Home > California Death Records > Are there any truely free ways to find death records in california?

Are there any truely free ways to find death records in california?


http://vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ca/death/search.cgi
California Death Records 9,366,786 records from 1940 thru 1997

Warning 1: It is an index; the most you’ll get is name, sex, birthdate, birth state, father’s surname, mother’s maiden name, residence at time of death, death date. That’s the most; many records have blank fields.

Warning 2: It is supported by advertising. The ads rotate. Sometimes the ad asks for a name and leads you to a pay site. Scroll down past the ad.

www.findagrave.com is nation-wide and free. It has some entries for California. The entries range from the simple (John Smith, 1903 – 1971) to the elaborate; some have biographies, cause of death (especially if the person died in an accident, in battle, or of a disease) and links to spouses and/or parents and/or children.

You can find obituaries in old newspapers on microfilm in libraries. They usually don’t mention cause of death, but they usually have a mini-biography.

  1. Researcher
    May 17th, 2010 at 01:16 | #1

    You can attempt through Social Security Death Index if the person was receiving benefits at the time of death and you can try the Family History Centers. California no longer puts the death index on the internet because to the privacy laws and Identity theft. You can contact the county recorder where the death occurred and give them the vital information to identify the records and for a small fee get a copy. Unless you intend to use the certificate for a legal matter, indicate in you r letter it is for genealogical purposes and the fee will be less because it will not be a certified copy,
    The only other way it to go to the county recorders office and look up the information and request a copy, and pay the fee in person.
    References :
    Genealogical researcher 35+ years

  2. Ted Pack
    May 17th, 2010 at 01:23 | #2

    http://vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ca/death/search.cgi
    California Death Records 9,366,786 records from 1940 thru 1997

    Warning 1: It is an index; the most you’ll get is name, sex, birthdate, birth state, father’s surname, mother’s maiden name, residence at time of death, death date. That’s the most; many records have blank fields.

    Warning 2: It is supported by advertising. The ads rotate. Sometimes the ad asks for a name and leads you to a pay site. Scroll down past the ad.

    http://www.findagrave.com is nation-wide and free. It has some entries for California. The entries range from the simple (John Smith, 1903 – 1971) to the elaborate; some have biographies, cause of death (especially if the person died in an accident, in battle, or of a disease) and links to spouses and/or parents and/or children.

    You can find obituaries in old newspapers on microfilm in libraries. They usually don’t mention cause of death, but they usually have a mini-biography.
    References :

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