Search San Patricio County Death Index

San Patricio County death records are kept by the County Clerk in Sinton and are included in the Texas death index starting from 1903. You can search death records or get a certified death certificate for someone who died in San Patricio County by contacting the county clerk, submitting a mail request, or using the statewide Texas online ordering system.

San Patricio County Clerk Death Records

The San Patricio County Clerk in Sinton handles vital records for the county, including certified death certificates. The office is at 400 W. Sinton Street, Suite 103, Sinton, TX 78387. You can reach the clerk by phone at (361) 364-6290. Office hours are Monday through Friday during courthouse hours. The clerk can search for death records by name and approximate date and issue certified copies when the record is on file.

San Patricio County is located in the Coastal Bend region of south Texas, near Corpus Christi. The county includes Sinton, Portland, Ingleside, and Aransas Pass. Many residents of the Corpus Christi metro live in San Patricio County while accessing healthcare in Nueces County. When a death occurs at a hospital or facility across the county line in Nueces County, that death record is filed there, not in San Patricio County. It is important to know the exact location of the death when requesting a record.

The fee for a certified copy of a death certificate is $21.00 for the first copy and $4.00 for each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time. Bring valid photo ID for in-person requests. The fee is not refunded if the clerk searches and no record is found.

Note: The Corpus Christi area has multiple counties, so a death in the metro area could be filed in San Patricio, Nueces, or Aransas County depending on where it occurred.

The Texas DSHS Vital Statistics office sets the statewide standards on fees, access, and ID requirements that San Patricio County and all Texas counties follow when issuing certified death certificates.

San Patricio County death record requests follow the same state rules whether you go to the local clerk or order through the DSHS office in Austin.

How to Get San Patricio County Death Certificates

Visiting the clerk's office in Sinton is the fastest way. Bring your government-issued photo ID and the $21.00 fee. The clerk can search the death index and issue a certified copy the same day if the record is available locally.

Mail requests are accepted using the VS-142 Death Certificate Application from DSHS. Include a copy of your photo ID and a check or money order payable to the San Patricio County Clerk. Send to 400 W. Sinton Street, Suite 103, Sinton, TX 78387. Most mail requests are processed within a few business days after the office receives them.

For online ordering through the state, use txapps.texas.gov. The state fee is $20.00 for the first copy. State orders are mailed from Austin and take 20 to 25 business days. Free index searches are available on FamilySearch and Ancestry for Texas deaths from 1903 to 2000.

Who Can Request San Patricio County Death Records

Death records less than 25 years old are restricted under Texas Government Code Section 552.115. Only an immediate family member may request a certified copy during that window. Immediate family includes a spouse, parent, child, sibling, or grandparent. Legal representatives can also request with proper documentation. After 25 years, the record is public and open to anyone.

All requesters must show valid government-issued photo ID. The DSHS acceptable ID list shows what forms are accepted. Providing false information 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. Every request is logged by the clerk.

Genealogy and Historical Records in San Patricio County

San Patricio County death records go back to 1903 and cover over a century of deaths in this south Texas coastal community. The county has both a Spanish-colonial heritage and significant records from the 20th century tied to oil, agriculture, and coastal industries. Free online indexes on FamilySearch and Ancestry include Texas death data through 2000 and are useful for confirming what records exist before ordering a certified copy.

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission holds the statewide death index through 1973, open to the public. The Library of Congress Texas vital records guide explains how the Texas death index is organized, which helps when researching older records. For very early records from San Patricio County, registration may be incomplete in some early years.

Note: Researchers looking for records tied to Aransas Pass, which straddles San Patricio and Aransas counties, should check both county clerks when searching older death records.

The DSHS Order Records Locally page lists San Patricio County among the local Texas offices that issue certified death certificates without going through the state office in Austin.

You can request a San Patricio County death certificate from the Sinton clerk directly for faster service than the state mail order system.

Cities in San Patricio County

San Patricio County includes Sinton, Portland, Ingleside, Aransas Pass, and Gregory. Death records for any event in the county go through the San Patricio County Clerk in Sinton. None of these cities meet the qualifying population threshold for a dedicated city page on this site.

Nearby Counties

These counties border San Patricio County. If you are not sure which county a death was registered in, check the location where the death occurred.

Aransas County • Bee County • Jim Wells County • Nueces County • Refugio County