Austin Travis County Family Court Records

Travis County family court records are maintained at the Travis County District Clerk's office in Austin, Texas. As the county containing the state capital, Travis County is one of Texas's largest and most active court systems, with a population of approximately 1.3 million. Nine family district courts handle the full range of family law matters including divorce cases, custody and conservatorship orders, child support filings, protective order proceedings, adoptions, and paternity suits. Free online access is available for cases from 2006 to present. This guide explains how to search, access, and file family court records in Travis County.

Travis County District Clerk and County Clerk

The Travis County District Clerk, Velva Price, is located at 1000 Guadalupe Street in Austin, Texas 78701. The District Clerk's office can be reached at (512) 854-9457. This office is the official custodian of all district court records for Travis County, including family court case files for the county's nine family district courts: the 98th, 126th, 200th, 201st, 345th, 353rd, 419th, 428th, and 459th Judicial District Courts. The office provides free online access to court records from 2006 to present for family and civil cases and from 2008 to present for criminal cases.

The Travis County District Clerk website at traviscountytx.gov/district-clerk provides comprehensive information about court records access, services, and the online case search portal. The district clerk handles all family court filings, including original petitions, agreed final decrees, custody orders, and modification proceedings.

The Travis County District Clerk website provides information on court services, records access, and the online case search portal for family court records in Austin and Travis County.

The Travis County District Clerk at traviscountytx.gov/district-clerk provides access to family court records, case search tools, and office information for divorce, custody, and support cases filed in Austin and throughout Travis County.

The Travis County Clerk, Dyana Limon-Mercado, is located at 5501 Airport Boulevard in Austin, Texas 78751. The County Clerk can be reached at (512) 854-9188. The County Clerk handles marriage licenses, birth and death certificates, assumed names, real property records, and probate court records. For family court case records from the district courts, contact the District Clerk. For vital records and marriage licenses, contact the County Clerk at 5501 Airport Boulevard.

How to Search Travis County Family Court Records

Travis County offers free online access to court records through the case search portal at traviscountytx.gov/district-clerk/case-information-records. This portal covers family and civil cases from 2006 to present and criminal cases from 2008 to present. You can search by case number, party name, or attorney name. Document images are available online for many cases. Basic case information and docket entries are free to view for all cases in this date range.

The Travis County case information and records portal allows free public access to family court case indexes and document images for divorce, custody, and support cases filed in Austin from 2006 to present.

The Travis County case search portal at traviscountytx.gov/district-clerk/case-information-records provides free online access to family court case indexes, docket entries, and document images for cases filed in Austin since 2006, covering divorce, custody, support, and related matters.

For cases before 2006 or for certified physical copies of any document, contact the District Clerk at (512) 854-9457 or visit the office at 1000 Guadalupe Street in Austin. Certified copies must be requested in writing with appropriate fees. When searching by name, note that hyphens may be entered as spaces, and compound last names may be filed under either part. Use the asterisk (*) as a wildcard for multiple character variations in partial searches.

The statewide re:SearchTX portal at research.txcourts.gov is another free option for Travis County cases filed through the state e-filing system. It can be useful as a secondary search tool or for finding cases across multiple Texas counties in one search. Search fees for staff-conducted research are $5.00 per name, with more complex research at $15.00 per hour.

Travis County Clerk Records

The Travis County Clerk website at countyclerk.traviscountytx.gov provides access to marriage licenses, vital records, real property records, and online records search tools. Many County Clerk services are available online including marriage license applications and document searches.

The Travis County Clerk website provides online access to marriage licenses, vital records, and property records maintained by the County Clerk's office in Austin.

The Travis County Clerk at countyclerk.traviscountytx.gov handles marriage licenses, birth and death records, probate records, and real property records for Austin and Travis County, complementing the District Clerk's family court case files.

The Travis County Clerk records search at countyclerk.traviscountytx.gov/departments/recording/search-copies-of-records/ provides online access to court case data from June 1986 to present and redacted document images from December 2005 to present. Personal identifiers such as Social Security numbers are blocked from public view in document images. Court case data is updated every 24 hours. Document images appear within 72 hours of filing.

The Travis County Clerk records search portal provides online access to county clerk case data and redacted document images, with records going back to 1986.

The Travis County Clerk records search portal at countyclerk.traviscountytx.gov provides online access to county clerk records including case data from 1986 to present and redacted document images from 2005 onward for Austin and Travis County.

Search fees for County Clerk records are $5.00 per name searched. Non-certified copies are $1.00 per page. Certified copies cost $1.00 per page plus a $5.00 certification fee. Mail checks or money orders payable to the Travis County Clerk at 5501 Airport Boulevard, Austin, TX 78751.

Travis County Family Court Cases

Travis County's nine family district courts handle all types of family law matters for Austin and the surrounding communities. Divorce cases are governed by Texas Family Code Chapter 6. Texas is a community property and no-fault divorce state. Either spouse can file for divorce based on insupportability. The court divides marital property in a just and right manner. Spousal maintenance can be awarded in appropriate cases. Travis County handles high volumes of divorce cases given its large and diverse urban population in Austin.

Custody and conservatorship matters in Travis County follow the rules in Chapter 153. The best interest of the child is the governing standard. Joint managing conservatorship is the default presumption. The Standard Possession Order provides the basic time schedule for most cases. Courts in Travis County regularly handle complex custody cases involving parties with significant assets, multiple residences, or cross-county or cross-state living situations. Travis County courts also handle temporary orders, which are common in contested divorces while the full case is pending.

Child support orders in Travis County follow the guidelines in Chapter 154. Medical support and health insurance provisions are included in most support orders. Other case types in Travis County's family courts include paternity suits, adoptions, step-parent adoptions, protective orders under Family Code Chapter 71, name changes, and post-decree modification and enforcement proceedings. Travis County also handles a significant number of interstate custody matters under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act.

Filing Family Cases in Travis County

To file a divorce or other family court case in Travis County, at least one spouse must have lived in Texas for six months and in Travis County for 90 days under Family Code Section 6.301. You file the Original Petition for Divorce or other family law petition with the Travis County District Clerk at 1000 Guadalupe Street in Austin. Attorneys must use eFileTexas.gov for mandatory electronic filing of all new case initiations and subsequent documents. Self-represented litigants may still file paper documents in person at the clerk's office.

After filing, the 60-day waiting period under Family Code Section 6.702 applies. No final divorce decree can be signed before 60 days pass from the filing date. The exception applies when family violence is alleged. Travis County's self-help center at the courthouse provides form assistance and information for self-represented parties. A required forms checklist is available, and e-filing assistance is offered at the courthouse for those who need help.

Travis County has specific requirements for filing financial information in divorce cases. Financial disclosures are typically required in cases involving significant property or when spousal maintenance is at issue. Travis County filing fees for divorce cases typically range from $300 to $450. Protective order filings are free under Texas law. If you cannot afford filing fees, ask for a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs at the clerk's office or download it from the Texas courts website. Free court forms are also available from the Texas State Law Library.

Public Access and Fees in Travis County

Travis County family court records are public under Texas Government Code Chapter 552. The free online portal covers cases from 2006 to present. For physical copies or records before 2006, contact the District Clerk. Non-certified copies cost $1.00 per page. Certified copies cost $1.00 per page plus $5.00 for certification per document. Exemplified copies are $10.00 per document. Staff-conducted research is charged at $15.00 per hour. The County Clerk search fee is $5.00 per name.

Social Security numbers and other personal identifiers are blocked from online document images. Adoption records are sealed. Juvenile records are confidential. Courts can seal specific records by order. Travis County's online records redact personal financial data before making documents publicly viewable. If access to a public record is improperly denied, you can appeal to the Texas Attorney General's Open Government Hotline at (877) 673-6839 under the Texas Public Information Act at Government Code Chapter 552.

Note: Travis County's free online case portal is one of the most comprehensive in Texas. You can view original petitions, temporary orders, final decrees of divorce, child support orders, and custody orders for cases from 2006 forward without any fee or subscription.

Legal Help in Travis County

The Texas Judicial Branch self-help program at txcourts.gov/programs-services/self-help provides free guides for self-represented parties in Texas family courts. Topics include divorce, custody, support, and protective orders. The Travis County courthouse also has a self-help center with form links, instructions, and required forms checklists. E-filing assistance is available at the courthouse for parties who need help with the electronic filing process.

TexasLawHelp at texaslawhelp.org provides free family law guides, downloadable forms, and a legal aid directory for Texas residents. The Austin area has several legal aid organizations. Legal Aid of Central Texas serves Travis County and provides free civil legal services for low-income residents, including family law matters. The Austin Bar Association has a lawyer referral service for private attorney referrals in the Austin area. Call the State Bar of Texas at (800) 252-9690 for statewide lawyer referrals. The Texas State Law Library at guides.sll.texas.gov has detailed instructions for custody, modification, and paternity case forms used in Travis County and statewide.

Cities in Travis County

Travis County is home to Austin, the Texas state capital and one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. All family court filings for residents of Austin and other Travis County communities are handled through the Travis County district court system at 1000 Guadalupe Street in Austin.

Other communities in Travis County include Cedar Park (partially), Pflugerville, Rollingwood, West Lake Hills, Sunset Valley, Bee Cave, Lakeway, and Manor. All residents file their family court cases through the Travis County District Clerk in Austin.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Travis County. Verify your address to confirm which county's court system handles your family law case.