The Attorney General of Texas 

December 21, 1979 

MARK WHITE 

Attorney General 

Honorable Joe Resweber Opinion No. NW-112 

Harris County Attorney 

1001 Preston, Suite 634 

Houston, Texas 77002 

Re: FilIne of a death certificate 

attached tz an affidavit of heirship 

with the county clerk. 

Dear Mr. Resweber: 

You ask two questions regarding the filing of an affidavit of heirship 

with a certified copy of a death certificate attached thereto in the public 

record3 of real property of Harris County. You first ask whether the Open 

Records Act prevents the county clerk from accepting the death certificate 

and making it available to the public. 

Section 3(a)(15) exempts from public disclosure “birth and death 

records maintained by the Bureau of Vital Statistics in the State of Texas.” 

In Attorney General Opinion H-115 (1973) this office CoILStNed the provision 

ss applicable to birth and death recor& of the type maintained by the 

Bureau of Vital Statistics and thus determined that the Act applied to birth 

and death records maintained by the county clerk. Of course, even if the 

records are excepted from required disclosure, the custodian is not 

prohibited from releas% them. Texas Open Records Act, V.T.C.S. art. 

625~Da, S 3(c); Open Recor& Decision No. 177 (1977). 

Moreover, although a particular record may be expressly excepted 

from disclosure when in the custody of one state agency, the exception does 

not apply to the record when a private party voluntarily makes it available 

to another public body. In Open Record Decision No. 157 (1977) this office 

determined that a college transcript In an e@neer% licensing file held by 

the State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers was available to 

the public under the Open Records Act. The transcript would have been 

excepted from public disclosure pursuant to section 3(a)(l4) of the Act while 

in the possession of any “educational Institutions funded wholly, or In part, 

by state revenue” However, the ergineei’s transcript held by the Board at 

his request was available to the public. We believe the death certificate 

offered for filing by a member of the public may be accepted by the clerk 

and will be available for public inspection in the clerk’s files. 

Section 6600, V.T.C.S., provides In part: 

p. 355 
Honorable Joe Resweber - Page Two (~1+112) 

The county clerk shall give attested copies whenever demanded of 

all papers recorded in his office. . . . 

The clerk is thus required to give certified copies of the affidavit with attached death 

certificate to persons requesting it. 

SUMMARY 

The Open RecorQ Act does not prevent the county clerk from 

accepting for filing in real property records a death certificate 

attached to an affidavit of heirship. The clerk is required to give 

certified copies of the affidavit with the attached death certificate 

to persons who request it. 

*a 

Attorney General of Texas 

JOHN W. FAINTER, JR. 

First Assistant Attorney General 

TED L. HARTLEY 

Executive Assistant Attorney GeneraI 

Prepared by Susan Garrison 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

C. Robert Heath, Chairman 

David B. Brooks 

Walter Davis 

Bob Gam mage 

Susan Garrison 

Rick Gilpin 

William G Reid 

p. 356