Leon County Texas

Effective Dec. 4, 2025

LGC Sec. 191.010.  AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE PHOTO IDENTIFICATION TO FILE CERTAIN DOCUMENTS. 

(a)  In this section, "photo identification" means one of the following forms of photo identification:

(1)  a driver's license, election identification certificate, or personal identification card issued to the person by any state or territory of the United States that has not expired or that expired no earlier than 60 days before the date of presentation;

(2)  a United States military identification card that contains the person's photograph that has not expired or that expired no earlier than 60 days before the date of presentation;

(3)  a United States citizenship certificate issued to the person that contains the person's photograph;

(4)  a United States Permanent Resident Card that has not expired or that expired no earlier than 60 days before the date of presentation;

(5)  an identification card issued by a municipality intended to serve as a general identification card for the holder that has not expired or that expired no earlier than 60 days before the date of presentation;

(6)  a federally recognized tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal identification that has not expired or that expired no earlier than 60 days before the date of presentation;

(7)  a United States passport or a passport issued by a foreign government recognized by the United States issued to the person that has not expired or that expired no earlier than 60 days before the date of presentation; or

(8)  a license to carry a concealed handgun issued to the person by the Department of Public Safety that has not expired or that expired no earlier than 60 days before the date of presentation.

(b)  A county clerk shall require a person presenting a document in person for filing in the real property records of the county to present a photo identification to the clerk.  The clerk shall copy the photo identification or record information from the photo identification.  The clerk may not charge a person a fee to copy or record the information from a photo identification.

(c)  Information copied or recorded from the photo identification is confidential.

(d)  A document filed with a county clerk is not invalid solely because the county clerk did not copy a photo identification or record the information from the photo identification.

Additional Requirements for Recording Documents in our County:

• WE ARE NOT ATTORNEYS and cannot give any legal advice on what should be filed. We also are not permitted to prepare any documents for filing, per Government Code 81.101.
• Documents received after 4 p.m. will be filed the next business day.
• This office does not accept faxed copies.
• Per LGC 193.012, the County Clerk SHALL return the original instrument to the person who filed it. NO EXCEPTIONS.
• Documents are filed and recorded in a safe and permanent manner, and an index is provided so records may be easily retrieved.
• The large Tobin maps and all images on the public stations are proprietary; photography of these images is forbidden.
• Your document must be the original or a certified copy per Property Code 12.001 and 12.011. Probate records from other states must be an EXEMPLIFIED or an AUTHENTICATED copy, per Estates Code 501.002(c).

• SB 2128 allows a County Clerk to accept document that was electronically signed/notarized. IT MUST have a Declaration of Authenticity attached to the document and must be originally/wet signed by the notary declaring the paper document to be a true and correct copy of the electronic record.

• Per Gov. Code 552.115, we cannot record birth certificates until the record is 75 years old; we cannot record death certificates until the record is 25 years old. 
• A page is considered to be one side of a sheet of paper and may be no longer than 8 ½ x 14, per 191.007 (B) of the Local Government Code.
• Letters Testamentary are not recorded in our Official Records, per AG Opinion JH-410.
• We cannot file an original, unprobated will by itself, per AG Opinion M-511.
• There must be a title at the top of the document, per 191.007 (C) of the Local Government Code.
• An Abstract of Judgment plaintiff’s address must be listed, per Property Code 52.0041.
• Deeds conveying property to a new owner must have a grantee’s address listed per Property Code 11.003.
• Deeds conveying property MUST be in English, per Property Code 11.002.
• Printing, typing and handwriting must be clearly legible, per 191.007 (D) of the Local Government Code.
• Names must be printed under all signatures, per 191.007 (E) of the Local Government Code.
• The property must be located in Leon County.
• Per Local Government Code 193.003 (b), the clerk MUST provide an index for both Grantor and Grantees, therefore, both the DIRECT and INDIRECT party names MUST be on each document.
• All documents must have a proper and complete original notary acknowledgement, per Property Code Sec. 12.001(b)
• All documents must have a return address listed on the bottom or back.
• A margin of at least one inch at the top left of each page is deeply appreciated.
• Per Property Code 11.008(f), instruments are not required to have a social security number or a driver license number. 
• The recording fee is $15 for the first page, and $4 for each additional page per instrument, as of Oct. 1, 2018. If there are more than 5 names to be indexed, there will be a fee of $.25 per name starting from the 6th name forward.
• Plats are $60 ($50 clerk fee, $10 records management) per sheet, and filers must show subdivision checklist certified by Robbie Robinson.

Redacting SSN from our official records

Click here to download and print the form to request the redaction of a SSN from each document.