Search Tulare County Death Certificates

Tulare County death certificates are maintained by the Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder's Office in Visalia. The office keeps certified copies of all death records for deaths that occurred in Tulare County. You can request a certificate in person, by mail, or through online ordering systems. The county offers two online options for convenience. Both Permitium and VitalChek provide online death certificate ordering. The fee is $26.00 per certificate. Staff at the county office can help you locate the record you need and explain the requirements for getting an authorized or informational copy based on your relationship to the person who died.

Tulare County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder

The Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder handles all death certificate requests for Tulare County. Their office is in Visalia, the county seat. They maintain records for all deaths that took place in Tulare County.

You can visit the office in person during regular business hours Monday through Friday. Staff will search for the record and prepare a certified copy if they find it. Bring identification and details about the death you are researching. The more information you provide, the faster they can locate the record in their files.

For more information, visit tularecounty.ca.gov/assessor/county-clerk-recorder/death-certificate. This page has ordering instructions and contact details. Call ahead if you have questions about a specific record or what documents to bring.

Cost and Payment Methods

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

The fee applies whether you order in person, by mail, or online. If you need multiple copies, multiply the number of copies by $26.00. The search fee is kept even if the office cannot find the record you requested.

For in-person and mail orders, you can pay by check or money order made payable to Tulare County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder. Some offices accept cash in person. Online orders accept credit cards and debit cards. Online systems charge additional processing fees on top of the $26.00 certificate fee. Check the specific system for current fees.

Online Ordering Systems

Tulare County offers two online ordering systems. You can use Permitium through the county health department or VitalChek through the state system.

The Permitium portal is at tularehdcavitals.permitium.com/rod. This system is run by the county health department. You can order online any time of day. The system charges a service fee plus credit card processing fees on top of the $26.00 certificate fee.

VitalChek is also available at www.vitalchek.com. Select California, then Tulare County. VitalChek is a third-party vendor authorized by the state. They charge their own processing fees and offer different shipping speeds. The faster you want delivery, the more you pay.

Both systems let you order any time. Processing time is similar to mail orders, but you can choose expedited shipping to get the certificate faster once it is ready. You still need to meet California's eligibility requirements for authorized copies. If you do not qualify for an authorized copy, you can order an informational copy instead.

Details Needed to Order

Have this information ready when you order a death certificate:

• Full name of the person who died
• Date of death or approximate year
• Place of death in Tulare County
• Your relationship to the person
• Your name and mailing address
• Your phone number or email

If you do not know the exact date, give the year or a range of years. The clerk will search based on the information you provide. More details make the search easier and faster.

How Long It Takes

Processing times vary by how you order. Walk-in service is fastest. If the record is easy to find, staff can prepare a certificate the same day in most cases.

Mail orders take longer. Plan for two to three weeks from when the office receives your request to when they mail the certificate back. Add more time for mail delivery. Total time can be three to four weeks for mail orders.

Online orders have similar processing times to mail orders. However, you can pay extra for expedited shipping to get the certificate faster once the office finishes processing it. Death records become available about two weeks after the date of death, according to the California death records request page. Wait at least two weeks before trying to order a certificate for a recent death. If you order too soon, the record will not be in the system yet.

Eligibility to Receive a Death Certificate

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

You can get an authorized copy if you are the spouse, domestic partner, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling of the person who died. Legal representatives, attorneys for the estate, and court appointees can also get them. Funeral homes can order on behalf of authorized family members.

Authorized copies can be used for legal purposes like settling estates, claiming life insurance, or transferring property. To get an authorized copy, you must provide a notarized sworn statement under penalty of perjury declaring that you are authorized by law to receive the certificate.

If you do not qualify for an authorized copy, you can still get an informational copy. Anyone can order an informational copy without proving their relationship. Informational copies show the same data but have a stamp that says "INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY." These work for genealogy and family history research but cannot be used for legal purposes. No notarized statement is required for informational copies.

State-Level Death Records

If you cannot get a certificate from Tulare County, try the state office. The California Department of Public Health Vital Records office maintains copies of all death records for the state since July 1905.

Contact CDPH-VR at P.O. Box 997410, Sacramento, CA 95899-7410. The phone number is 916-445-2684. You can also order online through VitalChek for California state records.

The state charges $24.00 per certificate, which is two dollars less than the county fee. However, state processing takes longer, usually five to seven weeks. County offices often process requests faster. Use the state office if you do not know which county the death occurred in or if you need records from multiple counties.

Cities in Tulare County

Tulare County includes several cities. For deaths in any of these cities, contact the Tulare County office. Cities do not issue death certificates. All records are handled at the county level.

Major cities in Tulare County include Visalia, Tulare, Porterville, Dinuba, Lindsay, and Exeter. All death records for these cities are handled by the county office, not by the cities themselves.

Nearby Counties

If the death occurred outside Tulare County, contact the county where it took place. Each county maintains its own records.

Neighboring counties include Fresno County, Kings County, Kern County, Inyo County, and Sequoia National Park area counties. Each has its own clerk-recorder office with different contact information and hours.