Death certificates are needed for Social Security, life and health insurance and other time sensitive purposes. There are two types of certified copies available to a requestor: Official and Informational. California law defines individuals who can obtain an official copy of a birth or death certificate as:. If you cannot obtain an authorized copy under California law, you can obtain an informational copy.
Applicants must physically present a valid government-issued photo ID. Requests for pre Death Records require a hour notice to retrieve from our off-site facility. Persons wanting to order copies of these records are requested to fill out an Application for Certified Copy of Death.
Copies of these forms are available online or in our office. Records will be available the following business day upon receipt of the application. Otherwise, the record will be available from our office usually 4 weeks after the date of death. If you are unable to download the form, please call We do not accept foreign checks. Do not send cash by mail. Processing time may take several days. Please expect to receive your copies via regular mail in approximately two weeks.
Certificates from the year to may require an additional two days for processing. If you require return tracking or guaranteed delivery of your fulfilled order, you must provide a prepaid return air bill guaranteeing tracking and deliver, i.
If you wish to expedite your request, you must include a prepaid overnight return envelope. Acknowledgements executed by Notaries Public outside of the U. Neither our office nor VitalChek have control over the services and fees other Internet vendors offer and charge, nor can we guarantee the confidentiality of any vital record data provided to vendors other than VitalChek. Processing time for orders is approximately 5 β 10 business days from receipt of completed application and payment.
