Payment Information

Personal checks are not accepted for Vital Records. Payment may be made by cash (in person only), Money Order, credit cards (Visa, Master Card, Discover, and American Express), cashier's check or business checks.


You may order a certified copy of a birth or death record online using your credit card through our only approved official Internet business partner of the Fort Bend County Clerk's office, VitalChek Network, Inc. Birth occurring in Texas prior to 1900 are not available for purchase through VitalChek.

VitalChek Order Online 04 round

 General Information

  • The County Clerk is the registrar of births occurring in Fort Bend County as far back as 1838.
  • Birth records are confidential for 75 years from the date of the event. All births recorded in Fort Bend County from the late 1800s to the present are available.
  • Death records are confidential for 25 years from the date of the event. All deaths recorded in Fort Bend County from 1903 to the present are available.
  • Birth certificates are issued in two forms – full copies or abstract copies. Full copies will always be issued if the County Clerk's Office is the holder of the record. For persons born in Texas between 1926 to the present, but not born in Fort Bend County, birth certificates can be obtained in abstract form only.
  • A certified copy of a birth or death certificate can be obtained in person or by mail request. 

 

Home Birth Registration

For assistance with filing a birth record of an infant born outside of a licensed institution (Texas Administrative Code 181.26) that occurred in Fort Bend County, please contact us at (281) 341-8652 or email the Records Division  (cclerkrecords@fortbendcountytx.gov) for more details and to schedule an appointment to visit the Richmond Office.
 
We offer 2-hour appointment times, Monday through Friday, from 9:00 AM to 11 AM and 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

 

Checklist to Apply for Birth or Death Certificate

  1. To apply for a certified copy of a birth or death certificate, click on the link below and follow the instructions therein.
  2. A birth or death certificate may be issued to a qualified applicant including:
    • Registrant
    • Immediate family member (parent, child, brother, sister, spouse, or grandparent)
    • Legal guardian
    • Managing conservator
    • Legal representative
    • Agent or other person acting under contract for the registrant
  3. Current government issued picture identification is required to obtain a certified copy.
  4. The applicant must provide the following information and show proper identification:
BIRTH CERTIFICATE
$23.00* PER CERTIFIED COPY		 DEATH CERTIFICATE
$21.00* FOR FIRST COPY, $4.00 ADDITIONAL
 Full name on birth record  Full name on death record
 Date and place of birth  Date and place of death
 Father's full name  Father's full name
 Mother's maiden name  Mother's maiden name
 Name, address, and telephone number of requestor  Name, address, and telephone number of requestor
 Relationship to person on birth record  Relationship to person on death record
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

*Search Fee is non-refundable for Birth & Death Records (TAC 25 Chapter 181)

Certificate by Mail

To obtain a birth or death certificate by mail, complete the application form and sworn, notarized statement (attached within), include a legible copy of the applicant's valid driver's license or other valid picture identification along with a cashier's check or money order payable to FORT BEND COUNTY CLERK. Please provide a legible return address and daytime telephone number. You may also order a birth or death certificate online through our only approved official Internet business partner of the Fort Bend County Clerk's office, VitalChek Network, Inc. and select your mailing preference.

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