Find Yolo County Death Records

Yolo County death records are maintained by the Assessor/Clerk-Recorder's Office in Woodland. The office keeps certified copies of all death certificates for deaths that occurred in Yolo County. You can request records in person, by mail, or through two online ordering systems. Yolo County offers both Permitium and VitalChek for online convenience. The fee is $26.00 per certificate. Staff can help you locate the record you need and explain what is required to get a certified copy based on your relationship to the person who died. Online ordering provides convenience if you cannot visit the office during business hours.

Yolo County Assessor/Clerk-Recorder

The Assessor/Clerk-Recorder handles all death certificate requests for Yolo County. Their office is in Woodland, the county seat. They maintain records for all deaths that took place in Yolo 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 be ready to provide details about the death you are researching. The more information you have, the faster they can locate the record.

For more information, visit ace.yolocounty.gov/233/Vital-Records. This page provides 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 is the same whether you order in person, by mail, or online. If you need multiple copies, you pay $26.00 for each one. 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 Yolo County Assessor/Clerk-Recorder. Some offices accept cash in person. Online orders accept credit cards and debit cards but charge additional processing fees depending on which system you use.

Online Ordering Systems

Yolo County offers two online ordering systems. You can use Permitium or VitalChek.

The Permitium portal is at yolovitals.permitium.com/rod. This is a county-operated system. 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 Yolo County. VitalChek is a third-party vendor authorized by the state. They charge their own processing fees and offer different shipping speeds.

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.

Details Needed to Order

When you order a death certificate, have this information ready:

• Full name of the person who died
• Date of death or approximate year
• Place of death in Yolo 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.

Processing Times

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 and you will still be charged the search fee.

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 Yolo 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 Yolo County

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

Major cities in Yolo County include Woodland, Davis, West Sacramento, and Winters. All death records for these cities are handled by the county office, not by the cities themselves.

Nearby Counties

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

Neighboring counties include Sacramento County, Solano County, Napa County, Colusa County, and Sutter County. Each has its own clerk-recorder office with different contact information and hours.