Free Recording of Your DD214 with the County Clerk
Your county clerk must record your discharge papers at no charge, keep them confidential for 75 years, and give you free certified copies for life.
Verified August 17, 2026
What this benefit is
Your county clerk must record your discharge papers at no charge, keep them confidential for 75 years, and give you free certified copies for life.
What it's worth: Free recording, and free certified copies for life
- The recording itself is free by statute, and so are certified copies to you or your next of kin.
- The real value is speed later: most records in this corpus want a DD214, and a same-day certified copy from the county clerk beats waiting weeks on a NARA request.
Who is entitled to it
- You served in the U.S. armed forces.
- You have your DD214.
- Your home is in Texas.
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
How to claim it
- 1Take your original DD214 to the county clerk. They record it and hand the original straight back.
- 2Ask for a certified copy at the same time.
- 3Tell your family it is there — a surviving spouse can get free copies too, and they will need one.
- File with
- The county clerk in the county where you live
- Documents you will need
- dd214 · proof of identity
- No renewal needed
Sources
- authority · statuteTex. Local Gov't Code §192.002; Tex. Gov't Code §552.140
- operating · published policyBexar County Clerk — DD 214 Military Discharge
Why only one source type: The statute is the authority. County clerks publish their own pages; we cite one representative county rather than implying a statewide operating source exists.
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.