Dallas County, Texas (TX) Birth Certificate Online

How to Obtain a Dallas, Texas Birth Certificate

Getting a government-issued birth certificate in the city of Dallas, Texas is astraightforward process that can be completed with little to no hassle. In fact, the entire Dallas birth certificate application can be completed without having to visit a vital records office.

To order an authorized copy of a Dallas County (TX) birth certificate for yourself or on behalf of a third person:

1. Fill out, print and sign the Dallas birth certificate application (available by clicking the button on this page) and the Notarized Proof of Identification with the required information
2. Include a photocopy of the applicant’s valid identification documents (detailed list below) and payment
3. Mail to the Texas Department of State Health Service
4. Receive the Dallas birth certificate at your preferred address, as per your self-addressed postage-paid envelope

Copies of birth certificates may be ordered by posting your application package to the following address:

Department of State Health Services,
1100 W. 49th Street,
Austin, TX 78756

Alternatively, you may also send your Dallas birth certificate application package to the Dallas Vital Statistics Office:

Dallas Bureau of Vital Statistics
J. Erik Jonsson Central Library,
1515 Young Street,
Dallas, TX 75201

Posting the application to the Dallas office would get the order filled at the county level rather than the state level, and involves a slight difference in search fees. Please verify that you are submitting the exact fees for your Dallas birth certificate copy to be issued.

Dallas-born citizens who prefer to submit their application in person may do so at the county address, although this entails waiting in line —sometimes for hours on end— and arriving early enough during office hours. To submit a birth certificate application in person, print the Dallas County birth certificate application package, and submit it during walk-in hours with the required documents and fee.

Attorneys and legal representatives applying for a certified copy of a Dallas birth certificate on behalf of a client will have to submit the following documentation alongside the birth certificate application package:

• Valid bar card
• Valid personal photo ID
• Letter on company stationery stating the reason why you are requesting your client’s Dallas birth certificate or legal documentation such as a court order or subpoena

Third-party applicants requesting another citizen’s Dallas birth certificate should present the following required documentation alongside the birth certificate application package:

• Documentation linking you or your agency to a tangible reason for requesting the certified copy of a Dallas, Texas birth certificate, for example:
  • Legal documents such as contracts, court rulings
  • Bank statements, deeds, titles showing joint ownership
  • Notarized letter from a qualified applicant with a copy of their valid Photo ID requesting that you received the certified Dallas birth certificate on their behalf
  • Business letter on company stationery with a copy of documentation linking an individual to your agency, for any of the instances described above
• Valid personal government-issued photo ID
• Letter on company stationery stating the reason why you are requesting a third person’s Dallas birth certificate

Dallas Birth Certificate Copy Required Information

To get a certified copy of a Dallas, Texas birth certificate, you will need to complete the online birth certificate application with the following personal information:

• Gender
• Date of birth
• Full name (as it would appear on the certificate)
• Mother’s name or parent’s name prior to first marriage
• Father’s name or parent’s name prior to first marriage
• Reason to order the Dallas birth certificate (for use abroad, please state “Apostille”)
• Relationship to the applicant (if not ordering your own Dallas birth certificate)

Once the form to apply for a certified copy of a Dallas birth certificate is completed, the applicant will have to photocopy a valid form of identification to submit with their request.

Dallas, Texas Acceptable IDs for Birth Certificate Application

Since all Texas births recorded less than 75 years ago are private records, citizens applying for a certified copy of a Dallas County birth certificate need to prove their identity.

This can be done by providing one of the following acceptable identification documents, alongside your birth certificate application form:

• US passport
• US citizen ID card
• US Driver's license
• Federal or state ID card

Citizens born in the city of Dallas or the rest of Dallas County, Texas (TX) that do not have any of the aforementioned credentials to present, may have other options available to prove their identity.

In Dallas County, as well as the rest of the State of Texas, all births recorded within the past 75 years are considered protected records. Therefore, only specific individuals are eligible to apply for a Dallas birth certificate.

Who can request a certified copy of a birth certificate in Dallas, Texas?

An official copy of a Dallas birth certificate can be ordered by:

• The certificate holder
• An immediate family member: parents, grandparents, children, siblings, spouse
• Local, state and federal law enforcement or governmental agencies and legal representatives when providing legal documentation (such as a court order establishing guardianship) that demonstrates a direct, tangible interest in the vital record

Dallas County Birth Certificate Types

When ordering a Dallas birth certificate replacement, it is important to understand the different types of birth certificates available in order to make sure you obtain the correct document to fulfill your needs.

There are 2 types of birth certificates issued in Dallas:

• Full Size or Long Form birth certificate
• Birth certificate abstract or State certificate

Full size or long form Dallas County, TX birth certificate

A full-Size Dallas birth certificate is an authorized government-issued copy of the original document.

A long-form Dallas birth certificate includes any corrections made to the birth record. It is also known as a certified copy of a Dallas, Texas birth certificate.

Order this type of Dallas birth certificate for any of the following purposes:

• To sign up at university
• Get a driver’s license
• Apply for a US passport
• Get married
• Other legal purposes

Please note that an informational or abstract copy will not be accepted to prove your identity.

A long-form Dallas County birth certificate can be visually distinguished from an abstract copy of a Dallas birth certificate because the full copy carries:

• The registrar’s raised, embossed, impressed or multicolored seal
• The registrar’s signature
• The date the certificate was filed with the registrar’s office

Dallas birth certificate abstract

An informational copy of a Dallas birth certificate is also known as a short-form birth certificate or state certificate.

A state certificate is an abstract of the Dallas birth certificate kept on record at the vital statistics office.

Please note that short-form Dallas County birth certificates or informational copies bear the following message imprinted across the face of the copy:

“Informational, not a valid document to establish identity”

Heirloom copy of a Dallas County birth certificate

A Texas Heirloom birth certificate is another type of abstract or short-form birth certificate that bears no legal validity. Dallas heirloom birth certificates are mainly used as a keepsake for framing and display.

Dallas Birth Certificate for Election Identification

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) waives the fees to obtain a certified copy of a birth record that will be used to specifically request an Election Identification Certificate (EIC) issued by the Department of Public Safety (DPS).

Please bear in mind that birth certificates for election identification in Dallas County can only be issued once during a citizen's lifetime and bear the message:

"For Election Identification Purposes Only."

The fee waiver is exclusively available for issuance of an EIC certified birth record. To qualify for the fee waiver, the Dallas citizen must visit the Dallas City Clerk, Dallas County Clerk, the Texas Vital Statistics Unit (VSU), or a local registrar in the State of Texas.

This type of birth certificate cannot be requested on behalf of another citizen. START FORM

Dallas County, Texas Birth Certificate Apostille

Citizens born in Dallas County, TX who need to present their birth certificate outside the United States’ territory need to make sure their document bears an apostille to grant it legal validity abroad.

This can be done by following these simple steps:

1. Order a certified copy of the Dallas County, Texas Birth Certificate
2. State "Apostille" as the reason for your birth certificate order on your application form
3. Upon receiving the certified copy of the Dallas, TX birth certificate, mail the complete document to the Texas Secretary of State's office with the required apostille fee for authentication. Please note that certified copies submitted must have been issued within the past 5 years

Texas Authentications Unit street address:

Secretary of State

Authentications Unit
1019 Brazos
Austin, TX 78701

Walk-In Service: Room 106

Texas Authentications unit PO BOX:

Secretary of State

Authentications Unit
PO Box 13550
Austin, TX 78711-3550

Birth Certificate Cost in Dallas County, Texas

When ordering a copy of a birth certificate in Dallas County, Texas, (TX) it is necessary to pay the appropriate issuance fee.

The following payment methods are available when mailing your Dallas County birth certificate application:

• Personal check
• Money order
• Cashier check
• Business check

The filing fee of each copy of a birth certificate in Dallas, Texas depends on the office at which you submit your request.

Dallas birth certificate applications processed at the state level carry a fee of $22.

Applicants who submit their Dallas birth certificate copy application at the county level incur a fee of $23.

It is advisable to order several copies using the same birth certificate application form. Additional copies can be kept on file ready for future use. Extra copies of the same Dallas County birth certificate ordered within a single form carry the same cost as the initial copy.

Military personnel with a current deployment order are granted exemption from fees for birth certificate applications in the entire state of Texas, including Dallas.

Dallas County, Texas Birth Certificate Processing Times

Your order will be processed after you complete the Dallas, TX birth certificate application and mail it with the appropriate payment and documents to one of the addresses detailed above.

Birth certificate orders in Dallas, Texas are generally filled within 2 to 4 weeks.

Dallas citizens in urgent need of a certified copy of a birth certificate may print out their completed application package, sign and take it with the required documents and fee then submit it in person at the Dallas City or County Clerk’s office during opening hours. Make sure to provide the correct payment since fees may differ.

Although this usually requires waiting in line for hours, it may result in same-day delivery if the birth recorded occurred from 1983 to the present.

Read more: Fastest way to get a birth certificate in Texas.