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You may order a certified copy of a birth or death record or a certified copy of a marriage license online using your credit card through our only approved official Internet business partner of the Fort Bend County Clerk's office, VitalChek Network, Inc.

Processing times are estimated at 1 to 14 business days. Delivery times are overnight, if you select express delivery through UPS,  and 7 to 10 business days using regular mail (based on average US domestic delivery times).

If you need additional assistance from VitalChek concerning records that you have ordered specific to Fort Bend County, they may be reached at:

Phone: 1-877-817-7362

Fax:      1-844-941-0763

Atma Energy
https://atma-energy.com/
Address:
12848 Queensbury LN #208
Houston, TX 77024
Phone: 832-410-1046
Discount: $500 off a new solar system for veterans. 
Hours: M-F, 8AM - 5PM

Bloomin Blinds of Richmond
www.bloominblinds.com
Address:
24200 SW Freeway #402-179
Rosenberg, TX 77471
Phone: 832-260-1650
Discount: 20% OFF Automation
Hours: 9AM - 5PM


Finnegan Chevrolet
www.finneganauto.com
Address:
26252 SW Freeway,
Rosenberg, TX 77471
Phone: 281-352-9318
Discount: $500 OFF purchase of a new vehicle with DD214 form provided. 
Hours: M-F, 8AM - 8PM


InkWorthy Notary
www.inkworthynotary.com
Address: Remote or Online
Phone: 832-449-8818
Discount: 1/2 OFF any notary service
Hours: 24/7


Intent to Launch Leadership
www.ITLLeadershipInstitute.com
Address:
1807 Eli Fenn Drive
Richmond, TX 77469 
Phone: 757-572-1080
Discount: 20% OFF any class
Hours: M-F, 9AM - 5PM


Joseph's Coffee and Cigars
www.josephscigar.com
Address:
202 Morton Street
Richmond, TX 77469
Phone: 281-342-3819
Discount: 10% OFF on coffee and cigars
Hours: M-SAT, 8AM - 7PM 


LaCocina Mexican Restaurant
www.lacocinarestaurant.com
Address:
515 FM 359
Richmond, TX 77406
Phone: 281-238-0872
Discount: 15% OFF any dine in entree
Hours: SUN-THR, 11AM - 8PM; FRI-SAT, 11AM - 9PM

Sugar Land Space Cowboys
slspacecowboys.com
Address:
1 Stadium Drive
Sugar Land, TX 77498
Phone: 281-240-4487
Discount: Free Parking (Show Military ID or DV plates) + $2 off single game tickets
Hours: M-F, 9AM - 5PM

Tailored Cutz Studio LLC
Tailored Cutz Studio Booking
Address:
4122 FM 762 STE 105
Richmond, TX 77469
Phone: 713-344-3174
Discount: $5 OFF haircut
Hours: M-SAT, 9AM - 6:15PM


Tiny Toons Childcare & Learning Center
www.tinytoonschildcare.com
Address:
821 E HWY 90 Alt
Richmond, TX 77406
Phone: 832-497-1311
Discount: 10% OFF total weekly or monthly tuition
Hours:  M-F, 5:30AM - 6:30PM


The Chasing Real Estate Group
www.chasingrealestate.com
Address:
920 S Fry Road
Katy, TX 77450
Phone: 281-729-5080
Discount: Home Buying Consultation
Hours: M-F, 8AM - 6PM


The Joint Chiropractic Rosenberg
www.thejoint.com
Address:
4130 FM 762 Ste 300
Richmond, TX 77469
Phone: 281-323-4040
Discount: 
4 visits $69/month / Reg $79/month
6 visits $189 / Reg $199
10 visits $259 / Reg $289  
20 visits $419 / Reg $469  
Initial Visit $19 / Reg $29
​​​​​​​Hours: M-F, 10AM - 7PM; S-S, 10AM - 4PM

United Pre-Need Funeral Plans, Inc.
www.unitedbenefitsinc.com
Address:
1130 E. Arapaho Dr. Ste #350
Richardson, TX 75081
Phone: 281-989-0271
Discount:
​​​​​​​Complimentary veteran medical alert card and spouse medical alert card.
A complimentary personal memorial planning guide each.
​​​​​​​Hours: Mon-Sat, 9AM - 6PM

FBI Fingerprint-Based Criminal History Background Check for Guardianship Cases

With the passing of HB 4123, on June 13, 2023, the JBCC is prohibited from performing fingerprint-based criminal history background checks on individuals seeking guardianship appointment. Therefore, JBCC is unable to assist any proposed guardians for fingerprint-based background checks as they no longer have access to that information.

Fort Bend County has now been granted an ORI number by the FBI. All applicants will be provided a Service Code and instructions on how to be fingerprinted upon filing of the application.

IdentoGO

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the following:

• FBI Identity History Check and Fingerprint Program Call Center:           (877) 783 – 4187

• Texas Department of Public Safety’s Fingerprinting Services Unit:         (512) 424 – 2474

DISCLAIMER: The following links have been compiled as a courtesy for those wishing to use them. We do not make any guarantees about the completeness, reliability, or accuracy of this information. 

Law Library Resources

Resources provided by the Fort Bend County Willie Melton Law Library. 

• 2023 Deed Resource Guide
• How to Research Legal Problems
• Law Library General Information Packet (Map, Notary, Locations, etc.)
• AALL LISP Public Libraries Toolkit - Texas
• Represent Yourself in Court Guide
• Service of Process in Texas Resource Guide
• Texas Probate and Estates Resources
• Texas Legal Services Center - Virtual Court Kiosk [English]
• Texas Legal Services Center - Quioscos de Tribunales Virtuales  [Spanish]

Recurring Events

• 2023 Lawyer in the Library

Certified copies of a Marriage License are available for any licenses that have been purchased and filed with the Fort Bend County Clerk. Marriage licenses purchased and filed in other counties must be requested with that County.

Payment Information

Personal or business checks are not accepted for Vital Records. Payment may be made by cash (in person only), Money Order, credit cards (Visa, Master Card, Discover, and American Express), or cashier's check.

Requesting a Certified Copy:

• Verify that the Marriage License has been filed with Fort Bend County through online record search;
• Print and fill out the Marriage License copy request form ;
• Provide the clerk with the Marriage License certificate number, located on the bottom left of the record;
• You can purchase the copies in person at any of our locations, through email, VitalChek, or through the mail:

Fort Bend County Clerk
301 Jackson Street, STE #101
Richmond, Texas 77469

Keepsake Marriage Certificates available here.

You may obtain a Keepsake Marriage Certificate if you have previously purchased a Formal or Informal marriage license from the Fort Bend County Clerk’s office. The Keepsake Marriage Certificate is NOT a legal document, but a beautiful design to showcase and commemorate one of life's greatest events. In order to obtain a Keepsake Certificate, the marriage license must have been issued in Fort Bend County. Additionally, the marriage ceremony must have been performed and the license returned to the County Clerk's office for recording.

Payment Information

Personal or business checks are not accepted for Vital Records. Payment may be made by cash (in person only), Money Order, credit cards (Visa, Master Card, Discover, and American Express), or cashier's check.

To order a Keepsake Marriage Certificate:

• Search the County Clerk records if you need your license number;
• Complete the request form ;
• Submit your form through email or in person at any of our locations;
• Keepsake Marriage Certificate fee, $25.00.
• A polysleeve is available for an additional $2.00 to protect your certificate.

Informal Marriage License Requirements:

• Complete a Marriage License Application;
• Both parties must appear together at one of the County Clerk Office locations;
• For MINORS, both parties must be 18 years or older; effective September 1, 2017, Texas Family code 2.003 states, A person under 18 years of age may not marry unless the person has been granted by this state or another state a court order removing the disabilities of minority of the person for general purposes;
• Provide proof of identity and age (see list in English & Spanish);
• Provide social security number, if you have one;
• If DIVORCED, there is a 30 day waiting period after the divorce is final before remarriage, unless waived or divorced from each other. If the 30 day waiting period is waived, a certified copy of the divorce decree must be presented at the time the license is purchased;
• Not presently married to someone other than the other applicant;
• Not related to the other applicant;
• Couple must choose a date to declare as their marriage date, taking into consideration that both applicants would be 18 years or older on the agreed date.

Fees:

• Informal Marriage License $36.00;
• A polysleeve to protect the document can be purchased for $2.00.
• Payment Options

Once the Declaration and Registration of Informal Marriage (Common Law) certificate is completed, signed, and recorded, certified copies will be available for purchase.

Formal Marriage License Requirements:

• Complete a Marriage License Application;
• Both parties must appear together at one of the County Clerk Office locations. Parts of the application process may be completed by Absentee Application if one party is unable to appear in person;
• For MINORS, both parties must be 18 years or older; effective September 1, 2017, Texas Family Code 2.003 states, A person under 18 years of age may not marry unless the person has been granted by this state or another state a court order removing the disabilities of minority of the person for general purposes;
• Provide proof of identity and age (see list in English & Spanish);
• Provide social security number, if you have one;
• If DIVORCED, there is a 30 day waiting period after the divorce is final before remarriage, unless waived or divorced from each other. If the 30 day waiting period is waived, a certified copy of the divorce decree must be presented at the time the license if purchased;
• Not presently married to someone other than the other applicant;
• Not related to the other applicant;
• For marriage by proxy, please call (281) 341-8685 or email the Records Division (cclerkrecords@fortbendcountytx.gov) for additional information.
• For ceremony officiant information, see  Texas Family Code 2.202 – Persons Authorized to Conduct a Marriage Ceremony .
   
• Formal Marriage License $71.00;
• Formal Marriage License fee may be reduced to $11.00 with valid proof of state approved Pre-Marital Course, see requirements in Marriage License Waiting Period below;
• A polysleeve can be purchased to protect the document for $2.00.
• Payment Options 

Appointments available, but not required for issuing a Marriage License.

Marriage License Designs:

Wedding Bells | Texas Flag | Hearts | Historic

Marriage License Waiting Period:

There is a 72-hour waiting period from the time of purchasing a marriage license to the marriage ceremony (Texas Family Code, Chapter 2, Section 2.204). Unless an applicant:

• Is a member of the armed forces of the United States and on active duty;
• Performs work for the United Sates Department of Defense as a employee or contract worker;
• Obtains a written waiver from a judge of a court with jurisdiction in family law cases, a justice of the supreme court, a judge of the court of criminal appeals, a county judge , or a judge of a court of appeals;
• Completes a premarital education course described by Texas Family Code Section 2.013 and provides the County Clerk with the course completion certificate indicating:

1. Completion of the course within one year of the date the marriage license application is filed with the Clerk;
2. Signed by the course provider;
3. Certificate states the names of both the applicants for the marriage license;
4. Course name stated clearly somewhere on the certificate.

Application for Waiver of the Seventy-Two Hour Waiting Period can be found ​​​​​​​here .

Marriage License Expiration:

• The license is only valid for 90 days including the date of purchase;
• A marriage license expires if it has not been used before the 90th day after it was issued;
• If a couple wishes to marry after the expiration date, a new license must be purchased.

After the Ceremony:

The person who performs the ceremony is responsible for returning the marriage license to the County Clerk's office no later than the 30th day after the date of the marriage ceremony. The license will be recorded into public record and returned:

• To the couple via mail if dropped off by the officiant or anyone other than the couple;
• To the couple directly, if brought in by at least one of the license applicants, upon presenting valid identification.

Marriage License copies are available once the license has been filed.

The Fort Bend County Clerk is the only official in the County authorized to issue, record, and maintain marriage licenses and birth and death certificates. The Fort Bend County Clerk was appointed Local Registrar in 1990 by the County and all cities located within the County. 

We are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for issuance of cremation and burial transit permits. We submit monthly, quarterly, and annual activity reports to the county and state. 

Search Records

You may order a certified copy of a birth or death record or a certified copy of a marriage license online using your credit card through our only approved official Internet business partner of the Fort Bend County Clerk's office, VitalChek Network, Inc.

Acknowledgement of Paternity (AOP) is only provided to the general public through the Office of the Attorney General.  Please visit the Office of the Attorney General or the local office in  your area for assistance.