About the Travis County Clerk
The Travis County Clerk is Dyana Limon-Mercado, and the office runs Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The main phone line is 512-854-9188, and mail goes to the Travis County Clerk, P.O. Box 149325, Austin, TX 78714. The County Clerk is an elected official, separate from the District Clerk, and it serves as the clerk of court for the county-level courts. The County Clerk home page gives the hours, phone, and main services.
The office handles records, search, and forms across several departments. The County Clerk biography page profiles the elected clerk and the office's mission.
As an elected official, the County Clerk answers to county voters and sets the service priorities for the office. Because the office touches so many records, from courts to deeds to vital records, it is one of the busiest counters in county government. The contact card below has the mailing address, phone, and hours.
Travis County Clerk
Clerk: Dyana Limon-Mercado
P.O. Box 149325
Austin, TX 78714
512-854-9188
Mon-Fri 8:00 AM-5:00 PM
What the County Clerk Does in Travis County
The County Clerk keeps the county's non-district records, which is a broad mix. It records real-property deeds, vital records such as birth and death certificates, assumed-name or DBA filings, and Commissioners Court records. It issues marriage licenses, keeps county civil and probate case data, and serves as clerk for the criminal county courts at law. Felony information, by contrast, lives with the District Clerk. The County Clerk's main duties include the following.
- Serve as clerk of court for the criminal county courts at law.
- Keep Class A and B misdemeanor records.
- Record real-property deeds and liens.
- Issue and record marriage licenses.
- Record birth and death certificates and DBA filings.
- Maintain county civil and probate case data.
The Misdemeanor Records Division
The County Clerk is the clerk of court for the County Criminal Courts. Travis County has seven criminal county courts at law, numbers 3 through 9, which handle Class A and B misdemeanor offenses such as DWI, theft, and assault. County Court at Law 4 also hears applications for protective orders and cases involving family violence. The Misdemeanor Records Division records information from those courts and provides administrative support through warrants, summonses, subpoenas, and commitments. The Misdemeanor Division page explains its role.
So a misdemeanor case in Travis County is a County Clerk record, while a felony is a District Clerk record. That split is the single most useful thing to know before you search a criminal record here. The Misdemeanor Records Division does more than store files. It provides administrative support to the seven criminal county courts at law through warrants, summonses, subpoenas, and commitments, and it records the information those courts generate. A Class C misdemeanor appealed from a municipal or justice court can also land in this division, which is why a minor case sometimes appears under the County Clerk even though it started elsewhere.
How to Search County Clerk Records
County Clerk court records are searched through the Travis County Odyssey Portal, the same system used across the county. The County Clerk Court Data page links the search application and a Call Center at 512-854-9188 for help. Two cautions appear there. The portal does not work in Internet Explorer, and a cause-number search requires the County Clerk box to be checked, or the lookup misses the case. The County Clerk court data page links the portal and instructions.
Online coverage reaches back decades for index data. Misdemeanor case data is online from January 1981, civil case data from June 1986, and probate case data from July 1992. Redacted civil documents are online from December 2005 and redacted probate documents from November 2009. Court case data updates every 24 hours, and newly filed document images take about 72 hours to appear.
Misdemeanor Records Search and Copies
The County Clerk publishes a dedicated misdemeanor search and copies page with coverage dates and costs. Online unofficial copies printed from your own computer are free but carry an unofficial watermark. Electronic documents sent by email cost $1 per page, and self-service photocopies cost $0.20 per page. A post-1981 misdemeanor search for one name plus up to three aliases is free plus copy cost, while a pre-1981 search costs $10 plus copies. The misdemeanor search and copies page lists the details.
The office also noted a process change, discontinuing the re-printing of documents for physical files starting October 1, 2025. Redacted images block personal identifiers such as Social Security numbers from public view.
Recording, Marriage, and Vital Records
Beyond the courts, the County Clerk is the county's recorder. The recording division keeps real-property records such as deeds, deeds of trust, and liens, which is where a title search of Travis County property begins. The same office issues and records marriage licenses, records informal or common-law marriage declarations, and keeps assumed-name or DBA filings for businesses. It also records birth and death certificates and serves as the clerk for Commissioners Court records.
These records have their own request paths and fees, separate from the court case data. A certified marriage record, for example, comes from the recording division after the license is recorded, while a property record is pulled from the real-property index. Because so many different records sit under one roof, the County Clerk Call Center at 512-854-9188 is a useful first stop to confirm which department handles a given request. For marriage and divorce specifically, the split with the District Clerk is explained on the marriage and divorce records page, and probate filings are covered on the probate records page.
How to Request a Certified Copy
A certified copy is the official version an agency or court accepts, and a free online printout is not certified. The steps below get a certified County Clerk copy.
- Find the cause number or document through the Odyssey portal, checking the County Clerk box.
- Choose the record, such as a misdemeanor case, a marriage record, or a recorded document.
- Request the certified copy in person or by the office's listed method.
- Pay $5 per document plus $1 per page, plus any search fee.
- Collect the copy or receive it by the delivery method you chose.
For help, the County Clerk Call Center at 512-854-9188 can point you to the right department.
Travis County Clerk Fees
The County Clerk fee schedule differs from the District Clerk's, so confirm which office holds your record before you pay. Credit-card transactions add $3 under $100 or 3 percent at $100 and up. The common charges are below.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Online unofficial printout | Free, unofficial watermark |
| Self-service photocopy | $0.20 per page |
| Clerk-made copy | $1 per page |
| Certified copy | $5 per document plus $1 per page |
| Electronic document by email | $1 per page |
| Microfilm or paper search | $10 per name per ten-year period |
| Marriage license (standard) | $80 |
A basic electronic data search for one name or business is free plus copy cost.
Misdemeanor Court Dates and FAQ
The County Clerk's misdemeanor FAQ answers the questions people ask most, including how to find a court date, a case number, the attorney on record, and bond or cash-bond refund details. It notes that the criminal courts offer an online docket and settings search and that court dates can also be requested by phone. The misdemeanor FAQ page is a useful first stop for a county-court case.
Hearing dates and times can change and should be confirmed with the court. For docket searching across the county, see court dockets, and for the underlying misdemeanor charges, see arrest records. The FAQ also addresses cash-bond refunds and where to pay, two questions that come up often after a county-court case ends. When a question turns on a specific case, the cause number and the court name make the Call Center answer faster, since the staff can pull the exact record rather than guess from a name alone.