A divorce decree apostille in Texas is what makes your divorce official in another country. You may need it to remarry abroad, update your marital status with a foreign government, apply for a visa or residency, change your name back, or settle property and custody matters overseas.
Most rejections happen before the apostille office ever sees the document: the wrong copy, a copy that’s too old, or missing pages. Each mistake means ordering a new copy from the clerk and starting over. We make sure you get it right the first time.
What we handle for you
🔎 We check your copy before filing
We confirm it’s a certified copy with the clerk’s signature and seal, that it includes every page, and that it was issued recently enough for the Texas Secretary of State to accept it.
🧾 We tell you exactly what to order
Don’t have a certified copy yet? Tell us the county and, if you have it, the case number. We tell you which office to contact and what to ask for, so you pay the clerk once. In some counties, we can order the certified copy for you. Ask us, and we’ll quote it with your order.
✅ No notary needed
A certified divorce decree is a public record. It gets apostilled as it is, with no notarization and no notary fee.
📜 The Texas apostille
Texas apostilles are issued only by the Secretary of State in Austin. We take your decree there and file it for you, so there’s no trip to Austin and no forms for you to fill in.
🏛️ State Department and embassy legalization
When your country is outside the Apostille Convention. We manage the full chain and track it for you.
🔤 Certified translation
Into Arabic, Spanish and other languages when the receiving office asks for it.
📦 Return by tracked delivery
Or local pickup in Houston.
Send us your decree. We handle Austin and everything after.
We review your copy and confirm the exact steps and fees for your country the same day.
Start Your Request 💬 WhatsApp UsWhich copy of your divorce decree can be apostilled
Texas divorce decrees are kept by the district clerk in the county where your divorce was granted. Not the county clerk, and not Texas Vital Statistics. The copy you send must meet three rules:
- A certified copy from the district clerk. It must carry the clerk’s signature and seal. The Texas Secretary of State will not apostille a public record unless the stamp of office is on the document itself. A photocopy, a scan or a notarized copy will be rejected.
- Issued within the past five years. This rule is about when the clerk certified your copy, not when you got divorced. A 1995 divorce is fine with a copy certified this year. A copy certified in 2019 is not.
- The complete decree. Ask the clerk for the full final decree with all pages, not a single page or a summary.
Some clerks also sell electronically certified copies online. We recommend a paper certified copy with the clerk’s original seal. If you’ve already bought an electronic copy, send it to us first and we’ll tell you whether to order a paper one.
Where to get your certified copy: major Texas counties
Here is where to order in the counties our clients come from most. Clerk fees are small, usually a $5 certification fee plus a per-page copy charge, but each office sets its own rules, so confirm with the clerk before you pay.
📍 Harris County
Harris County District Clerk, 201 Caroline St, downtown Houston
Family court records are kept at the Civil Courthouse downtown. Request your certified copy in person, or contact the clerk’s customer service at (832) 927-5800. Have both spouses’ full names and the year of the divorce ready if you don’t know the case number.
📍 Fort Bend County
Fort Bend County District Clerk, Richmond
Requests must be made in writing on the District Clerk’s copy request form; phone requests are not accepted. Allow about three business days. Electronically certified copies are sold online, but we recommend a paper certified copy for an apostille.
📍 Montgomery County
Montgomery County District Clerk, 301 N. Main St, Suite 103, Conroe
The District Clerk handles family court records for Conroe, The Woodlands and the rest of the county. The County Clerk handles birth and death records, so make sure your request goes to the District Clerk.
📍 Brazoria County
Brazoria County District Clerk, 237 E. Locust St, Suite 206, Angleton
Request by mail with the clerk’s copy request form and a cashier’s check or money order, or online (payment comes first). Without a case number, the clerk adds a $5 search fee.
📍 Galveston County
Galveston County District Clerk
Use the District Clerk’s Request for Copies form and check the box for a certified copy. If you request by mail, include a self-addressed stamped envelope.
📍 Dallas County
Dallas County District Clerk, Records, 600 Commerce St, Dallas
Fill in the clerk’s civil and family records request form and mail it, or email it to the records department. Certified copies are $1 per page plus a $5 certification fee.
📍 Bexar County
Bexar County District Clerk, San Antonio
Certified copies are $5 per document on top of the copy fee. The District Clerk does not accept personal checks, so plan to pay another way.
📍 Travis County
Travis County District Clerk, Austin
Request online through the clerk’s paid request form, by mail to the Records Request unit, or in person. Card payments carry a 3% convenience fee.
📍 Tarrant County
Tarrant County District Clerk, Family Law Center, 200 E. Weatherford St, Fort Worth
Request in person or by mail to Family Court Records with a self-addressed stamped envelope. Certified copies are $1 per page plus a $5 seal fee, and a $5 research fee applies without a case number. No personal checks, and the clerk does not ship by FedEx.
Need us to get the certified copy for you?
In some counties, we can order your certified copy from the district clerk for you. For urgent orders, we can also arrange a pickup at the clerk’s office. We quote this separately with your order, because clerk fees and processing times vary by county.
To request it, send us a request or message us on WhatsApp with:
- The county where your divorce was granted
- The case number, if you have it. If not, both spouses’ full names and the year of the divorce
- Whether you were one of the parties to the divorce
- The destination country and the date you need the document there
- How many certified copies you need
We confirm your record is on file and send you a quote before anyone goes to the clerk.
How it works
- 1
Tell us your county and destination country
Use our request form or message us on WhatsApp. If you already have a certified copy, send a photo so we can check it.
- 2
Get your quote and plan
We tell you which certificates your country requires, the timeline and every fee upfront, usually the same day.
- 3
Get the certified copy to us
Mail it to us through our mail-in service, or we pick it up from you in the Greater Houston area.
- 4
We take it to Austin
We file your decree with the Texas Secretary of State for the apostille, then handle the State Department and embassy steps if needed, plus translation if requested.
- 5
Receive your apostilled decree
Ready to send to the foreign office, court or embassy that asked for it.
Where your divorce decree is going matters
✅ Texas apostille only
- Mexico
- Philippines
- Spain
- Italy
- Other Apostille Convention countries
⚠️ Authentication / Attestation
- UAE
- Qatar
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- Jordan
Mexico, the Philippines, Spain, Italy and other Apostille Convention countries need only the Texas apostille. These are usually our fastest orders.
The UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon and Jordan are not in the Apostille Convention, so they need two more certificates after the Texas apostille: one from the U.S. State Department and one from the country’s embassy or consulate. This process is called authentication or attestation. Each embassy sets its own fees and rules, so we quote them before we start.
See what each country needs: UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon and Jordan.
Why divorce decrees get rejected, and how we prevent it
- The copy you got at the end of your case. The decree your lawyer or the court handed you usually has the judge’s signature but not the clerk’s certification. We check for the clerk’s seal before filing.
- A certified copy more than five years old. The Texas Secretary of State only apostilles certified records issued within the past five years. We check the certification date first.
- Missing pages. A partial decree gets sent back, and you pay the clerk again. We count the pages before filing.
- A divorce granted in another state. Texas can only apostille Texas records. If you divorced in another state, the apostille must come from that state. We’ll tell you where to go.
- Stopping at the Texas apostille. For non-Convention countries, the decree is not finished until the State Department and embassy steps are done. We complete the whole chain.
How long it takes
We file at the Texas Secretary of State in Austin every Friday. Decrees in our hands by Thursday night go to Austin that Friday.
How long the whole process takes varies with the destination country and the state’s schedule, so we give you an estimate for your order before you start. If you still need to order the certified copy, add the clerk’s processing time.
Countries that need embassy legalization take longer, because the State Department and each embassy set their own processing times. Our price calculator shows an estimated completion date before you order.
Frequently asked questions
Does my divorce decree need to be notarized before the apostille?
No. A certified copy from the district clerk is a public record and is apostilled as it is. A notarized copy of a divorce decree will be rejected.
My divorce was years ago. Can it still be apostilled?
Yes. The age of the divorce does not matter. What matters is the copy: it must be certified by the district clerk within the past five years. If yours is older, order a new certified copy from the clerk.
I don’t live in Texas anymore. Can you still help?
Yes. Order your certified copy by mail from the district clerk, then send it to us through our mail-in service. We check it when it arrives and file it in Austin.
Does my divorce decree need a translation?
It depends on the country and the office receiving it. If they ask for one, we can arrange a certified translation and have it apostilled along with your decree.
How fast can you get it done?
Timelines vary by country. We file in Austin every Friday, with a Thursday-night cutoff, and Priority Rush (+$250) books the next available state appointment, depending on availability. Countries that need embassy legalization take longer. Share your deadline and we’ll tell you honestly what’s possible.
How much does a divorce decree apostille in Texas cost?
$199 for one decree going to an Apostille Convention country, and $75 for each additional document. No notary fee applies. For embassy countries, our calculator shows the full itemized price.
ملخص بالعربية
هل تحتاج إلى تصديق وثيقة الطلاق الصادرة في تكساس لاستخدامها خارج الولايات المتحدة؟ نحن في Gulf Apostille نراجع نسختك المصدّقة من كاتب المحكمة (District Clerk) قبل التقديم، ونستخرج الأبوستيل من ولاية تكساس، ونتابع تصديق وزارة الخارجية الأمريكية والسفارة أو القنصلية للدول التي تتطلب ذلك، مثل الإمارات وقطر والكويت ولبنان والأردن. لا تحتاج وثيقة الطلاق إلى توثيق لدى كاتب عدل، ولكن يجب أن تكون نسخة مصدّقة كاملة صادرة خلال آخر خمس سنوات. التكلفة المعتادة لوثيقة مرسلة إلى دولة عضو في اتفاقية لاهاي هي $199، ولمعرفة التكلفة الكاملة للدول الأخرى استخدم حاسبة الأسعار على موقعنا. نتحدث العربية، ونرد في اليوم نفسه. اتصل بنا على (832) 242-9779 أو راسلنا عبر واتساب.
Ready to send your divorce decree abroad?
Start your request, call (832) 242-9779 or message us on WhatsApp. We’ll check your copy and confirm the exact steps and fees for your country the same day.
Related: Power of attorney apostille in Texas
Sources: Texas Secretary of State, How to Request a Universal Apostille; Texas Secretary of State, Apostille/Authentication of Documents; Texas Secretary of State, Authentication FAQs; county district clerk websites for Harris, Fort Bend, Brazoria, Galveston, Dallas, Bexar and Travis counties.
About the author: The Gulf Apostille team handles apostille, authentication and embassy legalization from Houston, in English and Arabic. This page is general information, not legal advice.