Zapata County Clerk: Military Discharges Recorded at No Charge

The office. Mary Jayne Villarreal-Bonoan, Zapata County Clerk, 200 E. 7th Avenue, Suite 138, Zapata, TX 78076 (first floor of the courthouse); phone 956-765-9915, fax 956-765-9933. The discharge. The Clerk's page lists "Military Discharge" among the office's services, and the County Clerk Fee Schedule (effective January 2024) reads "MILITARY DISCHARGES - No Charge", beside recording at $25 for the first page and $4 for each further page and certified copies at $1 a page plus $5. The adopted budget's description of the office adds that the Clerk records "veterans' discharge records". 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.