Texas split-court county. Bexar runs a unified Justice Information Portal (search.bexar.org) covering both District Clerk (felony, family, civil district) AND County Clerk (misdemeanor, JP, probate) — single search tool for both, simpler than Tarrant. Marriage licenses and recorded land documents at County Clerk via bexar.tx.publicsearch.us. JP courts handle evictions.
Court-clerk note Texas
¶ 01Texas has 254 counties — the most of any state. Each county runs its own District Court (felonies, civil over $200, family) and County Court (misdemeanors, civil under $200K, probate). Some metro counties have multiple criminal/civil district courts.
¶ 02re:SearchTX (research.txcourts.gov) is the closest thing to a statewide aggregator. Coverage varies by county; most metro counties participate, but smaller counties may require visiting the local district clerk site directly.
¶ 03Texas Public Information Act (Gov. Code Ch. 552) lets you request records without stating a reason. Agencies must respond within 10 business days; if they want to withhold, they must seek an Attorney General opinion.
¶ 04Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is for STATE prison inmates only. County jails are separate — for those, search the county sheriff's site (HCSO for Harris, DCSO for Dallas, etc.).
¶ 05Texas Sex Offender Registry is run by DPS; search by name, ZIP, or city. Includes physical description and offense; cross-check against federal NSOPW for cross-state.
¶ 06Marriage records are filed at the County Clerk level, not statewide. For genealogy or older marriages there is a state index, but current licenses live with the county.
Guided record check
Run this in order.
Start with the systems most likely to change your read of a person. Then cross-check custody, registries, and paper-trail sources before you go wider.
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01 · The docket layer
Start with courts
3 sources
Run county and statewide court portals first. Civil, criminal, family, and lower-court systems are often separate, so this is where most missed records happen.
Unified court records search covering both District Clerk (27 district courts: felony, civil, family, juvenile) AND County Clerk (misdemeanor, JP, probate, county courts at law). Search by party name. This is one of the cleanest unified court tools in Texas — most counties require two separate searches.
Free search; $5 search fee for civil case research at counter; $1 per page for non-certified copies
This is the search tool for everything — felonies, divorces, evictions (in JP courts), small claims, and probate. Most TX counties make you search District and County Clerk separately. Bexar consolidated them. For very recent arrests (within 24h) check centralmagistrate.bexar.org; that catches cases before they post to this portal.
The closest thing TX has to a statewide search. Coverage varies county-by-county — most metros participate, smaller counties may not. Search by name; click into a case for the docket. If a county is missing, go to that county's District Clerk site directly.
Current inmates in Bexar County jail facilities (Adult Detention 2,830 capacity, Annex 1,733). Central Magistrate Search shows arrests processed within the last 24 hours — Class B and above. Daily pop ~4,000.
Two tools to know: the Central Magistrate search at centralmagistrate.bexar.org catches arrests within 24 hours of booking — useful for confirming a recent arrest before it appears in the main jail roster. The Jail Activity Reports keep records online for only 7 days, so screenshots beat coming back later. If your subject was arrested in a city like Schertz or Universal City, check there too — those have separate municipal jails.
Property ownership, appraised values, and parcel data for all 774,000+ parcels in Bexar County. Search by owner name, address, or property ID. TX appraisal districts publish owner names by default — works as a name-based property search.
Type a last name and first initial — every parcel that person owns in Bexar County will surface, with address, value, and ownership history. The clean name-search behavior is a feature of TX appraisal districts; California assessors do not allow this. Useful for confirming a partner's real estate footprint or surfacing properties they did not mention.
Recorded documents — deeds, deeds of trust, liens, foreclosures, marriage licenses, assumed names (DBA), military discharges, and miscellaneous filings — for Bexar County. Searchable by grantor/grantee name on PublicSearch. Document images viewable and downloadable.
Free index search; uncertified copies free for download; certified copies $5 per document
Deed and lien history searchable by name. Watch for: foreclosure notices, recent quitclaim deeds (asset hiding before divorce), assumed name certificates (a DBA partnered with someone you did not know), and Notice of Trustee Sale filings (the early signal of foreclosure before court). Marriage licenses are filed here at the County Clerk vital records desk.
10-business-day response requirement. See the Email Scripts page for TX-specific framing language. If the agency wants to withhold, they must seek an AG opinion.
Critical for finding businesses someone owns or operates. Free public search returns name, status, registered agent. SOSDirect (paid account, $1 per search) returns full filings including officers and history.
Federal District, Appeals, and Bankruptcy courts. Over 1 billion documents filed. $0.10/page (capped at $3.00/document); free if quarterly charges under $30. Account required for search. Confirmed live 2026-05-03.
PACER catches federal cases the state DOC and state courts will not. Account required, small per-search fees. Worth using for white-collar, federal drug, immigration, and bankruptcy.
All federal prison inmates, current and historical from 1982. Search by name (with race/sex/age filters) or inmate number. Note: search backend showed intermittent error during 2026-05-03 verification — likely temporary. If main tool is down, try https://www.bop.gov/mobile/find_inmate/byname.jsp as fallback.
All 50 states aggregated, plus DC, US territories, and tribal nations. Search by name or location. DOJ-operated. Named after Dru Sjodin. Also links to abuse reporting resources. Confirmed live 2026-05-03.
Cross-state coverage in one search. Run after the state-level registry to catch out-of-state moves.
Statute · Texas public records law
Texas runs the Public Information Act (Gov. Code Chapter 552) — strong on paper, generally responsive in practice (10 business days for most agencies). The state-court system is fragmented: Texas has 254 counties (the most of any state) and each runs its own District and County courts. The Office of Court Administration runs re:SearchTX as a statewide aggregator, but coverage varies by county and full-document access often costs money.
Typical response · 10 business days for most records requests under Public Information Act; instant for online court and registry lookups