Guide
About Texas public records
Texas state agency department policies and procedures play a significant role in how and which public records each are to provide, while performing their duties within the state legislature's guidelines regarding open records and meeting statutes. Requests for various official recorded documents to criminal histories can be requested directly from the state of Texas departments. Individuals and companies are able to submit requests for different types of records and data from government operated websites and a list of services to the public.
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State background and court information
Texas Public Information Act (PIA) or the Open Records Act was enacted in 1973 and gives people the right to request records from state agencies. The federal Freedom of Information Act began in 1966 and was signed into law by President Johnson. Requests for records and information are often made by journalists, researchers but can also be used by private entities and companies.
Also known as the Lone Star State, Texas became the 28th U.S. state in 1845. It has the 2nd largest economy as well as the 2nd largest workforce in the U.S. and leads the country in cattle, oil, chemical products and recently electronic equipment production. As with other states, Texas state government is comprised of 3 branches, the executive, legislative, and judicial branch.
The state of Texas is the second largest state by population and territory in the United States. It is comprised of 254 counties, the most in the U.S. and 1,216 cities with a population of approximately 31 million residents. There are no townships in Texas and areas are either incorporated or unincorporated. Texas does not have metropolitan cities or a city and county consolidated government. Counties run on a commissioners court system which is made of four precincts in each county with an elected commissioner. County government serves and functions as an arm of the state. Duties and responsibilities of county governments are land recordings, ownerships, local courts, tax collections, law enforcement and recording of birth and deaths of its residents amongst other local services. City government officials include the city's mayor, city manager, city council, commissioners, and other city official in departments and offices.
The state's law enforcement agency is the Texas Department of Public Safety. By accessing their online site you request services that include driver license services, criminal history search and other law enforcement roles. The state judicial system has over 2,700 courts broken down into district, county-level, and municipal courts, plus appellate courts. The Texas court online provides information regarding obtaining court records and services. Vital records such as birth, death, divorces and marriages are kept at the Texas department of state health services, vital statistics unit. Orders can be placed directly through their official website and certified copies can be obtained via mail.
Conduct a background check on anyone in Texas by ordering a criminal history search. Access public information of convictions from class B misdemeanor violations to felonies directly from the Texas Department of Public Safety. A good starting point to maximize your results is by searching a free people locator database which can reveal current as well as past residences and addresses. This will show you where the search should cover. When residences are found outside the state of your search, you may need to expand your probe to other states. Residents are not required to present an agency with a reason when requesting records that are made public and not classified as private or confidential information.
The Texas courts of appeals must hear, i.e., have "mandatory jurisdiction," cases that involve civil, non-capital criminal, administrative agency, juvenile, original proceeding, and interlocutory decision cases. These courts have no discretionary jurisdiction. Texas courts of criminal appeals have mandatory jurisdiction in capital criminal, criminal, and original proceeding cases. Texas' courts of criminal appeals have discretionary jurisdiction in non-capital criminal, original proceeding cases and certified questions from federal court. The Texas district courts are the state's trial courts. The district courts have jurisdiction to hear cases that involve tort, contract, real property rights from $200 and up, estate, and other miscellaneous civil matters. District courts have exclusive jurisdiction over administrative agency appeals, domestic relations matters, juvenile matters, felony and misdemeanor matters, DWI or DUI matters, and other miscellaneous criminal matters.
Jury trials are available in these courts. Texas' criminal district court hears various felony, misdemeanor, DWI or DUI, and miscellaneous criminal cases. Texas' county courts at law have jurisdiction to hear cases that involve tort, contract, real property rights from $200 to an unspecified "varying" amount, estate, mental health, civil trial court appeals, and other miscellaneous civil matters. These courts hear juvenile matters, misdemeanors, DWI or DUI matters, criminal appeals, moving traffic violations, and other miscellaneous traffic violations. Texas' probate courts hear estate, and mental health matters.
Texas' Constitutional county courts have jurisdiction to hear cases that involve tort, contract, real property rights from $200 to $5,000, estate, mental health, civil trial court appeals, miscellaneous civil matters, juvenile matters, and domestic relations matters. These courts hear various misdemeanors, DWI or DUI matters, criminal appeals matters, moving traffic violations, and other miscellaneous traffic violations. Texas' justice of the peace courts have jurisdiction to hear cases that involve tort, contract, real property rights from $0 to $5,000, small claims up to $5,000, mental health matters, misdemeanors, moving traffic violations, parking violations, and other miscellaneous traffic violations. These courts hold venue to preliminary hearings. Jury trials are available in these courts. Texas' municipal courts have jurisdiction to hear cases that involve various misdemeanors, moving traffic violations, parking violations, and other miscellaneous traffic violations. These courts have exclusive ordinance violation jurisdiction, and hold venue to preliminary hearings. Jury trials are available in Texas' municipal courts.
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Court records and filings
Texas court records are maintained by individual county District Clerks and County Clerks. District Courts handle felony criminal cases and major civil matters. County Courts handle misdemeanors and civil cases under $200,000.
Case records are searchable through the Texas Courts Online case search at search.txcourts.gov and individual county court websites.
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Criminal records and background checks
Texas criminal records are maintained by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), Crime Records Services division. The Computerized Criminal History (CCH) system provides online name-based criminal history searches. The FACT Clearinghouse is a repository of DPS and FBI fingerprint-based criminal history results. Court records are searchable through individual county clerk systems. DPS operates the Texas Sex Offender Registration Program. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) provides an online inmate search updated on working days.
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Vital records
Certified copies of Texas birth and death certificates are issued by the Texas Department of State Health Services. Marriage records are also kept by the local office that issued the license, and divorce records by the court that granted the divorce.
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Property and asset records
Deeds and mortgages in Texas are recorded at the county level, and property taxes are handled by county or local offices. Business and UCC filings are kept by the state, bankruptcy cases are federal court records, and the state runs a free search for unclaimed property.
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Government records and agencies
Texas.gov lists the state's agencies and departments, and the Texas statutes are online from the Texas Legislature.
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Driving and vehicle records
The Texas Department of Public Safety keeps driver records, and the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles handles vehicle registration.
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Expungements and record clearing
In some cases Texas law lets a person have a criminal record expunged, which clears it, or ask a court for an order of nondisclosure, which seals it from the public. The Texas State Law Library explains both and links to the court forms.
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Genealogy and historical research
For family history, start with the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
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Missing children resources
The Texas Department of Public Safety runs the Missing Persons Clearinghouse, set up in 1985 by the Texas Legislature.
- Texas Missing Persons ClearinghouseTexas Department of Public Safety
- NamUsU.S. Justice Department database of missing and unidentified people
Need a different Texas record?
Browse county pages, search vital records, look up court filings, or run a background check from the main hub.