Sierra County Death Records

Sierra County vital records are kept by the County Clerk office in Downieville. You can request death certificates for anyone who died in Sierra County going back to the 1800s. The office offers walk in service and online ordering through the Tyler Technologies self service portal. Each certified copy costs $26.00 under California state law. The clerk serves all of Sierra County, one of California's smallest and most rural counties.

Sierra County Clerk Office

The County Clerk handles all vital records for Sierra County. The office is in Downieville, a small historic town that serves as the county seat.

Walk in service is available during business hours. You can request a death certificate and staff will search the files. The office is small and serves a rural area, so call ahead to confirm they have the record you need and to check current hours of operation.

For more information, visit the county website at www.sierracounty.ca.gov/213/Vital-Records. The site provides contact information and basic details about ordering vital records.

Death Certificate Costs

Each death certificate costs $26.00. This fee is set by state law and applies to all California counties.

At the office, you can pay by cash, check, or money order. Make checks payable to Sierra County Clerk. Online orders through the Tyler portal accept credit cards and debit cards. The Tyler system may add a small processing fee on top of the base $26.00 price.

The search fee is not refunded if the office cannot locate a record. Make sure you have accurate information before ordering. If the death occurred in a different county, you still pay the fee with no refund.

Order Death Certificates Online

Sierra County uses the Tyler Technologies self service portal for online ordering. Tyler provides web based systems for many California counties.

The portal is available at sierraca-web.tylerhost.net/web. You can search for a death record and order a certified copy online. The system accepts credit cards. Enter the full name of the deceased, the date of death, and your relationship to that person.

The system will ask if you want an authorized copy or an informational copy. Authorized copies require you to upload a notarized sworn statement proving your relationship to the deceased. Informational copies do not require this but have a stamp indicating they cannot be used to establish identity. The price is the same for both types.

Who Can Request an Authorized Copy

California law restricts who can get an authorized death certificate. The law is found in Health and Safety Code Section 103526.

Authorized requesters include the spouse or domestic partner of the deceased, any parent or child, grandparents and grandchildren, siblings, and legal representatives appointed by a court. Funeral directors acting on behalf of an authorized family member can also order death certificates.

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 use the state form VS 112 available from the California Department of Public Health.

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 or getting a notarized statement. The informational copy shows the same data as an authorized copy but has a legend stamped on it that reads "INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY." This type works for genealogy but not for legal use.

Information Needed for Your Order

Have these details ready when you order:

• Full legal name of the deceased
• Date of death or approximate year
• Place of death within Sierra County
• Your name and mailing address
• Your relationship to the deceased

The more accurate your information, the easier it is for staff to locate the record. If you do not know the exact date, provide a range of years. The office will search within that time frame, but this may take longer.

How Long It Takes

Walk in service at the Downieville office is the fastest option for most requests. The office is small and serves a low population area, so wait times are typically short. Recent death records can often be printed quickly. Older records may take a few 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 Tyler have similar processing times. The county processes the request in one to two weeks, then Tyler ships it. Expedited shipping may be available for an extra fee.

Death records usually become available about two weeks after the date of death. Do not try to order a certificate immediately after someone dies. Wait at least two weeks for the county to file and index the official record.

Older Death Records

Sierra County has death records going back to the 1800s, from the Gold Rush era. Very old records may be incomplete or stored in a different format than modern certificates. If you need a record from before 1905, contact the County Clerk 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 Sierra County death records from the time period you need.

Records older than 75 years are open for public research without restriction. Genealogists and family historians can access these without needing to prove a relationship.

Communities in Sierra County

Sierra County is one of California's smallest counties by population. It has no incorporated cities. The county seat is Downieville. Other communities include Loyalton, Sierra City, and Sierraville.

All death records for the county are maintained by the County Clerk in Downieville. There are no separate city vital records offices.

Nearby Counties

If the death occurred in a different county, you must contact that county's office. Counties near Sierra include Nevada County, Yuba County, Plumas County, and Lassen 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 office. The California Department of Public Health Vital Records has death records from all counties since July 1905. The state office charges $24.00 per copy but processing takes longer, usually five to seven weeks.