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Local Registrar

Margarita A. Carrasco, Margarita.Carrasco@dallascityhall.com​

For General Vital Statistics Information, call  (214) 670-3092 or email vitalinfo@dallascityhall.com 

Location:  

J. ERIK  JONSSON  CENTRAL  LIBRARY

1515 YOUNG STREET, 1st Floor

DALLAS, TX 75201

ACROSS FROM CITY HALL

Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

Same day walk-in lobby service for:

• Birth Certificates (generally available 7 business days after birth occurs)
• Death Certificates (generally available 10 business days after death occurs)
• Birth Abstract (certificates from State records for all births outside of Dallas in Texas)
• Acknowledgement of Paternity (call 214-670-3248 to schedule an appointment)
• Funeral Home Service
• Notary Service

Services and Fees

• Full size/long form certified birth certificate (Dallas only  April 1983-present) issued same day
• Birth abstract (State certificate) all Texas births issued same day
• Death certificate(Dallas only April  1983-present) issued same day

Fees
NO REFUNDS ARE ISSUED FOR ANY BIRTH OR DEATH RECORDS SEARCH NOT FOUND.  THE SEARCH FEE IS NON-REFUNDABLE OR TRANSFERABLE.  FEES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. 

         
 Payment Types (No Personal Checks Accepted)

• Cash
• Business Checks, no personal checks
• Money Orders or Cashier's Check
• Debit/Credit Card (VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Diners)

How to Apply for a Certified Copy

• Apply in person at J Erik Jonsson Library, Vital Statistics, 1515 Young St., Dallas TX, 75201
• Apply by regular mail
• Apply by overnight mail (send request overnight with prepaid overnight envelope)
• Apply online at VitalChek

For your convenience, you can request your certificate through VitalChek at vitalchek.com or by phone at 800-255-2414.  An additional fee is charged by VitalChek for using this service, and all major credit cards are accepted, including American Express, Discover, MasterCard or Visa. 

Apply for Certified Copies by Regular Mail
Regular mail is processed within 5 business days of receipt by our office. Regular mail is mailed to the customer via U.S. Postal Services.  Provide the following for mail-in request processing

• Print a copy of the application: ENGLISH VS-APP-2020.pdf  SPANISH VS-APP-2020.pdf
• Complete the application and notarized proof of identification section at the bottom of the application
• Make a copy of the qualified applicant's identification
• Include payment, money order/cashier's check, (for business) business check
• Payments are payable to "City of Dallas"
• Mail the documentation (signed application, notarized proof of identification, copy of valid identification, fees and other documentation if needed) to:
  
  City of Dallas Vital Statistics, 1515 Young St. , Dallas, Texas, 75201

Apply for Certified Copies by Overnight Mail 
Overnight mail is processed on the business day of receipt by our office. Overnight mail is mailed to the customer via overnight courier. Customer must provide a prepaid overnight envelope along with the following mail-in request processing:

• Print a copy of the application: ENGLISH VS-APP-2020.pdf  SPANISH VS-APP-2020.pdf
• Complete the application and notarized proof of identification section at the bottom of the application
• Make a copy of the qualified applicant's valid identification
• Include payment, money order/cashier's check, (for business) business check
• Payments are payable to "City of Dallas"
• Mail the documentation (signed application, notarized proof of identification, copy of valid identification, fees, and other documentation if needed) to:
  
  City of Dallas Vital Statistics, 1515 Young St., Dallas, Texas, 75201

Identifications Requirements:  See Section 181.28 of the Texas Administrative Code for a complete list of acceptable forms of identification. 

Notice to Attorneys - Required Documentation
(Legal documents will be reviewed by COD/City Attorney's Office which may delay request up to 48 hours after submission)

1. Valid bar card
2. Valid personal identification w/picture
3. Letter on company stationery stating the purpose of the request or Legal documentation (court orders; subpoenas)
4. Completed vital statistics application for certified document (ENGLISH VS-APP-2020.pdf,  SPANISH VS-APP-2020.pdf)

Third Party Applicants - Required Documentation

1. Documentation linking you or your agency to tangible reason for requesting certified document (partial listing):
1. Legal documents such as contracts, court rulings
2. Bank statements, deeds, titles showing joint ownership
3. Notarized letter from qualified applicant with a copy of their valid picture identification requesting that you received the certified document for them
4. Business letter on company stationery with a copy of documentation linking individual to your agency, i.e. a, b, c above
2. Valid personal identification w/picture
3. Letter on company stationery stating the purpose of the request
4. Completed vital statistics application for certified document (ENGLISH VS-APP-2020.pdf,  SPANISH VS-APP-2020.pdf)

Restrictions
Birth records are confidential for 75 years and death records 25 years; therefore, issuance is restricted to qualified applicants. Please attach a photocopy of ID to application. Failure to provide the purpose in obtaining the record and relationship to the applicant in the request, when the applicant is not the person named on the record, will result in the application being rejected or delayed in processing.

Acknowledgement of Paternity (AOP)
The City of Dallas Vital Statistics is processing Acknowledgment of Paternity (AOP) and New Birth Certificate Based on Parentage by appointments only at J Erik Jonssen Library, 1515 Young St, Dallas, Texas, 75201. Both parents must be present and provide valid identification for notarization, $6 fee. The AOP process establishes legal paternity for a child born to unmarried parents. The AOP is a legal document under Texas Law and has the same effect as a court order establishing paternity. The AOP is a critical process in ensuring the child is eligible for benefits such as Social Security, Veteran assets, child support and health care. The fee to file the new birth certificate based on paternity is $25.00. The additional fee for a certified copy of the updated birth record is $22.00. Fees are paid directly to the State Vital Statistics Office at P.O. Box 12040, Austin, Texas, 78711-2040.  Further information can be obtained online directly from the Texas Department of Health Services Vital Statistics web page.

Amendment of a Birth and/or Death Certificate
An amended certificate may be filed to complete or correct a record that is incomplete or proved by satisfactory evidence to be inaccurate. The amendment must be in a form proscribed by the department. The amendment shall be attached to and become a part of the legal record of the birth, death or fetal death if the amendment is accepted for filing. The fee to file an amendment is $15.00. The additional fee for a certified copy of the updated birth record is $22, and death record is $21. Fees are paid directly to the State Vital Statistics Office at P.O. box 12040, Austin, Texas, 78711-2040. Further information can be obtained online directly from the Texas Department of Health Services web site.

Qualified Applicants
A qualified applicant is defined as the registrant, or immediate family member. Local, state and federal law enforcement or governmental agencies and legal representative may be designated as properly qualified applicants by providing legal documentation (such as a court order establishing guardianship) that demonstrates a direct, tangible interest in the vital record.

See Section 181.1 of the Texas Administrative Code

Birth/Death Certificate Outside of Dallas County but in Texas:
The City of Dallas issues Birth Abstract certificates for births in Texas, but outside of the City of Dallas city limits.  These documents are issued via remote access directly from the State of Texas, Vital Statistics Unit in Austin, Texas. The Birth Abstract certificates are legal documents and can be used for the same legal purposes as certificates generated from Dallas files for institutional or hospital births. Death certificates for deaths occurring outside the Dallas district are available in the district of which the death occurred or from the State of Texas Vital Statistics Office at P.O. Box 12040, Austin, Texas 78711-2040.

Birth or Death Certificate for a State Other than Texas
For out-of-state birth or death certificates, see the National Center for Health Statistics web site.

Apostille: Authenticating Birth or Death Certificates
If you are transferred by your employer to a foreign country, wanting to marry in a foreign country, or if you are adopting a child born in a foreign country, you may need to present your birth certificate to an official with the foreign country. If you are taking a deceased family member to a foreign country, or settling an estate of a deceased family member in a foreign country, the government officials with the foreign country will most likely require the death certificate of the decedent. Depending on the country and the circumstance, the documents may not be accepted by the foreign government officials unless they have been authenticated by the Secretary of State's Office. The 1961 Hague Convention established a pre-printed form for the purpose of authenticating documents for the countries that have joined the convention. This form is called an Apostille. If a document is authenticated with an Apostille , it will be recognized and will not need further certification as long as the foreign country requesting the document has joined the Hague Convention. Since October 15, 1981, the United States has been part of the Convention. Call 512-463-5705 for additional information. The mailing address is Texas Secretary of State, Statutory Document Section, P.O. Box 12887, 1019 Brazos, 2nd Floor, Austin, Texas 78701.

Genealogists
Death records older than 50 years and birth records older than 75 years are, with some exceptions, available to genealogists. Each document search must be paid for and sufficient information must be provided on the application for the document search. The Texas State Library has research material available specifically for genealogy research.

Notice

Effective September 1, 2015, Chapter 191, Health and Safety Code, was amended by adding Section 191.0031 to read as follows:

Sec. 191.0031 Certified Copies By Mail.  The state registrar or a local registrar may not issue a certified copy of a record under this chapter to a person who has applied for the record by mail unless the person has provided notarized proof of identity.