Moreno Valley Death Certificate Requests

Moreno Valley residents need to contact Riverside County for death records, not the city government. Riverside County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder handles all vital records for Moreno Valley and every other community in the county. County offices are in Riverside, with additional locations in Palm Desert, Temecula, and Blythe. You can request death certificates in person at any office, order online through the county portal or VitalChek, or submit a mail application. Riverside County maintains death records from the late 1800s and charges $26 per certified copy.

Riverside County Handles Moreno Valley Death Records

California assigns vital records to county offices. Cities do not maintain or issue death certificates.

Moreno Valley death records come from Riverside County. The main Clerk-Recorder office is in Riverside. Additional offices serve Palm Desert, Temecula, and Blythe. All locations operate Monday through Friday during business hours. Walk in service is available at each office for immediate processing of recent records.

Riverside County has maintained death records since the late 1800s. The collection covers all cities and unincorporated areas throughout the county. The fee is $26 per certified copy, which is the standard California rate. Online orders add service fees on top of the base certificate cost.

How to Get a Death Certificate

You have three options. Visit an office. Order online. Send a mail request.

Walk in to any Riverside County office with valid photo ID and payment. Staff will search for the record and print it if found. Recent deaths can usually be processed the same day. Older records may need retrieval from storage. Bring $26 per copy in cash, check, money order, or credit card. The office nearest Moreno Valley is the main Riverside location.

Online ordering uses the county operated portal or VitalChek. The county runs its own system at vitalsonline.asrclkrec.com. VitalChek is also available. Fill out the form, provide payment information, and select delivery method. Service fees apply for online processing. Standard mail takes two to three weeks. Expedited shipping costs extra.

Mail requests require an application form downloaded from the Riverside County certificates page. Complete it and include payment by check or money order payable to Riverside County. Send to the address shown on the form. Processing takes three to four weeks from when the county receives your request.

Who Can Get Authorized Copies

California law restricts authorized death certificates to certain individuals. Informational copies are available to anyone.

Authorized copies require you to be an immediate family member or other qualified person under Health and Safety Code Section 103526. Eligible individuals include spouse, domestic partner, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, and grandchild of the deceased. Estate attorneys, court appointed representatives, and government officials on official business also qualify. You must provide a notarized sworn statement declaring your eligibility under penalty of perjury.

Informational copies do not require relationship proof or notarization. Anyone can order these. The certificate will have "INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY" printed across it. These copies work for genealogy and personal records but lack legal validity for estates or benefits. The cost is the same $26 as authorized copies.

When Records Become Available

Death records need about two weeks to process after the death occurs.

After a death, the funeral home submits paperwork to the county. A physician must certify the cause of death. County staff then enter the record into their system. This process takes approximately 14 days. Do not request a certificate before this waiting period or the county will not find it and you will still pay the search fee.

Contact Riverside County before ordering if you are unsure whether enough time has passed. Staff can check their database. Have the full name and date of death ready when you call.

Accessing Old Death Records

Riverside County maintains death records from the late 1800s. Moreno Valley incorporated in 1984, but county records cover the area from much earlier.

For deaths before July 1905, only the county has records. The state office in Sacramento does not maintain anything prior to that date. Contact Riverside County for all pre-1905 deaths in the Moreno Valley area. These older records may be on microfilm or in paper archives. Staff need extra time to locate and copy them, but the records remain accessible.

Many historical Riverside County death records appear on genealogy websites. These are informational only and are not certified. If you need a certified copy for legal use, order through the county office even if you found the record online.

Details Needed for Your Request

Have this information ready:

• Full name of deceased
• Date of death or approximate year
• Place of death in Riverside County
• Your relationship to deceased
• Your mailing address

More details help staff find the record faster. If you do not know the exact date, provide a range of years. The county searches based on what you give them. The $26 fee is kept whether the record is found or not because it covers search time.

Can You Order from the State

Yes. The California Department of Public Health maintains copies of all death records from July 1905 forward.

However, state processing is much slower. The state office reports five to seven weeks average processing time. Riverside County handles walk in requests the same day and mail requests in three to four weeks. The state charges $24 by mail or $26 through VitalChek plus service fees. The county charges $26 plus online fees if applicable.

For Moreno Valley deaths, using Riverside County is faster and more convenient. The county has multiple office locations and processes requests more quickly. Use the state only if you are unsure which county the death occurred in or need certificates from multiple counties.

Other Riverside County Cities

Riverside County includes many cities. All use the same county office for death records.

Major cities: Riverside, Corona

Other communities include Temecula, Murrieta, Indio, Cathedral City, Palm Springs, Hemet, Perris, and many more. Contact Riverside County for death records from any city or unincorporated area in the county.