Search Online Divorce Records in Texas

[Virginia Peters]

Divorce records are considered public records in all states although
there may be variations in the way they are governed and treated from
one state to another. To search divorce records in any of the states,
there are basically two options: government or private. Government
sources are generally thought to be free, albeit largely the contrary
in Texas while higher expectations are placed upon private ones.
Either will work and is a matter of individual preference or
situation.
The government department which is in charge of divorce records in
Texas is the Texas Department of State Health Services and the service
is provided out of its Vital Statistics Unit under the Report of
Divorce Index section. These indexes can be downloaded free of charge
from the department's website. There are close to a hundred thousand
divorce files maintained by the office but its function to this end is
limited to primarily providing verification letters associated with
divorce.
A Divorce Letter of Verification from the Vital Statistics Office only
states whether or not a divorce was issued in the state of Texas. It
contains the names of the divorcing parties, the county where the
divorce was granted and the court case number. Fees are $20.00 for a
letter. They are considered searching charges and hence not refundable
or transferable to another record whether or not a search yields any
results. However if a search results in a 'no record found', it can be
used as proof of single-status (marital). Verification letters are
available to divorces that occurred from 1968 to the last day of the
year preceding the current one.
For other divorce records such as certified copies of Divorce
Certificates and Divorce Decrees, you must contact the District
Clerk's office in the county where the divorce was filed as they are
not maintained at the Vital Statistics Office. On that same note,
Reports of Divorce Indexes before 1968 are not available there either
due to the fact that divorce applications were not filed with the
State offices until 1968 so they too have to be obtained at their
office of origin in the respective counties.
Texans are a special lot. The reasons behind their search for Texas
Divorce Records are varied and flowery. There are also Texans who have
resided in multiple states or county prior to Texas. As such, the
complete divorce records of these folks will cut across state borders
and the various state public record databases are not linked. As a
result, employing government agencies for multiple-state divorce
record searches becomes unfeasible. That's why private record
providers are the preferred option for Texas Divorce Records Search
especially when time and personal bandwidth are a constraint. Their
databases typically cover all states.
Commercial record providers are the end-all solution for those who can
see past the fees involved but only if you signed up with the right
one. The demand for this type of service has soared in recent times
due to its obvious edge over using public agencies. This has
consequently attracted many pretenders onto the bandwagon. Having that
said, it's not difficult to identify the bona-fide providers. One of
the best ways is to check out the review or specialist sites which are
abundantly found in any of the major search engines. They seldom
miss.