Hays County Clerk Records

About the Hays County Clerk

Elaine H. Cardenas, MBA, PhD, is the Hays County Clerk. The office page splits the work into three divisions: the Records Division maintains official public records from 1848 to the present, plus birth, death, marriage, deeds, liens, assumed names, and cattle brands; the Courts Division clerks the County Courts at Law, the Mental Health Court, the Veteran's Court, and the Juvenile Court; the Commissioners Court Division archives commissioners court records, manages streaming, and supports court proceedings.

What the Hays County Clerk Handles

The County Clerk's duties span vital records, real property, and the county-court docket. The Records Division is the office most members of the public visit. It issues marriage licenses, files assumed names, records deeds, and produces certified copies of vital records. The Courts Division supports county-court hearings, including misdemeanor, probate, guardianship, mental health, and juvenile cases.

• Marriage licenses, applications, and certified marriage records
• Birth and death records from 1903 forward through Permitium
• Official public records: deeds, deeds of trust, liens, assumed names, brands
• Clerk of County Court at Law #1, #2, and #3
• Clerk of the Mental Health Court, Veteran's Court, and Juvenile Court
• Commissioners Court records and streaming

Day-to-day service emails route to specific division mailboxes: archivedivision@hayscountytx.gov, ccsearches@hayscountytx.gov, recordsdivision@hayscountytx.gov, and vitalsdivision@hayscountytx.gov. The County Clerk also publishes Public Information Act notices in English and Spanish and runs a free Fraud Guard service for property fraud alerts.

The reach of the office is broad on purpose. The same County Clerk who issues a marriage license also records the deed when that couple buys a home, files the assumed name when they start a business, files the death certificate at the end of a life, and clerks the probate that follows. That continuity is why the County Clerk's record history goes back to 1848 and why so many private records pass through one office.

How to Search Hays County Clerk Records

County Clerk records sit in different tools depending on the kind of file. Property records use the County Clerk Self-Service Web. Court cases use Odyssey Public Access. Vital records use the Permitium portal. Pick the matching tool first.

1. Pick the record type: property, court, or vital.
2. Open the matching portal: the Self-Service Web, Odyssey, or Permitium.
3. Search by name or by record number, using every spelling you can think of.
4. For a certified copy, order through Permitium for vital records or contact the Courts Division for case copies.
5. Pay the County Clerk fee in advance for online orders.
6. Pick up or receive the certified copy by the chosen method.

Walk-in users can also visit Suite 2008 or one of the three substations, but call ahead for substation hours because Dripping Springs is open on limited days.

The County Clerk also keeps an English and Spanish set of public-information notices, plus a Fraud Guard sign-up link, so residents who do not speak English have the same information about how to file a request. Confirmation that a record exists, and an estimate of any fee, comes from the office before any work begins on a large request.

Elections and Records, Side by Side

Texas statutes give county clerks election duties, but Hays County created a separate Elections department overseen by an Elections Administrator. So a Hays County voter, candidate, or campaign treasurer who needs an election filing is directed to the Elections department, not to the County Clerk. The County Clerk page notes this routing because residents often expect election work to fall to the clerk.

The County Clerk does keep the records that Texas counties have always kept: vital records, real property documents, and the records of the county courts and the commissioners court. Those records sit in three distinct divisions, and they share office hours and the Suite 2008 lobby. The "CC Unsealed" newsletter, linked on the County Clerk page, posts occasional updates on office operations.

Marriage, Birth, and Death Records

The Permitium portal is the County Clerk's online ordering tool for certified birth, death, and marriage records. The start screen asks for the record type, identification upload, delivery method, and payment. Texas DSHS rules drive the identification list, so a primary Group A ID is required.

You can open it at the Hays County Permitium portal. Marriage licenses follow Texas Family Code Chapter 2, which sets the ID, waiting period, and proxy ceremony rules.

The statute sits at Texas Family Code Chapter 2. The County Clerk also links a SeamlessDocs site for remote formal marriage license requests.

The SeamlessDocs host is at hayscountytx.seamlessdocs.com. Use it when both applicants cannot appear in person. Birth and death records covered by Permitium go back to 1903, though births and deaths inside the City of San Marcos are handled by the local registrar.

Property and Official Public Records

Property records sit on the County Clerk Self-Service Web. The portal carries a clear disclaimer: the website is a public service, the index works like a library card catalogue, and images may be unavailable during backups. Users are asked to search every spelling variation. For certified copies of deeds, liens, releases, and other recorded documents, contact the Records Division. The Fraud Guard alert service is free and notifies registered users when a document matching their name is recorded.

Foreclosure notices are also a County Clerk function. Hays County's foreclosure notice page lists postings and sales at the South Door of the Government Center, with sales held on the first Tuesday of each month. People who track real estate watch those postings, which become part of the public record once filed. Title companies use the recorded chain of deeds and releases to confirm clean title before closing.

The County Clerk Courts Division

The Courts Division is the case-records side of the County Clerk. It serves the County Courts at Law and the specialty courts. Filings include misdemeanor criminal, county civil cases with amounts in controversy between $10,000 and $250,000, probate, guardianship, mental health, and juvenile cases. Search instructions on the County Clerk Courts Division page tell users to open the Odyssey portal, pick Criminal Case Records or Civil, Family & Probate Case Records, enter the name and date of birth, and click search. Email questions can go to ccsearches@hayscountytx.gov, and the office's mailing address is Suite 2008 at the Government Center.

A Courts Division Fee Schedule PDF, linked from the County Clerk page, sets the current filing fee for each County Court at Law filing. The exact amount changes from time to time, so the office is the best place to confirm a fee before a probate, guardianship, or misdemeanor case is filed. For a deeper walkthrough of probate filings handled here, see the Hays County probate records page.

Hays County Clerk Fees

The County Clerk publishes set fees for the most-requested records. Cash and credit card are accepted in person. Online orders carry a small service and credit-card fee on top of the record price.

Note: A military hostile-fire-zone waiver may waive marriage license fees with documentation, per the County Clerk Records Division page.

Related Hays County Resources

For district court records, see the District Clerk page. For court cases generally, see court records. For probate and estates, see probate records. For marriage and divorce, see marriage and divorce records. For broader Public Information Act questions, see public records.