Online California Death Indexes, Records & Obituaries

Online California Death Indexes & Records

California Death Records Index 1940-1997 (requires payment) part of an Ancestry subscription, which also includes:
- California Birth Index 1905-1995
- California Marriage Index 1960-1985
- California Divorce Index 1966-1984
- California Voter Registrations 1900-1968 (for various counties & years; most are for 1900-1944)

California Death Records Index 1940-1997 (free) at Rootsweb
California Death Index 1905-1997 (at Archives.com/requires payment)
California Death Index 1905-1939 at FamilySearch browsable images arranged alphabetically by name; free
Pre-1905 California Death Index Project for many counties

Alameda County: Genealogy Data Records for Eastern Alameda County from the Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society - includes cemetery records
Alameda County: for recent Fremont-Newark Argus and Oakland Tribune Obituaries - see the California Newspapers Obituaries Archive below
Butte County Obituary Indexes (presently includes surnames beginning with A-O; also has an index for cemeteries)
Butte County Vital Records Index 1854-1897 from local newspapers
Fresno Catholic Cemeteries - Burial Records Search from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno
Fresno County - also see the California Newspapers Obituaries Archive below
Imperial County: Riverview Cemetery Burials - Brawley, California
Kern County (Bakersfield) - see the California Newspapers Obituaries Archive below
Lassen County Obituary Index for various newspapers and years
Lodi - see San Joaquin County below
Los Angeles County...
- The Los Angeles section has moved to its own webpage...
  - Los Angeles City & County Death Indexes, Records & Obituaries includes Los Angeles, Long Beach, Glendale, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, Torrance, and other cities
Mariposa County Databases includes some early obituaries
Merced County, California Deaths, 1852-1999 (requires payment - part of an Ancestry subscription)
Orange County (includes Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Santa Ana, and other cities)...
- Orange County Register Newspaper Obituaries Archive, 1/1/1987-Current (copies of individual obituaries can be obtained online for a fee)
- For Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cypress, see the Los Angeles County link above
Placer County: Index to Deaths 1852-1885 from the Placer Herald Newspaper, Auburn, California
Riverside County...
- Riverside County - see the California Newspapers Obituaries Archive below
- Riverside County: Lake Elsinore Cemetery Burials
- For Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cathedral City, see the Los Angeles County link above
Sacramento County...
- Sacramento Bee Obituaries 3/31/1984-Current - see the California Newspapers Obituaries Archive listed below
- Sacramento Historic City Cemetery Burials 1849-2000 (PDF file)
- Fair Oaks Cemetery Burials (Fair Oaks, CA)
- Sacramento County Burial Grounds: Indigent Burials on Fruitridge Ave. next to St. Mary's Cemetery; very large PDF file
San Bernardino - see the California Newspapers Obituaries Archive below
San Diego County...
- For San Diego Union-Tribune Obituaries 2000-Current - see the California Newspapers Obituaries Archive below
- San Diego County Probate Court Search 1974-recent
- San Diego Public Library's Digital Library - Includes Obituaries Indexes indexes obituaries and death notices in the San Diego Union (1868-1915) and the San Diego Herald (1851-1860)
San Francisco County...
- San Francisco Chronicle Obituaries Archive - Since 1985 (copies of individual obituaries can be obtained online for a fee)
- San Francisco Area Funeral Home Records, 1895-1985 (at Ancestry/requires payment)
- Northern California, Mortuary and Cemetery Records, 1801-1932 (at Ancestry/requires registration)
- The San Francisco Morning Call and the Call and Post, April 1890-1913 searchable newspapers; includes birth, marriage and death notices (free to search)
- The San Francisco Call Database indexes births, marriages and deaths in this newspaper from 1869-1899 (fee required for full details)
- San Francisco: A List of Persons Who Died as a Result of the Great Earthquake & Fire, April 18, 1906
San Joaquin County Public Library Obituary Index, 1850-1991 (from FamilySearch) includes digitized images of the obituaries
San Mateo County...
- San Mateo County Death and Obituaries Indexes
- San Mateo County: Cypress Lawn Cemetery Burials (Colma, CA)
- San Mateo County: Holy Cross Cemetery Burials (Catholic Cemetery in Colma, CA) includes Holy Cross Cemetery (1887-2001) and Calvary Cemetery (1851-1916)
- San Mateo County: Union Cemetery Burials (in Redwood City, California)
Santa Barbara County Cemeteries
Santa Clara County...
- San Jose Mercury News Obituaries Archive, 6/1/1985-Current (copies of individual obituaries can be obtained online for a fee)
- Mountain View Obituary Index 1967-2004
- Palo Alto Historical Association Obituary Index begins with the 1890s
- Santa Clara County Historical and Genealogical Society Website includes a burial index for the Mission City Memorial Park Cemetery (Santa Clara, CA) and 2 funeral home indexes
- Santa Clara County Archives includes indexes for some probate cases, wills and coroner inquests
- Santa Clara County: Los Gatos Death Certificates 1868-1930
Santa Cruz County: Mountain Echo Newspaper Index 1896-1916 (includes births & deaths)
Shasta County Registered Deaths 1890-1997 with Cemetery Listings not yet complete
Siskiyou County Obituary Index from the Siskiyou County Library
Solano County Death Index 1850-present click on "databases" when you get there
Stanislaus County (Modesto) - see the California Newspapers Obituaries Archive below
Stockton - see San Joaquin County above
Tulare County Cemetery, Obituary & Probate Indexes
Ventura County...
- Ventura County Genealogical Society Website includes:
  - Ventura County Obituaries Index (various newspapers and years)
  - Ventura County Probate Index 1873-1993
  - Ventura County Death Records Index 1872-1908
- Ventura County Star Newspaper Obituaries Archive, 3/5/1997-Current (copies of individual obituaries can be obtained online for a fee)
Yolo County: Davis Cemetery District Burials Index
Yuba County Genealogy Records includes cemeteries & burial listings

California Newspapers Obituaries Archive - Recent (copies of individual obituaries can be obtained online for a fee) includes...
- Alameda Journal - 2/8/2002-Current, and Alameda Times-Star - 9/15/2001-Current
- Bakersfield Californian - 2/21/2003-Current
- Contra Costa Times - 6/1/1995-Current
- Fremont-Newark Argus - 9/15/2001-Current
- Fresno Bee - 2/5/1987-Current
- Los Angeles Times - Since 1985 (staff-written editorial obituaries only)
- Long Beach Press-Telegram - 8/11/1990-Current
- Modesto Bee - 1/3/1989-Current
- Monterey County Herald - 1/6/2002-Current
- Oakland Tribune - 9/15/2004-Current
- Orange County Register - 1987-Current
- Riverside Press-Enterprise - 9/28/1992-Current
- Sacramento Bee - 3/31/1984-Current
- San Bernardino Sun - 9/18/2001-Current (5/21/2002-7/11/2002 unavailable)
- San Diego Union-Tribune - 2000-Current
- San Francisco Chronicle - Since 1985
- San Jose Mercury News - 6/1/1985-Current
- Santa Rosa Press Democrat - 1995-Current
- Ventura County Star - 3/5/1997-Current
- And about 200 more California newspapers

Also Helpful...

California Vital Records Indexes - Birth, Marriage and Death Records
Ancestry's California Genealogy Records Collection (requires payment) includes census records, WWI draft cards, WWII army enlistments, vital records, city directories, and historical newspapers
California Genealogy and History Archives includes over 180,000 listings for California cemetery burials
Online California Naturalization Records and Indexes
Early California Population Project contains baptism, marriage, and burial records in the California mission registers from 1769-1850, documenting nearly 110,000 early residents
California Unclaimed Persons Database lists people who have died in California where a next of kin was never located

Ordering California Death Certificates & Vital Records

Order California Birth or Death Certificates by Mail from the California Center for Health Statistics (fees and restrictions apply)

Online California Death Records & Indexes

A Genealogy Guide for Finding Obituaries, Cemetery Burials and Death Records