Texas Birth Certificate
Apostille for OCI
A Texas birth certificate is apostilled by Texas Secretary of State, Authentications Unit in Austin — the state that issued it, never Washington DC and never the state you live in now. The fee is$15 per document and the typical turnaround is up to about 25 business days by mail; limited walk-in service (mondays and fridays). Since 30 December 2024 this apostille is mandatory on any US birth certificate used in an OCI application.
Our price: from $99 all-in delivered within the USA, or $149 all-in couriered to India — government fee, handling and shipping in one flat number, confirmed before you ship anything.
Get a Texas QuoteThe Texas Route
| Apostille authority | Texas Secretary of State, Authentications Unit, Austin |
| Government fee | $15 per document |
| Typical turnaround | Up to about 25 business days by mail; limited walk-in service (Mondays and Fridays) |
| County pre-authentication | No |
| Certified copy comes from | Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), Vital Statistics Section in Austin, or the local registrar of the city of birth. VitalChek handles most online orders. |
| Apostille format for OCI | Physical paper apostille — VFS Global does not accept e-apostilles |
Fee and turnaround verified mid-2026 — state fees and processing times change, so we reconfirm on the issuing office's official website before quoting.
The Texas Quirk Worth Knowing
Texas is the state where families most often miss their VFS appointment. The mail queue in Austin can run to roughly 25 business days on its own, and the walk-in window is limited to two days a week — so a Texas certificate started "a month before the appointment" frequently is not back in time. Start Texas earlier than you think you need to.
Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston and Austin together hold one of the largest Indian-origin populations in the US, and Texas-born children are a constant in OCI files filed from Hyderabad and Chennai. The volume is high and the queue is long, which is exactly the combination that produces panicked WhatsApp messages the week before a VFS appointment.
How We Handle a Texas File From India
Confirm the certificate
Send photos on WhatsApp. We check it is the certified long form with the registrar's signature and seal — the version OCI processing needs — before anything moves.
Certified copy to our US address
Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), Vital Statistics Section in Austin, or the local registrar of the city of birth. VitalChek handles most online orders. Where you do not already hold a certified copy, we guide the order so it ships directly to our US processing address.
Submission to Austin
We submit to Texas Secretary of State, Authentications Unit by tracked mail, with India named as the destination country and the physical paper apostille explicitly requested rather than an e-apostille. Add a mailing leg each way to the office turnaround above when you plan your dates.
Apostilled original to India
You get a photo of the attached apostille before dispatch, then the original ships to your Indian address with tracking. At VFS you hand in a self-attested photocopy and keep the original.
The full seven-step process, the myths that cause rejections, and the line-item cost breakdown live on the mainOCI birth certificate apostille guide.
Texas — Common Questions
How long does a Texas birth certificate apostille really take?
Our child was born in Houston. Do we send anything to Washington DC?
Can you get the certified copy from Texas DSHS for us?
Born in a Different State?
The apostille always comes from the issuing state. If the certificate says a different state, start there:
Texas Birth Certificate?
We Know That Counter.
Send us your OCI appointment date and we will tell you honestly whether a Texas file makes it — then quote one flat, all-inclusive price.
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