Need a New Texas Birth Certificate Before You Can Get an Apostille?
If your Texas birth certificate is too old, unavailable, lost, damaged, or otherwise cannot be used for apostille processing, Clark Apostille Services can help you obtain a newly issued certified copy and complete the Texas apostille process.
We assist clients throughout the United States and abroad, including clients who currently live outside of the U.S. and need their completed birth certificate and apostille delivered internationally.
Depending on your identification, relationship to the person named on the birth record, and the record itself, there may be more than one way to obtain your new Texas birth certificate.
Birth Certificate Ordering Options
Option 1: Local Texas Birth Certificate Retrieval
For qualifying clients, we may be able to obtain a newly issued Texas birth certificate through a local Texas vital records office rather than submitting the order directly through Texas Vital Statistics in Austin.
This is generally the faster option when available.
Typical Timeline
Clients using the local retrieval process should plan for a minimum overall turnaround of approximately three weeks for birth certificate retrieval and apostille processing before return shipping.
Actual processing times may vary depending on:
Record availability
Identification requirements
Government processing times
Mailing or delivery times
Apostille processing
Holidays, closures, or other government delays
International shipping time is additional.
Identification Requirements
Eligibility for the local retrieval option depends heavily on the identification available to the person requesting the birth certificate.
A valid U.S.-issued form of identification, such as a:
U.S. passport
U.S. driver's license
U.S. state-issued identification card
may be required.
Having U.S. identification for the person named on the birth certificate does not necessarily mean the requester qualifies.
For example, if a parent is requesting a certificate for a minor child, the parent is generally the requester. The identification available to the parent may therefore determine which ordering option can be used.
Clark Apostille Services will review your circumstances before determining whether the local retrieval option is available.
Option 2: Texas Vital Statistics Order
If the local retrieval option is not available, the birth certificate may need to be ordered directly through Texas Vital Statistics.
This process is available for certain clients who cannot satisfy the requirements of the faster local ordering method, including some international requesters.
Important Processing-Time Notice
Texas Vital Statistics processing can take substantially longer than local birth certificate retrieval.
Clark Apostille Services believes in providing realistic timelines before accepting your order.
We have experienced birth certificate orders remaining pending with Texas Vital Statistics for several weeks or longer, including orders that exceeded eight weeks before issuance.
Because the certificate is issued by a government agency, Clark Apostille Services cannot guarantee the date on which Texas Vital Statistics will complete an order.
Once we receive your newly issued certificate, however, we can move directly into the apostille portion of your service.
If your order must use this route, we will explain the current expected timeline before you make payment.
International Clients
You Don't Have to Be in Texas
Many of our clients live outside of Texas or outside of the United States entirely.
Depending on your circumstances, Clark Apostille Services can coordinate the process from beginning to end, including:
Reviewing your existing birth certificate
Determining the appropriate ordering method
Preparing required birth certificate order and authorization documents
Coordinating remote online notarization when required
Submitting or coordinating your birth certificate order
Receiving the newly issued certified certificate
Coordinating Texas Secretary of State apostille processing
Arranging domestic or international return shipping
Remote Online Notarization
Some birth certificate applications or authorization documents must be notarized.
When appropriate, Clark Apostille Services can coordinate a Remote Online Notarization (RON) appointment, allowing you to complete the notarization remotely without traveling to Texas.
Eligibility for remote notarization will be reviewed based on your specific documents and identification.
Already Have a Texas Birth Certificate?
You may not necessarily need to order another one.
Send us a clear scan or photo of the certificate you currently have, and we can review it to determine whether a newly issued copy is likely to be needed before apostille processing.
Factors may include:
When the certificate was issued
The issuing authority
Whether it is a certified copy
Whether required signatures or certifications appear on the document
Current Texas apostille requirements
Please do not mail your only original certificate until we have reviewed the document and confirmed the recommended next step.
Birth Certificates for Minor Children
A parent may be able to request a Texas birth certificate for a minor child, but identification and eligibility requirements still apply.
If your child has a U.S. passport but you, as the parent/requester, do not have U.S.-issued identification, please tell us during your consultation.
The identification belonging to the child may not satisfy the identification requirements that apply to the person actually requesting the record.
In these situations, we will determine which birth certificate ordering method is appropriate before preparing your invoice.
What We Need From You
To determine the correct processing option, please provide:
A clear photo or scan of your existing birth certificate, if available
Full name of the person listed on the birth certificate
Date of birth
Texas city and county of birth
Your relationship to the person named on the certificate
Whether the person named on the certificate is a minor
The type of valid identification you currently have
Your current country of residence
Number of certified birth certificates needed
Number of certificates requiring an apostille
Complete return shipping address
Telephone number for the courier
Please do not send sensitive identification documents through unsecured channels unless requested and provided with instructions for submitting them.
How the Process Works
Step 1 — Document Review
Submit a copy of your current Texas birth certificate, if you have one, along with your basic order information.
We review the record and determine which ordering method may be available.
Step 2 — Ordering Method & Quote
We determine whether your order can use the faster local retrieval process or whether it must be submitted through Texas Vital Statistics.
You will receive the expected timeline and pricing before proceeding.
Step 3 — Forms & Notarization
We prepare the required application and authorization documents.
If notarization is required, we coordinate a remote online notarization appointment when available.
Step 4 — Birth Certificate Order
Your application is submitted through the appropriate Texas birth certificate issuing process.
Step 5 — Certificate Received
Once your newly issued certified birth certificate arrives, we notify you and move the document into apostille processing.
Step 6 — Texas Apostille
The certificate is submitted for authentication/apostille through the appropriate Texas authority.
Step 7 — Return Delivery
After the apostille is completed, your original documents are returned by your selected domestic or international delivery method.
Processing Times
Faster Local Retrieval Route
Plan for approximately three weeks minimum for birth certificate retrieval and apostille processing before return shipping.
Texas Vital Statistics Route
Processing may take several weeks or longer before the certificate is issued.
Government processing times are estimates and are outside the control of Clark Apostille Services.
International Shipping
International courier transit time is additional and varies by destination, carrier, customs processing, and service level.
No government processing or delivery date can be guaranteed.
Pricing
Every birth certificate retrieval order is reviewed individually because the total cost depends on the ordering method and services required.
Your quote may include:
Clark Apostille Services professional service fee
Birth certificate government fee
Birth certificate retrieval/processing fee
Remote online notarization, if required
Texas apostille government fee
Austin courier fees
Domestic or international return shipping
Additional certified copies, if requested
You will receive your total quote before payment and before your order is submitted.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you order my Texas birth certificate for me?
In many cases, yes. The exact process depends on your identification, relationship to the person named on the birth certificate, and the requirements of the issuing agency.
Can I use my old birth certificate?
Possibly, but we need to review it first.
Certain older certificates may need to be replaced with a newly issued certified copy before apostille processing.
Send us a clear copy before ordering a replacement unnecessarily.
I live overseas. Can you still help me?
Yes.
Clark Apostille Services works with international clients and can coordinate birth certificate retrieval, required documentation, apostille processing, and international return shipping.
What if I don't have a U.S. driver's license?
Tell us what identification you do have.
A U.S. passport may qualify for certain ordering methods even if you no longer have a U.S. driver's license.
If you do not have U.S.-issued identification, we will review whether another ordering method is available.
My child was born in Texas. Can I order the certificate?
Parents may be eligible to request birth certificates for their minor children.
However, identification requirements generally apply to the parent or other person requesting the certificate. We will review your circumstances before determining the appropriate ordering process.
Why does Texas Vital Statistics take longer?
Clark Apostille Services does not control government processing times.
Applications submitted directly to Texas Vital Statistics may experience longer processing periods than records available through certain local Texas issuing offices.
We will always provide the most realistic timeline available to us based on the ordering method required.
Can you expedite my birth certificate?
We will always use the fastest appropriate ordering method available for your circumstances.
However, government agencies control the actual issuance of the birth certificate, and expedited processing is not always available.
Will you update me while I'm waiting?
Yes.
We provide updates at important stages of the process, including when required documents are submitted, when the newly issued certificate is received, when the apostille process begins, and when your completed documents are shipped.
Start Your Texas Birth Certificate & Apostille Order
Not sure whether your current birth certificate can be apostilled or whether you need a newly issued copy?
Start with a document review.
Send Clark Apostille Services a clear copy of your existing certificate along with:
Your current country
Your relationship to the person named on the certificate
The identification you currently have
Number of copies needed
Destination country
Return shipping address
We will review your situation and explain the appropriate birth certificate ordering option, expected processing time, and estimated cost before you proceed.
Clark Apostille Services
Trusted. Secure. Nationwide.
Remote Online Notary | Apostille Facilitator
info@clarkapostilleservices.com
346-690-2301
