• Texas laws on birth and death certificates are straightforward.flag image by jimcox40 from Fotolia.com
  
  Texas state law keeps birth and death records closed to the general public for a specified number of years. If the birth was within the past 75 years or the death was within the past 25 years, the records are closed to the general public. Family members or other qualified applicants may request a birth or a death certificate from the Texas Vital Statistics Department under the Texas Department of State Health Services.
  
  

Available Records

• The Texas Vital Statistics Bureau has records of all births and deaths that occurred in the state since 1903. Certificates for births within the last 75 years and deaths within the past 25 years can be purchased online from the state by immediate family members and other qualified individuals with the proper identification. Births and deaths were not recorded on the state level in Texas until 1903 when the State Department of Public Health and Vital Statistics was created. Records from before then are available in the county clerk's office in the county where the event occurred, according to the Texas Library and Archives Commission.
  
  

Birth Certificates

• Texas issues birth certificates to immediate family members or other qualified applicants.baby image by Yvonne Bogdanski from Fotolia.com
  
  Birth certificates can be ordered for yourself or any immediate family member if you live inside Texas. If you live outside the state, you can only get your own record or the record of your child if you are listed as the parent of record. The state verifies all information before filling requests. As of 2010, a photocopy of a valid government-issued photo ID of the person requesting the record was required. In addition, the person making the request must supply his driver's license number, social security number, date of birth, and address.
  
  There are three types of birth certificates available in Texas: a standard certificate, often issued to people born in a hospital after 1963, a long certificate issued to people born before 1964, born at home, or who need to apply for a passport, and an heirloom certificate with an elaborate border and gold stamp. State law prohibits issuing an heirloom certificate for anyone whose birth was "established by court order or delayed record procedures," according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. The state also warns that the long form contains information that can be used for identity theft and advises against ordering this form if the short form will do.
  
  

Death Certificates

• Texas issues death certificates to family members and other qualified applicants.cemetary 3 image by sonya etchison from Fotolia.com
  
  For deaths that occurred within the past 25 years, the records are protected and can only be obtained by certain people. Immediate family members who live in the state of Texas can obtain death certificates. An immediate family member is a spouse, child, parent, brother, sister, or grandparent. However, if you live outside the state you must be a surviving spouse or parent of the deceased or be a funeral home director.
  
  All of the same rules for supplying verifiable identification to obtain a birth certificate also apply to those requesting a death certificate from the state.