Texas Free Public Records Directory

The state of Texas is located in the south central region of the United States. It is the second largest state, after Alaska, with an area of 268,820 sq. miles. Three of the borders of Texas are defined by rivers. The Rio Grande River forms a natural border with Mexico on the south. The Red River forms a natural border with Oklahoma and Arkansas on the north. The Sabine River forms a natural border with Louisiana on the east. The Texas Panhandle has an eastern border with Oklahoma and a western border with New Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico provides the border on the southeast.

Due to its size, Texas contains diverse landscapes common to the southern and southwestern regions of the U.S. Although thought of as a desert state, less than 10% of the land area in Texas is desert. Most of the population centers are located in former prairies, grasslands, forests and along the coastline. From east to west, the terrain ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, and finally desert and mountains. It has 3,700 named streams and 15 major rivers.

Again, due to its size, Texas has highly variable weather. The panhandle of the state has colder winters, while the Gulf Coast has mild winters. The western end of the state averages 8.7 inches of annual rainfall, while parts of southeast Texas average as much as 64 inches per year. Texas experiences the most tornadoes of any state in the U.S. with an average of 139 per year.

Texas as a territory was ruled by several different nations. This created the saying “six flags over Texas.” The first European country to claim the area of Texas was Spain. France had a short-lived colony, and Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. Its former status as an independent state led to its nickname as the “Lone Star State.” Texas became the 28th state of the Union on December 29, 1845.

Texas has a population of 28,304,596, ranking it the 2nd most populated state in the U.S. It is divided into 254 counties, having more than any other U.S. state. Texas has a number of major cities with Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas having populations exceeding one million. The city of Austin, is the capital of Texas and has a population of nearly one million.

In the early days of Texas, the cattle industry was a major economic driver for the state with cattle being shipped all over the U.S. Later in the 19th century, cotton and lumber also grew to be major industries. However, the discovery of major petroleum deposits became the driving force behind the economy.

The large population of Texas, its abundance of natural resources, thriving cities, and leading centers of higher education have contributed to a large and diverse economy. As of 2015, Texas was home to 54 Fortune 500 companies.^[1]

The available Texas public records listed below are sorted by category for easy access.

Abbreviation	TX
Capital	Austin
Population	28,304,596 (2017 est.)
Area size	268,581 sq. mi.
Demonym	Texan
Primary languages spoken	English
Governor	Greg Abbott
Lieutenant Governor	Dan Patrick
U.S. Senators	John Cornyn, Ted Cruz
U.S. House Delegation	24 Republicans, 11 Democrats, 1 Vacancy
Time Zone --- Most of State --- 3 Counties	Central: UTC -6/-5 Mountain: UTC -7/-6

*The map and data in the table are from Wikipedia.

Browse by Public Record Category

There are two types of public records; 1) personal public records that document major life milestones such as birth certificates, death certificates, divorce records, and marriage records, etc.; and 2) government records that are made public such as property tax records, recorded land records, voter records, crime data, jail inmate records, and court records. The Freedom of Information Act is a national law that releases government agency public records and makes it possible to view most public records.^[2] The term "public record" refers to all information that is collected, assembled, or maintained under a law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by or for a government entity, regardless of the format of the information. See Texas Gov't Code § 552.002.^[3]

Since there are a multitude of records available, it can be difficult to know how or where to access them. When you are ready to start your search, you’ll find our Public Records Directory website easy to use since all of the records can be searched by federal, state, county, city, town or type of record. The links provided will connect you to the best website for the record search, provide details about the record, or provide contact information for those records without search capabilities.