Madison County Death Index

The Madison County Death Index covers death records filed with the County Clerk in Madisonville, Texas. If you need to find a death record in Madison County, this page walks you through how to search the index, request certified copies, and access historical records going back to 1903.

Madison County Clerk Death Records

The Madison County Clerk's office in Madisonville is where you go to get certified death certificates for deaths that occurred in the county. The clerk serves as the local vital records registrar and keeps copies of all death certificates filed in Madison County. Staff can search the index by name and date of death. You will need to bring a valid photo ID and the correct fee when you visit in person.

Mail requests are also accepted. Fill out the VS-142 Death Certificate Application from Texas DSHS, include a copy of your ID, and send a check or money order payable to the Madison County Clerk. The county clerk's office is located at the Madison County Courthouse in Madisonville. For current hours and contact details, check directly with the clerk's office before you make the trip.

If you can't get to Madisonville, you can also order through the Texas online vital records system run by the state DSHS office. State orders come from Austin and are mailed to you. County orders can be picked up in person or returned by mail.

Note: Madison County is a smaller county. Call ahead to confirm office hours before visiting. Processing times for mail requests are typically a few business days once the application arrives.

The Texas DSHS Vital Statistics office oversees all county death record systems in Texas, including Madison County, and sets the fee schedule and access rules that county clerks follow.

State rules apply to every death certificate request in Madison County, and the county clerk follows the same standards as every other county in Texas.

Death Record Fees in Madison County

When you request a death certificate from the Madison County Clerk, the fee is $21.00 for the first certified copy. Each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time costs $4.00. These amounts are set by Texas law and are the same at every county clerk office in the state.

If you order through the state DSHS office instead of the county, the fee is slightly different. The state charges $20.00 for the first copy and $3.00 for each additional copy of the same record. Both options produce certified copies that are legally valid. For Madison County residents, going through the county clerk is often faster since state orders must be processed in Austin and mailed back to you, which can take several weeks.

Payment at the county clerk's office is typically by check, money order, or cash. Confirm accepted payment methods with the office when you call. Mail requests should include a check or money order. No search fee is refunded if a record is not found, even if the search was done and came up empty.

Who Can Access Madison County Death Records

Texas limits access to death records that are less than 25 years old. Only immediate family members can get a certified copy of a recent death record. The law defines immediate family as a spouse, parent, child, sibling, or grandparent of the person on the certificate. A legal representative with documented authority can also request records.

Once a death record is 25 years old or more, it becomes public. Anyone can request a copy at that point. This rule is spelled out in Texas Government Code Section 552.115. All requesters must show valid government-issued photo ID. The DSHS acceptable ID page lists what forms of ID are accepted at county offices. Making a false statement to get a death certificate is a felony under Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 195, with penalties including prison time and fines up to $10,000.

If you are not an immediate family member and the death occurred within the past 25 years, neither the county nor the state will issue a certified copy. You may be able to get a verification letter instead, which confirms a death is on file but does not serve as a legal substitute for a certified certificate.

The DSHS Order Records Locally page has a full list of Texas county clerk offices where you can get death certificates in person, including Madison County.

Madison County is included in the DSHS local office directory, where you can find current contact information for the county clerk in Madisonville.

Madison County Historical Death Records

Death records in Madison County go back to 1903, when Texas began requiring statewide registration. For genealogy research, these older records are open to the public since they are well past the 25-year mark. You can search the index for free through FamilySearch's Texas Death Index, which covers 1903 to 2000. The Ancestry Texas Death Index is another option and covers a similar range of years.

Both of these online indexes are search tools only. They give you the name, death date, county, and certificate number. Once you find the entry you are looking for, you need to request a certified copy from the county clerk or state office to get the full record. The Library of Congress Texas vital records guide is useful if you are new to Texas genealogy and want to understand how the statewide system is structured and what records are available at each level.

The Texas State Library in Austin holds index microfilm for Texas death records from 1903 to 1973. These are available to the public for on-site research. If you are having trouble finding a record in the online indexes, the state library is worth checking.

Cities in Madison County

Madison County's county seat is Madisonville, where all vital records are processed. No cities in Madison County meet the population threshold for individual city pages. Death records for all communities in the county go through the Madison County Clerk in Madisonville.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Madison County. If you are unsure which county a death was registered in, check the last known address of the deceased or contact the county clerk for guidance.

Leon County • Houston County • Trinity County • Walker County • Grimes County • Brazos County