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County Records on Microfilm

Introduction

There is great genealogical and historical value in records of local governments. Information found in Texas county records can include deed and property transactions, probate and wills, naturalizations, vital statistics, voter registrations, school records, tax payments, court records, and more.

Every county differs in how older records were maintained. The TSLAC Regional Historical Resource Depository Program (RHRD), in collaboration with the Genealogical Society of Utah (now FamilySearch), microfilmed many of these records between the 1970s and the early 1990s to facilitate preservation and access through local depositories.

These Texas county records on microfilm are available to genealogy researchers through twenty-three depositories in Texas, including the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) Genealogy Collection in Austin and the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center in Liberty.

Photograph of a drawer with county records on microfilm

Not all Texas counties, and not all of the records held in each county were filmed. See our online guide to county records for details about the types of records that were filmed and what kind of information can be found in them.

Check for the county you are researching below to see the types of records filmed. If you locate records of interest, see the Microfilm Access and Online Access sections below.

County Records at TSLAC

TSLAC is the microfilm depository for the following Texas counties. Select a county below to see which records have been filmed:

AtascosaBandera
BastropBexar
BlancoCaldwell
ComalFrio
GalvestonGillespie
GraysonGuadalupe
HarrisHays
KarnesKendall
KerrKinney
LlanoMcMullen
MedinaUvalde
Wilson 
County Records at Other Depositories

Film for the following counties are housed at depositories throughout Texas. Select a county below to see which records have been filmed:

AndersonAndrews
AngelinaAransas
ArcherAustin
BeeBell
BosqueBowie
BrazoriaBrazos
BrewsterBrooks
BrownBurleson
BurnetCalhoun
CallahanCameron
CampCass
ChambersCherokee
ClayCoke
CollinColorado
CookeCoryell
CraneCrosby
CulbersonDallas
DawsonDelta
DentonDeWitt
DimmitDuval
EctorEllis
ErathFalls
FanninFayette
FisherFloyd
Fort BendFranklin
FreestoneGaines
GarzaGoliad
GonzalesGreer
GreggGrimes
HamiltonHardin
HarrisonHaskell
HendersonHidalgo
HillHood
HopkinsHouston
HudspethHunt
JacksonJasper
Jeff DavisJefferson
Jim HoggJohnson
KaufmanKenedy
KnoxLamar
LampasasLa Salle
LavacaLee
LeonLiberty
LimestoneLive Oak
LubbockLynn
MadisonMarion
MartinMatagorda
MaverickMcLennan
MidlandMilam
MontagueMontgomery
MorrisNacogdoches
NavarroNewton
NuecesOrange
PanolaParker
PecosPolk
ReaganRed River
RefugioRobertson
RockwallRusk
SabineSan Augustine
San JacintoSan Patricio
ShackelfordShelby
SmithSomervell
StarrStephens
StonewallTaylor
ThrockmortonTitus
TravisTrinity
TylerVal Verde
Van ZandtVictoria
WalkerWaller
WardWashington
WebbWharton
WichitaWilbarger
WillacyWilliamson
WiseWood
YoungZapata
Zavala 
Microfilm Access

County records on microfilm may be available view in person at the depository that houses the reels or to borrow through interlibrary loan (ILL). 

In person use. For microfilm held at TSLAC, call 512-463-5455 or email ref@tsl.texas.gov with the county name and reel number to confirm availability in advance of your visit. We can hold five (5) reels one week. Staff are unable to search the microfilm on your behalf or provide you with copies.

Other repositories may allow on-site access to the county records on microfilm they hold. Contact each repository directly to confirm in-person access options.

Interlibrary loan. Contact your local library about placing an ILL request to borrow microfilm from the repository that holds the reels. Include the county name(s) and reel number(s) with your request. Find Texas libraries near you using our Find a Library tool.

Individuals may request to borrow microfilm as a patron of TSLAC. Please review our ILL policies for registration and placing requests.

Loan Policies for Libraries. Each depository sets its own policy regarding the loan of county records on microfilm; not all depositories lend these reels.

Libraries may borrow reels held by TSLAC. Please call 512-463-5455 or email ill@tsl.texas.gov to place an ILL request.

  • No more than five (5) reels of microfilm may be on loan to the same researcher at the same time.
  • Microfilm can be loaned for fourteen (14) days, but loans may be extended for an additional fourteen days if no other request for the microfilm has been received.
  • The microfilm is for in-library use only and cannot be removed by the researcher from the premises of the requesting institution.
Online Access

Many county records from the RHRD program have been digitized and are available on the FamilySearch website with a free account. 

  • Texas county genealogy research guides with links to digitized indexes and records are available through the FamilySearch Research Wiki. Use the clickable Texas county map to find a Wiki for the county you are researching.
  • Search for collections on the FamilySearch catalog by county name using the “Place” field or by reel number using the “Film/Fiche Number” field.

TSLAC is a FamilySearch affiliate, and our Austin and Liberty locations provide on-site access to restricted images in FamilySearch affiliate collections through the public computers in our reading rooms and on personal devices connected to our Wi-Fi network in Austin. 

If you are unable to visit us, search for a FamilySearch center or affiliate "" near you.

Certified Copies

TSLAC and requesting institutions are not permitted to provide certified copies of documents on microfilm. If a certified copy is needed, the researcher should obtain it from the county clerk or district clerk who is the custodian of the original record. 

The county clerk is the current custodian of the records of the county superintendents of schools.

Condition of Microfilmed Records

Though the filming process attempts to capture the best possible image of each page of each document, the result may not be microfilm that is easy to read due to the original condition of the record. Known issues include:

  • Nineteenth century iron-based inks can chip away, leaving a faint reddish-brown "ghost" script that is extremely difficult to read.
  • Aged handwriting on blue paper, popular with nineteenth century paper manufacturers, can be nearly illegible, even to the naked eye.
  • Sharp legibility may be sacrificed during filming to avoid damaging original records.

Researchers should attempt to see the original document in those instances in which the quality of the microfilm is poor. Contact the county clerk or district clerk who is the custodian of the original record.

Additional Sources of Local Records

Not all county records have been microfilmed. Additional records may be available through these county and local resources.

Our “Locating County Records” webinar from October 22, 2021 includes helpful tips for finding county records on microfilm, online, and through local agencies. The recording and slides from this webinar are posted on our Research Webinar Series webpage.

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Page last modified: June 5, 2025