California genealogy records

Births, deaths, and marriages since 1905

The California Department of Public Health, Vital Records (CDPH-VR), maintains a permanent public record of every death in California since July 1905, and it has filed and indexed births and marriages since then too. Because the state keeps a statewide index, you do not need to know where the event happened to order from Sacramento. If you do know the county, the State Archives notes that you may get quicker service from the county recorder.

Death certificates can be ordered by mail with the state application, from the county office where the death was registered, or electronically through a third party vendor. The state's death record page listed a fee of 26 dollars per copy when this guide was written.

Authorized or informational copy

California issues two kinds of certified copies. An authorized copy can be used to prove identity, and California law limits it to the registrant and close relatives (a parent, legal guardian, child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner), plus certain officials, attorneys, funeral establishments, and others listed by law. You must sign a notarized sworn statement to get one.

If you cannot get an authorized copy, you can still get an informational copy. It contains the same information as an authorized copy but carries the legend Informational, Not a Valid Document to Establish Identity, and certain items may be redacted. Both kinds count as certified copies. If you are not on the authorized list, order an informational copy.

Before 1905: county recorders

For birth, death, and marriage records from before July 1, 1905, you must contact the county recorder in the county where the event took place, because the state does not hold them. The State Archives notes that many pre-1905 birth, death, and marriage records were microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, so they may be available through FamilySearch, and that the Archives itself keeps pre-1905 vital records from only a few counties.

If a record is not in the county you expect, ask the recorders of the neighboring counties too.

Census records

California's first federal census was 1850, but the Census Bureau notes that the 1850 data are incomplete: the questionnaires from Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties were lost, and those for San Francisco County were destroyed by fire. Some of the missing 1850 data were supplied from the state census of 1852.

The California State Archives holds the 1852 state census and copies of the 1860 and 1880 federal censuses, filed alphabetically by county. The 1852 census gives name, age, sex, occupation, birthplace, and last residence, and indexes are available. The last residence column can point to where a family lived before California. Most of the 1890 federal census was destroyed after a fire in 1921, as it was for every state.

County and state records at the State Archives

The State Archives holds microfilmed copies and original records from 28 California counties, dated 1850 to 1987, including probate court case files, wills, naturalizations, deeds, homesteads, and vital records. Not every record survives for every county. Records more than 75 years old are open without restriction; some series, such as mental health and prison records, may contain restricted documents.

Other state collections useful for families include Supreme and Appellate Court cases from 1850 to 1970, with plaintiff and defendant indexes for 1850 to 1930; San Quentin and Folsom prison registers and inmate photographs from 1850 on, with name indexes; Yountville Veterans Home registers from 1884 to 1910; and professional and vocational licensing files from 1885 to 1968, which can include biographical data and photographs.

Military and newspapers

The State Archives holds militia and California National Guard records from 1849 into the 1940s, including muster rolls and records of independent militia units, the Indian Wars, the Civil War, the Spanish American War, and both world wars. Name indexes exist for independent militia units from 1851 to 1866 and Civil War volunteers from 1861 to 1867. Federal service records are at the National Archives and the National Personnel Records Center.

For newspapers, the State Archives points researchers to the California State Library's California History Room, which keeps a comprehensive collection of California newspapers, including long runs of at least one title from each county, and to the free California Digital Newspaper Collection online.

Land records

California is one of the 30 public land states, so land first sold or granted by the federal government is documented in land entry case files at the National Archives. Patents can be searched by name on the Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office records website, which includes only patented land. The State Archives also has deeds and homestead records from some of the counties in its collection.