Clay County Clerk: Military Discharge Copies Free on the DD-214 Application

The office. Sasha Kelton, Clay County Clerk, 214 N. Main St., P.O. Box 548, Henrietta, Texas 76365; phone (940) 538-4631, fax (940) 264-4160; [email protected]. Anyone filing in the property records in person must show identification (the page's "New Law - ID Required to File Property Records"; Local Government Code 191.010(b)). The application. The Clerk's "Application for DD-214, Military/Solidier's Discharge Record" says "Military Records are not public record. Requestor must be a qualified applicant to receive copies from the office of the County Clerk." It asks for the veteran's name, birth and discharge dates and Social Security number, the requestor's relationship and purpose, a signature and an identification type and number, and ends: "THERE IS NO FEE FOR CERTIFIED COPIES OF MILITARY PAPERS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY." The fee schedule. The "County Clerk Fees, Effective September 1, 2025" lists no line for a discharge; recording one is free under Local Government Code 192.002 and a certified copy under Government Code 603.003 (see the Texas entry). Government Code 552.140 keeps a discharge recorded on or after September 1, 2003 confidential for 75 years and releases it only to the veteran, the veteran's guardian, spouse, child or parent (or, with none living, the nearest living relative), the estate's personal representative, a person named in a power of attorney, a governmental body or the funeral home assisting with the burial.