San Augustine County Obituary Records
San Augustine County obituary and death records are filed with the County Clerk in San Augustine, Texas, with records on file from 1903 forward. You can access these death records in person, by mail, or through online state and genealogy databases. This guide walks through how to find San Augustine County death certificates, how to request them, what fees apply, and what other sources exist for locating death information in this part of deep East Texas.
San Augustine County Overview
San Augustine County Clerk Death Records
The San Augustine County Clerk serves as the local registrar for vital records. The office holds death certificates for deaths that occurred in San Augustine County from 1903 to the present. This is a rural county without any large cities, so the county clerk is the primary local source for death records in almost all cases.
Requests can be made in person at the courthouse or by mail. Texas law limits certified copies to qualified applicants. You must be an immediate family member, a legal agent, or someone with a direct and tangible interest in the record to get a copy of a recent death certificate. For genealogy purposes, death records more than 25 years old are open to the public under Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 193. Newer records are restricted.
| Office | San Augustine County Clerk |
|---|---|
| Address | P.O. Box 199, San Augustine, TX 75972 |
| Phone | (936) 275-2420 |
| Website | co.san-augustine.tx.us |
Note: Call the office before visiting to verify current hours and required identification documents, as details may change.
How to Search San Augustine County Obituaries
The state's online portal is often the quickest place to start. The Texas Vital Statistics online ordering system lets you order a certified death certificate for any Texas county, including San Augustine. You will need the full name, approximate date of death, and the county. Payment is processed online and the record is mailed to you.
For historical obituaries and genealogy research, FamilySearch is one of the better free tools available. The FamilySearch database has indexed Texas death records from various time periods and includes links to digitized images where they exist. For early San Augustine County records, the Texas State Library holds microfilm of older vital records statewide. Researchers can view those collections in person in Austin or request access through interlibrary loan programs at public libraries.
Recent obituary notices are easiest to find on Legacy.com, which gathers death notices from Texas newspapers. Local funeral homes in the San Augustine area also post notices on their own websites. Checking both sources gives the best coverage for deaths in the past decade or two.
Requesting San Augustine County Death Certificates
Certified death certificates from San Augustine County can be obtained in person at the clerk's office or by submitting a written request through the mail. In both cases you need to show proof of identity and your connection to the deceased. A current government-issued photo ID is required. If you are not a family member, you need to explain your legal need for the record.
The fee in Texas is $21 for the first certified copy and $4 for each extra copy of the same record ordered at the same time. You can also place your order through the Texas DSHS Vital Statistics unit in Austin, which follows the same fee structure. County in-person requests are often processed the same day, while state mail requests may take a few weeks. For mail requests to San Augustine County, send a completed form, notarized signature, photo ID copy, and payment to P.O. Box 199, San Augustine, TX 75972.
Note: Make your check payable to the San Augustine County Clerk and always include a return address so your records can be mailed back.
Historical Obituaries in San Augustine County Texas
San Augustine County has a documented record trail going back to 1903. Early death certificates from that era typically note the name, age, cause of death, place of burial, and the name of the person who reported the death - often a spouse or parent. These details make old death certificates valuable for genealogy research beyond just confirming a death date. The Texas State Library at tsl.texas.gov holds microfilm records covering many early San Augustine County vital events.
FamilySearch has indexed a portion of these records, and some have been digitized. The depth of coverage varies by time period, but the database is worth checking early in any research project. For newspaper obituaries, the local San Augustine Tribune is the main historical source for the area. Back issues may be found at the San Augustine Public Library or through regional archives. The East Texas Research Center at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches also holds regional materials that sometimes include San Augustine County records.
Cemetery surveys are another useful source for this county. Several local genealogical organizations have inventoried cemeteries in the area and posted the results online. These records can bridge gaps when formal death certificates are missing or incomplete, especially for deaths in the early twentieth century.
The San Augustine County Clerk's website provides information on vital records requests and local services in San Augustine.
The San Augustine County Clerk maintains death records from 1903 forward.
Texas Law and San Augustine County Death Records
Texas requires death certificates to be filed within 10 days of death under Texas Health and Safety Code Section 193.003. The filing duty falls on the physician, medical examiner, or funeral director handling the case. The certificate captures personal information about the deceased along with cause-of-death details signed by the certifying physician.
Under Chapter 193, death records are open to the general public 25 years after the date of death. Before that window closes, only qualified applicants can obtain certified copies. Family members, legal representatives, and those with a direct tangible need qualify under the statute. This restriction applies at both the county and state level. If you are researching deaths from more than 25 years ago, you can request freely without showing any special relationship to the deceased.
Section 193.007 addresses delayed registration for deaths that were not filed on time. These are less common now but occurred more often in earlier decades. If you are missing a record that should exist, a delayed certificate may be on file under a different filing date than expected. The DSHS statewide index is worth checking as a cross-reference.
San Augustine County Obituary Resources
The Texas Vital Statistics online ordering system is the fastest way to get a certified copy of a San Augustine County death certificate. The Texas DSHS Vital Statistics page lists all the rules around access, how far back state records go, and what forms you need.
For genealogy, FamilySearch is free to use and has indexed Texas death records from multiple collections. The Texas State Library at tsl.texas.gov holds microfilmed county records including early San Augustine County death indexes. These collections are available to researchers on-site in Austin.
Recent obituary notices can be found on Legacy.com, which aggregates death notices from Texas newspapers including those serving the San Augustine area. Funeral homes in the county also maintain online obituary listings that are searchable directly.
Note: The DSHS statewide death index may include records that the county office does not hold locally if those records were filed through another registrar.
Nearby Counties
San Augustine County borders several East Texas counties. Death records for those areas are held by their respective county clerks.