Livestock Marks and Brands in Texas: County Recording and the Statewide Registry

Texas livestock owners still record marks and brands with the county clerk, Senate Bill 503 (2025) adds a statewide electronic registry maintained by the Texas Animal Health Commission, and that registry is still being built.

Three dates that are easy to confuse

It helps to separate three different things. The law's effective date: SB 503 took effect September 1, 2025, and directed the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) to adopt implementing rules as soon as practicable. The registry's operational launch: the statewide electronic system is a project the law requires, it begins working when TAHC brings it online, not automatically on the effective date. The continuing county filing requirement: recording with the county clerk did not go away. Until TAHC confirms otherwise, owners should continue using the county-clerk process.

What changed

SB 503 amended Chapter 144 of the Texas Agriculture Code to establish the framework for a statewide electronic registry of livestock identification, earmarks: brands, tattoos, electronic devices, and other accepted identification methods, maintained by TAHC. Under the enrolled law, county clerks must maintain electronic records of these identifiers and must accept electronic filing or rerecording. For covered records relating to cattle or horses, the county clerk transmits an electronic copy to TAHC; TAHC currently describes a 30-day transmission window for copies sent to the commission. An owner may also authorize an agent, in writing, to record the identification method on the owner's behalf.

The law resets the recurring rerecording calendar: each person who owns covered livestock must record or rerecord marks and brands with the county clerk no later than six months after September 1, 2031, and every tenth year thereafter, regardless of whether the marks or brands were previously recorded.

Who this may affect

Cattle, horse, hog, sheep, and goat owners; county clerks; livestock buyers and sellers; and law enforcement handling stray or stolen livestock. A recorded mark or brand can also affect the statutory presumption concerning who controls an animal, one reason recording matters beyond simple record-keeping.

What the law does not do

SB 503 does not eliminate county-clerk recording; the statewide system supplements the county process rather than replacing it. The public registry may not publicly display personal identifying information associated with a mark or brand, law enforcement has a separate process for obtaining identifying information. And a registry search does not by itself resolve every livestock ownership dispute.

Practical next steps

If you own covered livestock, confirm your current recording with the county clerk in each county where your animals are located, keep a copy of the recorded certificate, and calendar the statewide rerecording window that opens after September 1, 2031. If someone else handles your recording, put the agent authorization in writing. Watch the official TAHC brands page for the registry launch, until TAHC confirms the electronic system is operating, the county-clerk process controls.