San Bernardino Death Certificate Access

San Bernardino city government does not issue death records. All death certificates for San Bernardino come through San Bernardino County. The county office processes requests for deaths that occurred anywhere in San Bernardino County, which includes the city of San Bernardino along with dozens of other communities. County offices are in San Bernardino, Joshua Tree, and Needles. You can also order online through Permitium or VitalChek, or submit a mail application with the required forms and payment. The county maintains records from the 1850s forward and charges $26 per certified copy.

San Bernardino County Maintains Death Records

California state law assigns vital records to county governments. Cities do not handle this function.

All San Bernardino death certificates come from San Bernardino County. The county operates the Assessor/Recorder/Clerk office with locations in San Bernardino at 222 West Hospitality Lane, Joshua Tree, and Needles. The main office in San Bernardino is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Walk in service is available during these hours.

San Bernardino County keeps death records dating back to the 1850s when the county was formed. Recent deaths take about two weeks to become available after filing. The county charges $26 per copy, which matches the state standard fee. Online orders through Permitium or VitalChek add service fees on top of the base certificate cost.

The county also operates a Public Health Department that issues recent death certificates through a separate Permitium portal. Both the Recorder and Health Department can provide certified copies for qualifying individuals.

Ways to Request Death Certificates

You can walk in, order online, or mail a request. Each method has different processing times.

Walk in to a county office with valid photo identification. Staff will search for the record and print it if available. Bring $26 per copy in cash, check, money order, or credit card. For recent deaths, you may get the certificate the same day. Older records sometimes require extra time to retrieve from storage.

Online ordering uses either the county Recorder portal or the Public Health Department portal, both powered by Permitium. You can also order through VitalChek. Fill out the online form, provide payment information, and choose delivery method. Standard mail takes two to three weeks. Service fees apply for online processing and credit card handling.

Mail requests require a completed application form downloaded from the San Bernardino County vital records page. Include a check or money order payable to San Bernardino County. Send to the address shown on the form. Processing takes three to four weeks plus mailing time in both directions.

Who Qualifies for Authorized Copies

California divides death certificates into authorized and informational types based on who requests them.

Authorized copies go to immediate family members and certain other qualified individuals under Health and Safety Code Section 103526. This includes spouse, domestic partner, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, and grandchild of the deceased. Legal representatives appointed by courts, attorneys handling the estate, and government officials on official business also qualify. You must submit a notarized sworn statement declaring your relationship under penalty of perjury.

Informational copies are available to anyone without relationship proof or notarization. These certificates have "INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY" printed across them. They work for genealogy and personal records but lack legal validity for estates, insurance, or benefits. The price is the same $26 as authorized copies.

Processing Times for San Bernardino Requests

Wait times vary by method and record age. Recent deaths need time to be processed into the system.

Death records become available approximately two weeks after the date of death. The funeral home files paperwork, a physician certifies cause of death, and county staff enter the record into their database. Do not order before this waiting period or the county will not find it and you will still pay the search fee. Call the county office if you are unsure whether enough time has passed since the death.

Walk in requests may be completed the same day for recent records. Older records require retrieval from archives, which can take a few business days. Mail and online orders take three to four weeks to process. Expedited shipping options cost extra but shorten delivery time once the county completes processing.

Accessing Old Death Records

San Bernardino County has death records from the 1850s to present. The exact start date depends on when records were first filed after the county formed in 1853.

For deaths before July 1905, only the county has records. The state office in Sacramento does not maintain anything prior to that date. Contact San Bernardino County for all pre-1905 deaths. These historical records may be on microfilm or in paper form. Staff need extra time to locate and copy them, but the records remain available through the standard application process.

Some old San Bernardino County death records have been digitized and posted on genealogy websites. These are informational and not certified. If you need a certified copy for legal use, you must order through the county office even if the record appears online.

What You Need to Order

Have this information ready:

• Full legal name of deceased
• Date of death or year range
• Location of death in San Bernardino County
• Your relationship to deceased
• Your mailing address

More details help staff find the record faster. If you lack 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 pays for staff time to search indexes and files.

Using the State Office Instead

The California Department of Public Health maintains copies of all death records from July 1905 forward. You can order from them instead of the county.

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

For San Bernardino deaths, using the county is faster and offers local office access. Use the state only if you do not know which county the death occurred in or need certificates from multiple counties across California.

Other Cities in San Bernardino County

San Bernardino County is California's largest county by area. It includes many cities that all use the same county office for death records.

Major cities: Fontana, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga

Other cities include Victorville, Hesperia, Chino, Chino Hills, Upland, Redlands, Yucaipa, and many more. Contact San Bernardino County for death records from any city or unincorporated area in the county.