Scurry County Death Index Search

Scurry County death records are kept by the County Clerk in Snyder and are part of the Texas statewide death index that goes back to 1903. If you need to search for a death record or get a certified death certificate for someone who died in Scurry County, the county clerk is the local point of contact for certified copies and in-person searches.

Scurry County Clerk Death Records

The Scurry County Clerk in Snyder is the local office for death certificates filed in the county. The office is at 1806 25th Street, Suite 300, Snyder, TX 79549. You can call the clerk at (325) 573-5641. Hours are Monday through Friday during courthouse hours. The clerk handles certified copy requests, searches the death index, and can tell you whether a specific record is on file.

Scurry County is located in west Texas, in the area known as the Permian Basin-adjacent rolling plains. Snyder is the county seat and the only significant city in the county. Oil and ranching have been major parts of the local economy, and the county's death records cover more than a century of residents tied to those industries. All Scurry County death records are part of the statewide Texas death index maintained by DSHS in Austin.

Fees are set by state law. The first certified copy is $21.00. Each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time costs $4.00. Bring valid photo ID for in-person requests. For mail requests, include a copy of your ID and the fee as a check or money order payable to the Scurry County Clerk. The search fee is not refunded if no record is found.

Note: Scurry County has had oil booms that brought workers from elsewhere. Deaths of out-of-county workers who died in Scurry County would be registered here even if they lived elsewhere.

The Texas DSHS Vital Statistics office oversees the statewide rules that Scurry County follows when issuing certified death certificates, including fees, ID requirements, and access restrictions.

Whether you request a Scurry County death record at the local clerk's office or through DSHS in Austin, the same state rules apply.

How to Get a Scurry County Death Certificate

In person at the Scurry County Courthouse in Snyder is the fastest method. Bring your government-issued photo ID and $21.00. The clerk can search by name and approximate date of death and issue a certified copy while you wait if the record is on file.

Mail requests are accepted using the VS-142 Death Certificate Application. Include a copy of your photo ID and the fee as a check or money order payable to the Scurry County Clerk. Send to 1806 25th Street, Suite 300, Snyder, TX 79549. Processing takes a few business days after receipt.

Online ordering through txapps.texas.gov processes through DSHS for $20.00 per copy. Orders are mailed from Austin in 20 to 25 business days. Free index searches for Texas deaths from 1903 to 2000 are available at FamilySearch and Ancestry.

Access Rules for Scurry County Death Records

Death records are restricted for 25 years from the date of death under Texas Government Code Section 552.115. During that time, only an immediate family member can request a certified copy. Immediate family includes a spouse, parent, child, sibling, or grandparent. Legal representatives with proper documentation can also request. After 25 years, the record is public and open to all requesters.

All requests require valid government-issued photo ID. The DSHS acceptable ID page lists what forms are accepted. Making false statements to obtain 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.

Historical Research in Scurry County

Scurry County death records cover over a century, from 1903 to the present. For genealogy research, the county's records document families tied to the west Texas plains and the oil industry. Free online death index searches on FamilySearch and Ancestry include Texas death data from 1903 to 2000 and can help confirm whether a record exists before you pay for a certified copy.

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission holds the statewide death index through 1973 for public research. The Library of Congress guide to Texas vital records explains the index structure and time periods. Early Scurry County records may have some gaps from the first decades of statewide registration, which was common in rural west Texas counties.

Note: The Texas death index for 1903 to 1940 is one alphabetical list. After that, it breaks into smaller time periods through the 1970s, then becomes annual.

The DSHS Order Records Locally page includes Scurry County in its directory of Texas county offices that issue certified death certificates locally.

You can request a Scurry County death certificate from the Snyder clerk without going through the state office in Austin.

Cities in Scurry County

Scurry County's main community is Snyder. Death records for all events in the county go through the Scurry County Clerk in Snyder. No cities in this county meet the qualifying population threshold for a dedicated city page on this site.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Scurry County. If you are not sure which county filed a death record, check where the death occurred.

Borden County • Fisher County • Garza County • Kent County • Mitchell County • Nolan County