How to Apply for a Death Certificate in California

The California Department of Public Health's Office of Vital Records is the holder of death certificates from 1905 to the present. Applying to receive a death certificate must be done by mail. The Office does not accept online, telephone or faxed requests. A fee of $12 is required with the application and it must be sent by check or money order. Processing times to receive the certificate vary depending on the date of death.

Instructions

• 1

  Visit the California Department of Public Health's Office of Vital Records website.

• 2

  Determine if you are applying for an authorized or informational copy of the death record. Authorized copies are issued to the parent, guardian, child, grandparent, sibling or spouse of the registrant. They are also issued to law enforcement agencies, parties given permission to receive the document by court order, an attorney or the agent of a funeral home. Informational copies contain the same information but state that the certificate is not a valid document to establish identity. Both authorized and informational documents are certified copies.

• 3

  Download the Application for Certified Copy of Death Certificate along with sworn statement.

• 4

  Arrange to have the sworn statement notarized. This step is required if you are ordering an authorized copy.

• 5

  Mail the application with the $12 application fee.

• 6

  Wait for the arrival of the death certificate. It takes four weeks for a death certificate to arrive if the date of death is from 1995 to present and 14 weeks for death certificates from 1905 to 1994.