworn statement

New York

ID copy, no notary

New York City

Notarized signature

Minnesota

Notarized signature

Iowa

Notarized signature

Arizona

Notarized signature or ID copy

Montana

Notarized signature or ID copy

Wyoming

Notarized signature or ID copy

All 50 states in the vital records guide. The sworn statement glossary entry explains the notarial act these forms use.

Need this notarized?

Upload the application, verify your ID, and sign with a licensed online notary in about 15 minutes.