Obtaining Certified Copies of āāDeath Certificates
The California Department of Public Health ā Vital Records (CDPH-VR) maintains a permanent, public record of every death that has occurred in California since July 1905.
Processing Times for Death Certificates
CDPH-VR's estimated processing times for certified copies of death certificates are listed below, which may occasionally increase as the volume of requests increases. The processing time begins when CDPH-VR receives your request.
County Recorder Offices can sometimes process requests faster than CDPH-VR.
If death occurred:
1905 ā 1993 | Electronic Submission | 6 to 6.5 Weeks |
| Mail-In Request | 7 to 7.5 Weeks |
1994 ā Present | Electronic Submission | 3.5 to 4 Weeks |
| Mail-In Request | 4.5 to 5 Weeks |
Requesting a Certified Copy