Runnels County Clerk: Military Discharge Copies with No Fee

The office. Jennifer Hoffpauir, Runnels County Clerk, 613 Hutchings Avenue, Room 106, Ballinger, TX 76821; phone 325-365-2720, fax 325-365-3408; Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., closed noon to 1:00. The discharge. The Clerk's "Forms and Applications" list links "Military Discharge (DD214)": a "Request For Copy Of Military Discharge Form" asking for the veteran's name, discharge date, gender, date and place of birth, the requester's name, address and relationship to the veteran, the purpose and an ID number, with "* NO FEE FOR MILITARY RECORDS" and the Clerk's return address. The fee schedule effective January 1, 2024 has no discharge line. Recording a discharge 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.