Death Records for San Mateo County

Death certificates in San Mateo County come from the County Clerk-Recorder office in Redwood City. They keep files for all deaths in the county from the 1800s to now. You can get certified copies in person, by mail, or through VitalChek online. Each copy costs $26.00 under current state law. The office serves all cities in San Mateo County including Daly City, San Mateo, Redwood City, South San Francisco, and others along the Peninsula.

County Clerk-Recorder Office

The San Mateo County Clerk-Recorder maintains all vital records for the county. Their main office is in Redwood City, the county seat.

Walk in service is available during business hours. You can request a death certificate and staff will search the files. Recent records can often be completed the same day. Older records may take a few days to locate and certify. Call ahead if you want to confirm they have the record before you visit.

The county website has forms and contact information. Visit smcacre.gov/county-clerk-recorder/death-certificates for details. You can also call or email to ask questions before you order.

Fee for Death Certificates

Each death certificate costs $26.00. This is the base fee set by California state law.

If you order online through VitalChek, the certificate still costs $26.00, but VitalChek adds service fees and shipping charges. Expect to pay $40 to $50 total depending on how fast you want it delivered. In person and mail orders avoid the VitalChek fees but may take longer.

The county keeps the search fee even if they do not find a record. Make sure you have the right information before you order. If the death happened in a different county, you will not get a refund.

Order Death Certificates Online

San Mateo County uses VitalChek for online ordering. VitalChek is a third party vendor authorized by the state.

Go to www.vitalchek.com and select California, then San Mateo County. Enter the full name of the person who died, the date of death, and where in the county the death occurred. The system will ask if you want an authorized copy or an informational copy.

Authorized copies require you to be a close relative. You must upload a notarized sworn statement proving your relationship. Authorized requesters include the spouse, domestic partner, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling of the deceased. If you do not qualify, choose an informational copy instead. Informational copies cost the same but have a stamp that says they cannot be used to establish identity.

VitalChek accepts credit cards and debit cards. After you complete the order, they process it and mail the certificate to your address. You can choose standard shipping or pay extra for overnight delivery.

Who Can Get an Authorized Copy

California law controls who can request an authorized death certificate. The statute is Health and Safety Code Section 103526.

The law allows spouses, domestic partners, parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings to get authorized copies. Legal representatives appointed by a court can also request them. Funeral directors acting on behalf of an authorized family member can order death certificates without the family present.

To get an authorized copy, you must sign a sworn statement under penalty of perjury and have it notarized. The statement declares that you are legally entitled to receive the certificate. You can download the form VS 112 from the California Department of Public Health website.

If you do not qualify as an authorized requester, you can still get an informational copy. Anyone can order an informational copy without proving their relationship. The informational copy shows all the same data but has a legend printed on it stating it is not valid to establish identity. These copies work for genealogy or personal records but not for legal purposes.

Information Required to Order

Gather these details before you place your order:

• Full legal name of the deceased
• Date of death or approximate year
• City or location in San Mateo County where death occurred
• Your name and current address
• Your relationship to the deceased

The more exact your information, the faster the search. If you know only the year, the office can search a range of dates, but this takes more time. The search fee is not refunded if they cannot find a match.

Processing and Wait Times

Walk in service at the Redwood City office is the fastest option. Recent death records can often be printed while you wait. Older records may take a few business days to retrieve.

Mail requests typically take one to two weeks for processing after the office receives your application. Add a few more days for postal delivery. Total time from mailing your request to receiving the certificate can be three weeks.

Online orders through VitalChek have similar processing times. The county processes the request in one to two weeks, then VitalChek ships it to you. Expedited shipping speeds up delivery after the certificate is ready, but the county still needs time to pull and certify the record.

Death records become available about two weeks after the date of death. Do not order right away. Wait at least two weeks for the county to file the official record.

Older Death Records

San Mateo County has death records going back to the 1800s. Very old records may be incomplete or stored differently than modern certificates. If you need a record from before 1905, contact the Clerk-Recorder to confirm availability.

The California State Archives in Sacramento holds some pre-1905 vital records from select counties. Call the State Archives at 916-653-6814 to ask if they have San Mateo County death records from your time period.

Records more than 75 years old are open for public research without restriction. You do not need to prove a relationship to access these older records.

Cities in San Mateo County

San Mateo County includes many cities along the San Francisco Peninsula. All death records for these cities are kept by the county Clerk-Recorder in Redwood City.

Major cities include Daly City, San Mateo, Redwood City, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Pacifica, Millbrae, Burlingame, Foster City, San Carlos, Belmont, Half Moon Bay, and others. None of these cities maintain their own vital records offices. Contact the county for death certificates from any location in San Mateo County.

Nearby Counties

If the death occurred outside San Mateo County, you need to contact the county where it happened. Nearby counties include San Francisco County, Santa Clara County, Alameda County, and Santa Cruz County.

Each county maintains its own vital records. California law requires you to order from the county where the death occurred. If you are not sure which county, you can order from the state. The California Department of Public Health Vital Records has death records from all counties since July 1905. State processing takes longer, usually five to seven weeks, but the fee is slightly lower at $24.00 per copy.